Sociology News & Events

Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion says long-running challenges in many rural communities are the underlying drivers of the increase in opioid overdose rates, things like economic decline and social isolation. 

Jackie Orr, associate professor of sociology, contends that the duties of the civilian-soldier extend to outer space, as well: that "final, fantastic frontier for the U.S. military's imaginary and material battlefields."

Lerner Chair Shannon Monnat's research found that the Rust Belt counties that put Trump over the top were those that lost the most people in recent years to deaths of despair—those due to alcohol, drugs, and suicide.

"We must tackle root causes, which... drive suicide, alcohol-related deaths and more," says Shannon Monnat, Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion.

"Overall, the evidence is clear that social movements seeking substantial change that rely on nonviolent methods are more likely to achieve their objectives than are those movements that resort to violence," says Louis Kriesberg, professor emeritus of sociology. "After all, violence usually prompts counter violence by the more powerful, which suppresses the effort to change the pre-existing conditions."

"Opioids may have been the spark, but a spark needs kindling in order to ignite," says Shannon Monnat, associate professor of sociology and Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion.

The nation’s largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging has chosen Janet Wilmoth, professor of sociology, as its treasurer.

Citizenship for oneself or a spouse is a motivator for immigrants, says Amy Lutz, associate professor of sociology. But so is the chance to move up in the world. "The higher your socioeconomic status, the less likely you are to join the military."

"This can’t be about government doing it all. It has to be about collaboration and community cohesion. Opioids thrive on isolation. The only way to combat this problem is community," says Shannon Monnat, Lerner Chair for Public Health Promotion.