- Professional Development Opportunities:
- ASA on the Issues: Letter to Congressional leadership in support of policy that would make it easier for international STEM graduates to stay in the U.S. after graduation
- A Resource You Can Use: Department Leaders’ Toolbox
- TRAILS: Resources from ASA’s peer-reviewed digital teaching library
Professional Development Opportunities
Graduate Student Virtual Pro-Seminar. “What Do Faculty and Grad Student Unions Do?” April 21, 3:00-4:00 p.m. Eastern. Graduate students and university faculty have been receiving a great deal of media attention recently, with some high-profile wins and actions opposing anti-higher ed legislation. But what exactly do unions do, and how does it matter for you as a grad student or early-career academic? Whether you are a member of a union, starting out at a unionized or non-unionized faculty job, or about to go on the market, join Mikaila Lemonik Arthur (Rhode Island College), David Kociemba (AAUP), and Katy Habr and Dominic Walker (Student Workers of Columbia University) to discuss their involvement and the benefits and challenges of organizing to improve conditions in higher ed. Live transcript provided. Register here.
Sociological Practice and Public Sociology Section Webinar. “Communicating Your Research to Diverse Audiences: Three Applied Sociologists Share Lessons Learned,” April 25, 2:00-3:00 p.m. Eastern. Join Chloe Bird (RAND), Rita Stephan (USAID), and Rogelio Sáenz (University of Texas at San Antonio) as they discuss op-eds, policy briefs, working with community organizations, and more. After the panel, attendees will have the opportunity to participate breakout rooms for smaller group discussions Click here to attend.
Virtual Information Session. “Great, but Now What? How to Handle R&Rs,” April 25, 6:30–8:00 p.m. Eastern. Join Richard Ocejo, editor of City & Community, who will offer guidance on handling R&Rs and incorporating reviewers’ comments in your papers (especially when they conflict) and write effective response memos. Aimed at early career scholars, this session will use City & Community and urban sociology as the main examples, but the lessons will be universal. Scholars in other subfields are welcome to attend. Register here in advance.
Department Affiliate Webinar. “Review Ready: How to Prepare for Program Review,” May 25, 3:00-4:00 p.m. Eastern. Whether you are getting your department or program ready for your first external review or your tenth, questions always arise. How can you put together a self-study that is accurate, highlighting your department’s strengths while acknowledging areas for growth? What do program reviewers do before, during, and after the review? How can you use the final report to propel your department forward, through internal actions and advocating to the administration? Our panelists—Jeffrey Chin (Le Moyne College), Shirley Jackson (Portland State University) and Enrique Pumar (Santa Clara University)—who have been program reviewers and department leaders, will share their experiences and offer advice on how to approach the program review process. Closed captioning provided; free for anyone working in an ASA Department Affiliate. Registration link will be shared with leaders of Department Affiliates directly.
Professional Development Videos and Webinars: ASA’s professional development videos and webinars, tailored specifically to sociologists, are a valuable starting point for members to learn about how to approach challenges and enrich their professional life at every career stage. The videos and webinars include a variety of topics such as careers for sociologists in practice settings; academic publishing; writing for clarity and impact; promoting the inclusion and empowerment of sociologists at HBCUs and HSIs, and more. Click here to access the entire suite; you will need to log in. In this issue, we’re highlighting the webinar, Thriving Outside Academia: Advice from Sociologists in Practice Settings, in which you can hear four sociologists discuss their career trajectories and the wide range of opportunities available for sociologists interested in working outside of academia. The webinar is ideal for current graduate students, faculty advisors, and sociology PhDs at any career stage.
ASA on the Issues
ASA takes public positions on issues related to policy for which there is consensus in the sociological literature or related to matters concerning the well-being of the discipline and profession. Recently, for example, we issued a letter to Congressional leadership in support of policy that would make it easier for international STEM graduates to stay in the U.S. after graduation. You can read about all our advocacy efforts here.
A Resource You Can Use: Department Leaders’ Toolbox
In acknowledgement of the leaders that contribute at every level in sociology departments, regardless of their titles, we share the Department Leaders’ Toolbox. This collection of resources from ASA and other sources provides useful guidance on fostering healthy and vibrant departments; curriculum, assessment, and program review; multidisciplinary departments; personnel; supporting students; department funding opportunities; and library assessment tools for sociology departments.
TRAILS
TRAILS is ASA’s peer-reviewed digital teaching resources library and is free to ASA members. April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month and a time when instructors may be particularly focused on this issue with their students. Here are a few TRAILS resources to engage your students:
- “Why Don’t They Just Leave?”: An Immersive Role-Playing Activity on Intimate Partner Violence by Rena Zito
- Intersectionality and Intimate Partner Violence: An Interactive Activity to Assess Prior Knowledge by Jessica R. West
- The American College Hookup Scene: Findings from the Online College Social Life Survey by Jessie Ford, Paula England, and Jonathan Bearak
- American Hookup Discussion Guide by Benjamin M. Drury and Lauren N. Griffin
- The Clothesline Project: Unpacking Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence through Sociology of Gender course readings by Tennille Nicole Allen
