Alpha Kappa Delta Sociology Honor Society

09/16/2026

💜 Show your AKD pride!

Represent the AKD community and your passion for sociology with AKD merch 🎓

Whether you’re heading to class, a conference, or just want to celebrate your connection to sociology, there’s something for you.

🛍️ Comment SHOP and we’ll send you the link to browse AKD merchandise!

09/14/2026

🍂 Fall funding applications are due September 25!

AKD members and chapters have several opportunities to receive support for research travel, chapter activities, and induction programming.

Funding opportunities include:
✈️ Student Member Research Travel Grants
🎓 Chapter Representative Research Supplement Travel Grants
🎤 Initiation Speaker Honorariums
🤝 Chapter Activity Grants

Whether you’re preparing to present your research at a regional sociology conference or planning something meaningful for your chapter, don’t miss the fall application deadline.

💬 Comment FUNDING and we’ll send you the link with application details!

09/09/2026

Looking for more opportunities to connect with other sociologists? 💬

The AKD Mentorship Program brings together members across different stages of their sociology careers to build relationships, share knowledge, expand professional networks, and support one another.

From students exploring graduate school to faculty navigating career advancement, mentorship can help AKD members connect beyond their own institutions and become more involved in the broader sociology community.

📅 Join by September 15!

👉 Comment MENTOR below and we’ll send you the link to learn more about the program and how to get involved!

09/07/2026

🎉 Meet Thalia Tom, PhD, third-place winner of AKD’s 2026 Graduate Student Paper Competition!

Thalia’s award-winning research examines the relationship between neighborhood disadvantage and children’s school readiness, finding that neighborhood context can shape math and reading outcomes from the very beginning of children’s educational trajectories.

After earning her PhD in Sociology from University of Southern California this spring, Thalia is continuing her work on inequality as an Equity in Early Education Postdoctoral Fellow at Stanford University.

In our interview with Thalia, she shares the story behind her research, what she hopes to do next, and how AKD has been part of her journey in sociology.

👀 Read it here 👉 https://alphakappadelta.org/thalia-tom-takes-3rd-in-graduate-student-paper-competition/

Thalia Tom shares insight into their 3rd place paper from the 2026 AKD Graduate Student Paper Competition.

09/07/2026

How do societies distinguish between something that is simply viewed as a problem and something that causes genuine social harm?

A new open access article in Sociological Inquiry offers one answer through an Islamic sociological framework.

In “Social Diseases and Social Problems: An Islamic Framework for Cultural Awareness and Social Diagnosis,” Jilani Ben Touhami Meftah draws on the Islamic maqasid tradition to develop criteria for identifying social harm while putting Islamic thought into conversation with established sociological approaches to social problems.

💬 Comment “Social Diseases” and we’ll send you the link to read the full article.

09/04/2026

🎉 Congratulations to Rachel Springer, PhD, second-place winner of Alpha Kappa Delta’s 2026 Graduate Student Paper Competition!

Rachel’s award-winning paper, “Disability, Community Care, and Disaster Justice: A Research Framework,” examines how communities facing overlapping forms of vulnerability build mutual aid networks, care infrastructures, and collective resources—and what those practices can teach us about disaster justice.

In our latest AKD student spotlight, Rachel shares more about the research behind her paper, what drives her work as a sociologist, and her commitment to producing research that is accountable and useful to the communities it studies.

👏 Join us in congratulating Rachel by reading our full feature:

Rachel Springer shares insight into her 2nd place paper from the 2026 AKD Graduate Student Paper Competition.

08/31/2026

08/28/2026

🎉 Join us in congratulating Armin Sauermann, first-place winner of Alpha Kappa Delta’s 2026 Graduate Student Paper Competition!

Armin’s award-winning research explores the culture and politics of gun ownership in the United States, asking what role social ties, perceived threats, and broader cultural orientations play in shaping gun ownership.

In our latest student spotlight, we caught up with Armin to learn more about his winning paper, his path to studying sociology, and what he hopes comes next in his career.

👏 Congratulations, Armin!

Read the full feature here: https://alphakappadelta.org/armin-sauermann-takes-1st-in-graduate-student-paper-competition/

Armin Sauermann shares insight into his 1st place paper from the 2026 AKD Graduate Student Paper Competition.

08/26/2026

Read the new Sociological Inquiry article open access at the link 👉 https://doi.org/10.1111/soin.70062

What role do emotions like hope, trust, enthusiasm, and sympathy play in bringing young people into social movements?

A new article in Sociological Inquiry examines youth participation in Spain’s 15M Movement and finds that positive emotional orientations toward the movement were significantly associated with participation among young people ages 15–29.

The study offers a compelling reminder that social movements are shaped not only by grievance and dissatisfaction, but also by the emotional connections people develop to collective causes.

📖 Read the full article at the link in the comments!