CONFLICT, SOCIAL ACTION, AND CHANGE NEWS Society for the Study of Social Problems Message from the Chair We will be meeting soon in San Francisco, a city whose history has demonstrated that conflict can produce social action that leads to change that benefits all. Our division is sponsoring and co-sponsoring very interesting sessions that include papers addressing conflicts on various levels and over diverse issues. They are listed in this newsletter for your convenience. In addition our division along with 17 others is co-sponsoring a reception Friday evening from 6:30-7:30 (before the banquet) that will honor Tom Hood for his many years of outstanding service to SSSP as Executive Director. Congratulations! Debbie Perkins, Coastal Carolina University was recently elected to chair the division for two years. Please give our new division chair your support and most of all great ideas for future sessions by attending the division business meeting on Saturday from 12:30-2:10 in the Stanford East Room. If you are not able to make it to San Francisco or have a time conflict with the business meeting, please e-mail your suggestions for sessions for next year’s meetings to Debbie. Each division sponsors sessions, has graduate students paper competitions, and prepares newsletter. Please consider volunteering for one or more of these activities whether you are an old hand or a newbie. One of the wonderful things about SSSP is its openness to new members, particularly graduate students. During Obama’s Presidential campaign, I could not help but think about his “change” theme and how I would like for the division to emphasize change as much as possible. Conflict is inevitable but positive social change occurs when we work together to make it happen. To me that is what out Division should and does support. Thanks for the support you have provided during the time I have chaired the division. I hope to see you and thank you in person at the meetings! Suzanne Kurth Department of Sociology University of Tennessee Knoxville, TN 37996-1290 skurth@utk.edu July 2009 News Needed for Newsletter Please lend a hand. One of the challenges for the Division Chair is creating a newsletter when few contributions are made. If you blog or twitter, how about sharing some of your ideas in our newsletter? Send submissions to Debbie Perkins at dperkins@coastal.edu Graduate Student Paper Competition Again this year there was a great response to the call for entries to the graduate student paper competition. We thank all those who were willing to have their work considered. The Graduate Student Paper Committee awarded the prize to: “How Falun Gong Became A Political Movement: Bringing the State Back into New Religions Movements” Jungpeng Li, Columbia University SESSIONS SPONSORED AND CO-SPONSORED AT 2009 ANNUAL MEETINGS Session 12: The Role of Ideology and the Media in Escalating Social Conflict Room: Nob Hill Sponsor: Conflict, Social Action, and Change Organizer & Presider: Suzanne B. Kurth, University of Tennessee Papers: “Public Perceptions about Japan in China and South Korea: How Much Do Chinese and Korean People Dislike Japan?” Daisuke Ito, Georgia State University “The Rhetoric of Tribalism in The New York Times as the Representative Cause of the Rwandan Genocide” Nicole Fox, Brandeis University “The Challenge from Ethnic Diversity in a Nordic Welfare State Context” Camilla Nordberg, University of Helsinki, Swedish School of Social Science “On the Violence Question: Conditions Shaping Public Framing and Intra-Movement Narratives” Darcy Leach, Bradley University and Sebastian Haunss, University of Konstan Session 45: Conflict and Change: The Challenges of Contemporary Immigration Room: 208 Sponsor: Conflict, Social Action, and Change Organizer & Presider: Susan H. Ambler, Maryville College Papers: “‘Fences Made out of Sausages:’ Hungarian Immigrant Women’s Take on the American Dream” Orsolya Kolozsvari-Wright, Georgia State University “Exploring Immigrant Employment Trajectories” Sylvia Fuller and Todd Martin, University of British Columbia “Immigration Law and the Construction of Sexual Categories: The Case of Mockeviciene v. U.S.” Aaron Ponce, Indiana University “Immigration, Americanization, and Diminishing Educational Bonds” Anthony Peguero and Jennifer Bondy, Miami University “Out of the Shadows: How Social Justice Development Affects Immigrant Youth Identity and Consciousness” Melissa Quintela, Indiana University Session 52: Social Action to Alleviate Poverty and Inequality –Roundtable Room: Stanford East Sponsors: Conflict, Social Action, and Change Poverty, Class, and Inequality Organizers: Lisa Welch, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Shawn A. Cassiman, University of Dayton Presider: Shawn A. Cassiman, University of Dayton Session 105: Community-based Research: Working Toward Social Change and Social Justice Room: 719 Sponsor: Conflict, Social Action, and Change Organizer, Presider & Discussant: Deborah G. Perkins, Coastal Carolina University Papers: “Called to Spread Justice: Evangelical Social Workers and the Implementation of Social Policy” Jesse Booher, University of Texas at Arlington “Challenging the Sounds of Silence: A Case Study of Gay-Straight Student Alliances and School Reform Efforts” Maralee Mayberry, Department of Sociology, University of South Florida, Tiffany Chenneville, Department of Psychology, University of South Florida and Sean Currie, Department of Sociology, University of South Florida “Invasive Species as a Social Problem: A Community Studies Approach” Brandon Feasel, University of Notre Dame “Recasting the Whore: Sex Work Discourse and Inclusion” Heidi Baez, The Graduate Center, CUNY Session 113: The Personal Is Political: Health Activism Room: 6th Floor Club Lounge Sponsors: Conflict, Social Action, and Change Health, Health Policy, and Health Services Organizers: Jean Elson, University of New Hampshire Laura Lorenz, Brandeis University Presider: Emily S. Ihara, George Mason University Papers: “Advocacy and Everyday Health Activism among Persons with Celiac Disease: A Comparison of Eager and Reluctant Activists” Denise Copelton, The College at Brockport, SUNY “Beyond Roe: Women of Color Organizing for Reproductive Justice” Zakiya Luna, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor “Community Mobilization, Alcohol Policy Campaigns and Social Movement Theories” Denise Herd, UC Berkeley “Health Social Movement Disparities: Patients’ Race and Gender and the Number and Size of Disease Organizations” Rachel Best, University of California, Berkeley