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Fall/Winter 2012Georgetown College
SOCIOLOGY NEWSLETTER
LETTER FROM THE CHAIR
This is an exciting time for the sociology department at Georgetown Col-lege. We closed out the 2011-2012 academic year by celebrating our larg-est graduating class to date! We applauded 15 seniors as they walkedacross the stage to receive their diplomas, and are currently supporting twoother senior majors who will finish their sociology degree this fall. Two ofour graduates entered highly respected PhD programs this fall. Two seniorsalso presented papers at international conferences. And, multiple others are
now engaged in humanitarian work from the West coast to the Appalachianregion and from South America to Western Europe. We are so proud of thework our graduates are doing, inside and out of the classroom.
This academic year we have the privilege of sending two of our juniors tostudy at the prestigious Oxford University. Not only are our studentsachieving high marks academically, but they are also highly engaged in thelocal community. The majority of our majors and minors participate in ourinternship program which does a great job of bringing the classroom andcommunity together. At the same time, many of these internship experienc-es also open up future employment opportunities for our students. Addi-tionally, the department continues to be trailblazers for Georgetown Col-
leges service learning initiative. Well over half of the students taking soci-ology courses this year will have the opportunity through our service learn-ing program to work alongside community partners in an effort to solveissues that affect the campus and our surrounding communities.
I am so proud of our students and their many accomplishments. They aretruly amazing young people who want to, and tell me they can, change theworld! I ask for your continued support of our program and students. Thiscomes in many forms: spreading the word about the wonderful things hap-pening in the department, connecting us to community partners for our ser-vice learning program, and providing funds that will allow the sociologydepartment to continue to prepare our students for the challenges of the
21st century.
I cant thank you enough for your support and active role in our mission to developadvocates for change, committed to scholarship, social justice, and empowerment.
Best Wishes,Eric Carter
INSIDE THIS ISSUE
The Oxford Connection . 2
Outstanding Students ...3
Faculty Spotlights.......... 4
Kentuckians For The
Commonwealth ............. 5
Campus Culture Change:
Justice Initiatives .......... 6
Real Utopias with Erik
Olin Wright7
Future Plans .................. 8
Make a Positive Differ-
ence ................................ 9
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The title of Outstanding Senior in Sociology fits no student better than re-
cent graduate, Chris Lord. Chris, a native of Chattanooga, Tennessee, now
holds bachelors degrees in both Sociology and Spanish, and is an esteemed
student in both disciplines by students and faculty alike. He plans to immedi-
ately pursue a masters degree in education as well as in sociology within
the coming years. Chris four-year career at Georgetown shows promise for
his future success as he has shown an exemplary commitment to academics
and service in Georgetown and abroad.
Chris explained that he chose sociology as one of his majors, mainly be-
cause of my concern for the inequalities that exist in America and because
of the lack of answers that I have gotten from other sources in my life. I
was looking for a historic explanation for why things were the way they were.
With sociology as his foundation, Chris has made the most of his undergraduate experience as he
explored answers to his questions.
Chris is a natural leader and has taken advantage of numerous opportunities to use his gifts. During
his time at Georgetown, Chris has served as both a volunteer and a leader in the Scroggins Park Af-
ter School Tutoring Program. Chris also helped lead a student Plunge to Poverty among thosewithout homes in Lexington. He served in the campus Student Abolitionist Movement, and was a
Spanish tutor at Georgetown College. He also volunteered at Anne Mason Elementary and Scott
County High Schools, both in Georgetown.
A study abroad experience in Mexico led Chris to his current job with Teach for America. Within
the program, he will teach English as a second language in Ohio. He plans to engage the American
education system as a long term career goal, whether as a teacher, administrator, or a community
member engaging the youth, parents, and schools in important social discussions, says the gradu-
ate. There is no doubt that Chris outstanding academic diligence and social attentiveness will be a
service to any career path he chooses.
THE OXFORD CONNECTION
OUTSTANDING SENIOR: CHRIS LORD
The Oxford Program at
Georgetown College offers stu-
dents a variety of unique opportu-
nities to complete some portion of
their program of study throughRegents Park College in the Uni-
versity of Oxford. Regents Park
College has been one of the per-
manent private halls at Oxford
University since 1957, and it
shares with Georgetown College
a commitment to provide a rigor-
ous education in an intentionally
Christian context. Georgetown
College established a partnership
with Regents Park in 1998,
opening the door for our students
to study at Oxford in a variety of
programs. Since 2008, 4 sociolo-gy majors (Carrie Summers,
Adriana Nez, Samantha
Yeates, and Robert Carter) com-
pleted the Oxford Program and 2
are going this Spring (Caliesha
Comley and Morgan Reeves).
This rigorous program benefits
our students in preparing them for
graduate school and beyond.
Regents Park College
Oxford University
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Adriana Nez
Outstanding Upper-class Research
This award is presented to a sociology ma-
jor with at least a 3.0 GPA who completes
an outstanding senior research project.
Darius Gates
Community Commitment Award
This award is presented to a sociology
major through an internship/s who
makes a difference in the Georgetown
community.
Aaron Padgett
C.W. Mills Award
This award is presented to a sociology
major with at least a 3.0 GPA who ex-
emplifies the intersection of scholar-
ship and social activism.
Morgan Reeves
C.W. Mills Award
This award is presented to a sociology
major with at least a 3.0 GPA who ex-
emplifies the intersection of scholar-
ship and social activism.
Caliesha Comley
Carlton/Deason Scholarship
This scholarship honors J. Richard
Carlton and Mary E. Carlton and in
memory of Owen W. and Betty Jean
Deason. The award is presented to a
rising junior or senior who is majoring
in sociology or history and is based on
student academic performance, prom-
ise, character, and need.
STUDENT AWARD WINNERS
ALPHA KAPPA DELTA
HONOR SOCIETY
The Georgetown CollegeSociology Department is
excited to establish a
campus chapter of Alpha
Kappa Delta (AKD), the
International Sociology
Honor Society, this se-
mester.
The purpose of this socie-
ty is to promote excellent
scholarship in the studyof sociology, research of
social problems, and oth-
er such activities as will
lead to improvement in
the human condition.
To be eligible to apply for
AKD membership, a stu-
dent must be a junior,
have completed 4 courses
in sociology, have anoverall GPA of 3.3 or be
ranked in the top 35% of
his/her class, and have
achieved a sociology GPA
of 3.0.
Seven students were in-
ducted into the honor
society this fall. They are:
Seniors: Claire Strnad,Layla Padgett, Kelsey
Ach, Brandy Smith, and
Shelby Barron.
Juniors: Morgan Reeves
and Caliesha Comley.
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FACULTY SPOTLIGHTS
Dr. Eric M. Carter joined the facultyof Georgetown College in Fall 2006as an Assistant Professor of Sociolo-
gy.Dr. Carter received his bachelorsdegree in sociology from CarsonNewman College. He went on to re-ceive his masters degree in sociologyfrom Marshall University, and hisPhD in sociology from Kansas StateUniversity, where his work focusedon the sociology of work and labormarkets, social change, social stratifi-
cation, and the sociology of sports andculture. Dr. Carters dissertation, ti-tled, Failing at Success, centered on
anomie and deviance in the NationalFootball League. He is currently thechair of the department. Dr. Carter isthe author of the book,Boys GoneWild: Fame, Fortune, and Deviance
Among Professional Football Players.He is also involved in research in theareas of sports, stratification, and edu-cation.
4
Dr. Sarah E. Cribbs joined the faculty
of Georgetown College in Fall 2011as an Assistant Professor of Sociolo-gy. Dr. Cribbs areas of teaching inter-est include race and ethnicity, gender,health and illness, applied sociology,research methods and other corecourses. Dr. Cribbs currently serves asthe faculty advisor for SociologyClub, Alpha Kappa Delta (AKD), andas the co-advisor for Student Womenand Gender Society (SWAGS). She isthe Chair of the committee on Civic
Engagement (where service learningis housed) and member of the HonorsProgram Committee and Oxford Pro-gram Committee.
Dr. Cribbs received her PhD in sociol
ogy from the University of Oregon in2011. Her dissertation, Rooted in thePast, Blind to the Present: Health CareAdministrators Perceived Role andResponse to Spanish-Speaking Immi-grants in a New Settlement Community,investigated the ways in whichthe administrators within one healthcare system perceived and framedtheir institutions changes resultingfrom new, Spanish-speaking immi-grant population growth within their
surrounding metropolitan area. Dr.Cribbs recently published in the Jour-nal of Social Work and Social Welfarand the Journal of Black Studies.
Dr. Stephanie Holcomb-Kreinerjoined the faculty of Georgetown Col-lege in Spring 2012 as Visiting Assis-tant Professor of Sociology and waspromoted this Fall semester to Assis-tant Professor of Sociology. Dr. Hol-
comb-Kreiner received her PhD insociology from the University of Ken-tucky in Spring 2012. Her disserta-tion, entitled Explaining Benefit Var-iability in FMNP in Kentucky: AnApplication of Pierre Bourdieus The-ory, represents her diverse interestsin food-related behaviors, social ine-quality, program evaluation, sustaina-bility and community development.Dr. Holcomb-Kreiner has several pro-jects underway. She is working to
expand service learning into hercourses, and this semester has workedwith Habitat for Humanitys Restoreon paint recycling. She is also guidingthe implementation of a sustainablelandscaping project on GCs campus,
which will serve as a demonstrationgarden and eventually an outsideclassroom space. As part of her em-phasis on engaged and applied schol-arship, Dr. Holcomb-Kreiner is draft-ing an article on food-related behav-iors among low-income individualsand pursuing LEED certification, ini-tially as a Green Associate and culmi-nating in LEED AP NeighborhoodDevelopment (LEED AP ND) creden-tials.
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SOCIOLOGY CLUB ALLIES
WITH KENTUCKIANS FOR THE
COMMONWEALTH
The Georgetown Sociology Club has been a phenomenal partner
of Kentuckians For The Commonwealth, connecting with the
broader community to learn and to make a difference, empower-
ing citizens to have a say in our democracy.
Sociology Club students have engaged in a wide variety of activi-
ties, often also playing a key role in helping other students to get
involved in grassroots organizing and community service as well.
Amongst other things, they have:
Registered voters on campus, at community festivals and in
nearby African American Communities.
Gained first-hand experience talking to legislators about a
range of issues in Frankfort and participating in rallies there.
Worked in solidarity with the Georgetown NAACP for the
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day march.
Organized a tremendous Earth Day concert last semester that
brought out hundreds of students.
Began networking with student activists from UK, starting to
make a space to learn from each other.
We hope and expect that the Georgetown Sociology Club willcontinue to play a vital role in the community and cant help but
think that this kind of experiential learning will make them even
better citizens of this Commonwealth and planet.
Dave Newton, KFTC Deputy Organizing Director
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Kentuckians For The Commonwealth is a statewide citizens organization working for
a new balance of power and a just society. As we work together we build our strength,
individually and as a group, and we find solutions to real life problems. We use direct
action to challenge and change unfair political, economic and social systems. Our
membership is open to all people who are committed to equality, democracy and non-
violent change.
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CAMPUS CULTURE CHANGE
The Student Abolitionist Movement (SAM) is a
network of students fighting to end modern-day
slavery. SAM provides students with key pro-
grams and resources to educate, advocate, and
take action for the end of the global slave trade.
The Student Abolitionist Movement raises
awareness of human trafficking through docu-
mentary screenings, discussions, guest lectures,and workshops and raises money for local and
international non-profits with abolitionist goals
through their biannual Back-handing Slavery Ultimate Frisbee Tournament. Fair Trade Initiatives are
also supported by SAM which hosts an annual Holiday Fair Trade Market. Additionally, SAM members
were given the opportunity to host the First Kentucky Conference on Human Trafficking in Spring 2012
on Georgetowns campus which achieved great success.
The Georgetown Sustainability Initiative (GSI)
began in 2011 as a combination of past environ-
mental groups Creation Care, Green Team, and a
Recycling Committee. The organization was
founded on the principle to raise awareness of en-
vironmental issues and to help Georgetown Col-
lege transition to a more sustainable institution.
Students, faculty, staff, and administration work
together to implement Earth-friendly practices
onto campus. GSI has been successful upon its
inception and has accomplished a variety of goals,
including the installation of more recycling bins
on campus, work in the GC community garden,
and the screening of the documentary Tapped,
which examines the bottled water industry.
GSIs most significant achievement was an Earth
Day Celebration we sponsored on April 22, 2012which gathered over 200 people from the college
and community. The crowd included more than 20
campus and non-profit organizations committed to
justice. GSI was also excited to host renowned
Kentucky-born cellist Ben Sollee who incorpo-
rates environmental activism in his songwriting.
STUDENT ABOLITIONIST MOVEMENT
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GEORGETOWN SUSTAINABILITY INITIATIVE
SOCIOLOGY STUDENTS LEAD THE WAY IN SOCIAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
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No social advance rolls in on the wheels of inevitability. It comes throughthe tireless efforts and persistent work of dedicated individuals.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
The Student Women and Gender Society
(SWAGS) is a group on Georgetown College's
campus that studies the social construction of
gender and raises awareness concerning its so-
cial, cultural, and political implications. The
purpose of the organization is to empower the
people in our communities, as well as all mem-
bers of Georgetown College, regardless of their
gender or sexual orientation.
Last spring, SWAGS hosted a documentary
screening ofMiss Representation, an expos of
media portrayal of women, especially women involved in politics, which was followed by a lively
discussion. The group also invited the campus community to participate in the Clothesline Project,
which led up to an amazing turnout of over 100 students, faculty, and administration at SWAGS
Take Back the Night event. Take Back the Night consisted of a rally and speech by former SWAGS
advisor Dr. Erin Tarver, followed by a march in downtown Georgetown and a candlelight vigil to
honor victims of sexual violence. In the near future, SWAGS members are designing a sexual vio-
lence education program to present to students entering Georgetown College.
Sociology students and facul-
ty met and conversed with
American Sociological Asso-
ciation President Erik Olin
Wright this past spring after
attending his lecture on RealUtopias at Berea College.
Wright inspired the crowd
with a simple message,
which he restated in his blog:
In the ideal world I imagine
there probably is some place
for a bit of capitalism, some
role for capitalism. No socio-
economic structure is ever
purely one kind of economic
system. American capitalism
has public libraries, whichdistribute books in decidedly
non-capitalist ways. So I
suspect that there would be a
niche for capitalism even in a
radically democratic egalitar-
ian society.
STUDENT WOMEN AND GENDER SOCIETY
REAL UTOPIAS WITH ERIK OLIN WRIGHT
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SOCIOLOGY
DEPARTMENT
NEWSLETTER
The Sociology Department
Newsletter is published
by:
The Sociology Department
of Georgetown College
400 East College Street
Georgetown, KY 40324
Contact Information
Phone and Fax:
(502) 863-7968
Email:
Designed by:
Caliesha Comley
FUTURE PLANS
The Sociology Department is look-
ing forward with an eye for justice
and a green thumb!
As part of our sustainable community
development emphasis, our environ-
ment and sustainability course has
completed the preliminary steps to
implement a demonstration garden
behind the Sociology House. Along
with research on the symbolic and
social effects of resource-intensive
landscaping, we have conducted re-
search on climatology, native plants,
and both the benefits and challenges
to sustainable landscaping. We have
proposed a Demonstration Garden
that will serve as a model for sustaina-
ble landscaping and provide an out-
door classroom space. We will be
completing Stage One, perennial pe-
rimeter plantings. This includes hard-
wood native trees to support the
health of our urban forests and peren-
nial wildflowers and bushes to pro-
mote water filtration and mitigate run-
off from the parking lots adjacent to
the Sociology House. Stage Two will
include the planting of native grasses
and the installation of benches and
water barrels to collect rainwater.
Several grants have been identified
and proposals will be submitted in an
effort to secure ample funding. Stage
Two will begin in late Spring 2013
and will be completed during Fall
2013. Stage Three will include perme-
able walkways, arbors, and expanded
native plantings. Stage Three is ex-
pected to begin late Spring 2014.
As the department works to make ser-
vice learning an integral part of its
curriculum, Dr. Holcomb-Kreiner and
Ms. Shannon Cribbs, director of the
Center for Civic Engagement, are in
the exploratory stages of planning atrip for globalization and development
students to participate in an interna-
tional build with Habitat for Humani-
ty. Habitat for Humanity builds sim-
ple, decent homes in an effort to elim-
inate poverty housing in the United
States and worldwide. Partnering
with Habitat would give students the
opportunity to apply their sociological
imagination to a significant social
problem and see firsthand the results
of social engagement. It would also
facilitate international understanding
and bring to life the principles dis-
cussed in our globalization and devel-
opment course. Costs for participation
in a Global Village build vary, but
those costs do include in-country
transportation, food, accommodations
and travel medical insurance. Travel
to the country is not included. Therange for currently arranged trips is
$1200 to $2500 per person for two
weeks. We are tentatively setting the
date for Spring 2014 to allow for suf-
ficient fundraising.
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Remember when you attended Georgetown College and wished there wasmore you could achieve but the finances werent always available? While the
Sociology Department is growing and making a significant impact on stu-
dents lives, our needs remain the same as when you were here. And, we
want to improve. You chose to make a difference when you selected Sociol-
ogy as your principle area of study. Continue to make that difference by sup-
porting your alma mater and its students who, like you, also want to make a
positive difference with their lives. We would appreciate your help.
You may make a tax-deductible gift in any amount by mail, phone or online
at www.georgetowncollege.edu/giving. When making a gift online, please
specify Sociology under Designation on form.
We thank you again for your continued support.
Alumni and friends of the Sociology Department,
My name is Cristian Nez and I am proud to say that I am
President of the Sociology Club. The rebirth of the club took
place in the spring of 2012 thanks to a significant wealth of
energy in the sociology department and among sociology
students. The mission of the Sociology Club is to create an
atmosphere for students to discuss sociological topics, to
educate and empower the student body to take action on
social justice issues, and to become immersed in the com-
munity through service and outreach activities. In view of
this mission, the sociology club has had a very exciting se-
mester!
Every Wednesday night sociology students are welcome to
indulge in snack, great company, and talk about the subject
matter they are currently studying or do homework. In part-
nership with other organizations on campus concerned with
social justice, we hosted a workshop to inform students on
how sociology can help explain issues like human rights,
gender inequality, and sustainability! In the immediate future
we hope to get Georgetown alumnus and current director of
the Highlander Center, Pam McMichael, to come and talkwith students about the Highlander Center and her experi-
ences there. Sociology Club, of course, would not have been
able to plan or accomplish any of these things had it not been
for the outstanding alumni who have laid the foundation for
current sociology students. On behalf of the Sociology Club
I would like to thank you very much for your support and
contributions over the years.
YOUR HELP WILL MAKE A POSITIVE
DIFFERENCE
SOCIOLOGY CLUB OFFERS THANKS
9
CONTACT THE
SOCIOLOGY
DEPARTMENT
Dr. Eric M. Carter
Department Head
Email: Eric_Carter
Dr. Sarah E. Cribbs
Assistant Professor
Email: Sarah_Cribbs
Dr. Stephanie Holcomb-
Kreiner
Visiting Assistant Professor
Email: Stephanie_Holcomb
-Kreiner
*all email addresses end in
@georgetowncollege.edu
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YOUR LOGOHERE
Please Share What We Are About With Prospective Students
Sociology is the study of social life, social change, and the social causes and conse-
quences of human behavior. Sociologists investigate the structure of groups, organiza-
tions, communities, and societies, and how people interact in these contexts.
Since human behavior is shaped by social factors, the subject matter of sociology rang-
es from the family to education; from crime to religion; from the divisions of race, social
class, and gender to the shared beliefs of a common culture; and from environment and
sustainability to the sociology of sports. Few fields have such a broad scope and rele-
vance for research, theory, service, and the application of knowledge.
The Sociology Department emphasizes engaged pedagogy, critical thinking, theoretical
and methodological understanding, service learning, and the application of theory to
practice. Sociology majors have the opportunity to be involved in research and sustaina-
ble community development as well as local community service projects.
Since many sociology majors continue their education in graduate school, the depart-
ment seeks to prepare them for success at the graduate level. Others often utilize their
sociology degree for work in community development, human and community services,
the business world, and a wide variety of careers that involve problem-solving and gath-
ering, organizing and analyzing information (i.e., data).
The department sponsors the local chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta, the International Soci-
ology Honors Society.
2012-2013 College CatalogPage 197
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ALUMNI QUESTIONNAIRE
Please fill out and return to us at below address or email to
Name:
Year of Graduation:
Address (if different from mailing label):
City: State: Zip Code:
Phone:
Email:
Please tell us what you are doing now, along with anything else
you would like to share with the department.
GEORGETOWN COLLEGE
SOCIOLOGY
Combining our departments
small size with intellectual di-
versity, commitment to com-
munity engagement and service
learning, a generous student-
faculty ratio, and strong tradi-
tion of commitment to students,
our current department seeks to
provide students with the skills
and values needed to under-
stand complex social systems
and to participate in empower-
ment and reform that can create
a more just, equitable, and sus-
tainable world.
Mailing Address:
Department of Sociology
Georgetown College400 East College Street
Georgetown, KY 40324
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Georgetown College
Department of Sociology
400 East College Street
Georgetown, KY
40324
Phone and Fax:502-863-7968
E-mail: