Three professors of sociology at the Maxwell School, all affiliated with the University’s Aging Studies Institute, have been named to leadership roles within the American Sociological Association (ASA), the premiere professional organization for scholarly research in sociology. Jennifer Karas Montez, Gerald B. Cramer Faculty Scholar in Aging Studies, and Merril Silverstein, Marjorie Cantor Endowed Professor in Aging, were named section chair and chair-elect, respectively, of Aging and the Life Course. Andrew London, associate dean of the Maxwell School, was named section chair of Medical Sociology.

Associate Professor of Sociology Gretchen Purser, meanwhile, was named council member of ASA’s Marxist Sociology section. At the ASA annual meeting in August, she was honored with the 2020 Distinguished Scholarly Article Award from the ASA Section on Labor and Labor Movements for her paper “Day Labor Agencies, Backdoor Hies and the Spread of Unfree Labor” published in Anthropology of Work Review. She was also honored alongside Syracuse anthropology Ph.D. candidate Fabiola Ortiz-Valdez with the 2020 Publication Award from the American Sociological Association’s section on Public Sociology for their paper “Milked: Immigrant Dairy Farmworkers in New York State” published in Workers Center of Central New York. This publication raises awareness to the farm worker labor conditions and their struggle to collectively organize.

The ASA is a 501(c)3 non-profit membership organization based in Washington, D.C., and is committed to advancing sociology both as a profession and as a science for the common good. Members include college professors and students, social workers and researchers working in government, nonprofits, or universities. Maxwell’s Department of Sociology holds a longstanding strong reputation for its heavy participation across sections in the ASA, and presentations at the annual meeting. To view a complete list of 2020 presentations, visitors can search the annual meeting schedule for “Syracuse” via the All Academic Convention website. Registrations to view the virtual sessions will be accepted through September 30.

“Maxwell’s sociology department has a dynamic faculty who are actively engaged in the American Sociological Association (ASA),” says Janet Wilmoth, chair of the department. “Their extensive participation in the ASA annual meeting, ASA award-winning scholarship, and service as ASA section leaders contributes to our vibrant department. Their presentations demonstrate the breadth and depth of our faculty and students’ interests in various core sociological topics, including: the intersections between gender, race, ethnicity, immigrant status, social class, sexual orientation, age, and disability; social institutions such as education, religion, marriage, and the military; social movements; and health disparities. This scholarship provides a critical perspective on the most pressing social issues of our time.”

September 14, 2020 | Chad Chambers, Ph.D. candidate in geography