SSSP 2025 Annual Meeting
Date: Saturday, August 9
Time: 8:30 AM - 10:10 AM
Anti-Harassment Committee, 2024-25 & 2025-26
Room: Medinah Parlor
Date: Saturday, August 9
Time: 8:30 AM - 10:10 AM
Session 031: Shared Identity Making and Social Perceptions
Room: Indiana Room
Sponsor: Disability, Mental Wellness, and Social Justice
Organizers: Douglas J. Engelman, University of North Carolina Wilmington
Melinda Leigh Maconi, Moffitt Cancer Center
Lily Ivanova, University of British Columbia
Presider: Melinda Leigh Maconi, Moffitt Cancer Center
Discussant: Lily Ivanova, University of British Columbia
Description: What is the role of social perceptions in how communities construct their identities? This session explores the complexities of shared identity-making, especially in contexts where certain identities are stigmatized, heightened, de-coupled, or otherwise influenced by social landscapes and expectations. Papers in this session focus on how people experience identities of disability, mental illness, morality, migration, and gender, in contexts of multi-dimensionality, stigma, and visibility to society at large. The session aims to foster a lively discussion about the ins-and-outs of identity, social context, and how shared meanings conform to and resist societal interpretations.
Papers:
“Navigating Diverse Disability Identities in Canada,” Danielle Landry, Karen Soldatic and Flavia Novais, Toronto Metropolitan University and Line Melbøe, Arctic University of Norway
“The Intersection of Mental Illness and Queerness: A Quantitative Study,” Jennie Benjamin, Georgia State University
“‘My Feeble Human Brain’: Overcoming Emotion and Constructing a Stoic Morality in Effective Altruism,” Kyle Hulburd, University of Southern California
“Seeing Migration via Vernacular Landscapes,” Jerome Krase, Brooklyn College, CUNY
“An Examination of the Role of Social Essentialist Explanations on Motivating Transgender Double Consciousness,” Caroline M. Hale, University of Washington
Date: Saturday, August 9
Time: 8:30 AM - 10:10 AM
Session 032: Emerging Threats and Responses to an Increasingly Dangerous, Adulterated Drug Supply
Room: Kimball Room
Sponsor: Drinking and Drugs
Organizer &
Facilitator : Alexander S. Bennett, New York University
Description: Papers in this session will engage how people who use drugs and other stakeholders mitigate and respond to drug-related harms associated with the toxic drug supply. Papers examine policy, practice, and gaps in research and service delivery.
Papers:
“‘I Don’t Want to Disappoint My Parents’: Examining the Influence of Parental Involvement and Social Bonds on Alcohol Abstinent Behaviors among College Students in Botswana,” Tebogo B. Sebeelo, University of Botswana
“Beyond ‘Employed’ and ‘Unemployed’: Examining Heterogeneity in the Employment Trajectories of Socioeconomically Marginalized People Who Use Drugs,” Allison Laing, Anita Minh, Deb McCormack and Lindsey Richardson, The University of British Columbia
“Neoliberalism’s Effect on the Opioid Crisis in Appalachia,” Jamison Colors Futrell, Southeastern Louisiana University
“What Characteristics and Experiences Correlate with Long-term MMT Participation,” David Frank, Alexander S. Bennett, Luther Elliott and Charles M. Cleland, New York University and Joy D. Scheidell, University of Central Florida
“Written Off: People Who Use Drugs in a Neighborhood of Organized Abandonment,” Leslie L. Wood, Kent State University; Northeast Ohio Medical University
“Developing a Harm-reduction Intervention with a Community Collaborative Board: Challenges and Lessons Learned,” Ellen Benoit, North Jersey Community Research Initiative, Alexis Jemal, Hunter College and Liliane Windsor, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Date: Saturday, August 9
Time: 8:30 AM - 10:10 AM
THEMATIC
Session 033: CRITICAL DIALOGUE: Transformative Justice: Theory and Research in Pursuit of Emancipatory Power, Agency, Community, and Peacemaking
Room: Wilson Room
Sponsors: Community, Research, and Practice
Conflict, Social Action, and Change
Global
Social Problems Theory
Organizer: Caroline M. Schöpf, University of the Philippines Diliman
Presider/Discussant: Loretta E. Bass, The University of Oklahoma
Description: This session focuses broadly on theories and research on/in transformative justice praxes: for communities, peacemaking, and agency addressing root causes of violence and inequality, fostering community and solidarity, and realizing emancipatory power and healing. Submissions discuss justice for the Global Majority/Global South, restorative practices, community-engaged work, Indigenous, post-colonial, and grassroots justice models, intersectional approaches to justice and power, political praxis and transformation, social justice and social change, practicing and teaching transformative justice, and approaches to and strategies for transformative justice research.
Papers:
“Climate Resilient Development in the Post-pandemic, Post-conflict Era: The Case of Isabela de Basilan,” Diana Therese Montejo Veloso, De La Salle University
“Cripping the Undercommons: Towards Crip of Color Critique in Abolitionist Medical Education,” Mustafa Baqai, Coalition for Abolition Medicine at University of California, San Diego
“Longing for the State: Women Grassroots Activists and Local State-building in Colombia,” Maria Ximena Davila, The University of Texas at Austin, Winner of the Global Division’s Student Paper Competition
“Space, Ethnorace, y Los Que Mandan: Cultivating Vibes for Musical Belonging in Greater LA,” Brandon D. Saucedo Pita, University of Southern California
“The Power of ‘Real’: Creative Writing and Everyday Restorative Practice,” Sophia Lindner, Yale University
“Transnational Transformative Justice: Case Studies in Community-Based Responses to Gendered Harm,” Melanie Brazzell, Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University
Date: Saturday, August 9
Time: 8:30 AM - 10:10 AM
THEMATIC
Session 034: Families in Crisis
Room: Buckingham Room
Sponsors: Family, Aging, and Youth
Law and Society
Organizers: Tia M. Dickerson, Columbia University
Michael Branch, Hartwick College
Presider: Tia M. Dickerson, Columbia University
Description: This session examines the legal, social, and economic forces shaping family crises today. From shifting family structures and reproductive rights to aging populations and child welfare, panelists will explore how legal and social structures shape family survival and adaptation in times of upheaval.
Papers:
“‘It Was a Risk, but it Was One I Was Willing to Take.’ The Experiences of Moving to be Closer to an Incarcerated Loved One,” Christopher Dum, Kent State University
“‘No es Justo’: Latina Immigrants Navigating Racialized-gendered Reproductive Labor, Transnational Care, and Support during COVID-19,” Alejandra G. Lemus, Susana Echeverri Herrera, Bianca Ruiz-Negrón, Julia M. Hess and Jessica R. Goodkind, The University of New Mexico
“‘Where Will My Family Go?’ The Financial, Housing, and Health Challenges of Families Facing Eviction,” Natalie J. Cholula, Alex Farrington and Lisa K. Bates, Portland State University
“Excluding the Involved Father: Having a Child during the COVID Pandemic in Iceland,” Sunna Simonardottir and Asdis Arnalds, University of Iceland
“Familismo, Involuntary Return, & Substance Use among a Sample of Involuntarily Returned Migrants to Mexico City,” Esme Ramirez, The University of Texas, Nefertari Rincon-Guerra, University of Southern California, Alice Cepeda, Arizona State University and Avelardo Valdez, University of Southern California
“Family Ties in Hard Times: Exploring the Role of Grandparent Coresidence in Household Economic Resilience,” Jayla Gray-Thomas, Rutgers University
Date: Saturday, August 9
Time: 8:30 AM - 10:10 AM
Session 035: CRITICAL DIALOGUE: Teaching Social Problems through Institutional Ethnography
Room: Chicago Room
Sponsors: Institutional Ethnography
Teaching Social Problems
Organizers: Elizabeth L. Brule, Queen's University
Morena Tartari, Northumbria University
Presider/Discussant: Laura Parson, North Dakota State University
Description:
Papers:
“‘I Swear I Was Playing it Right in Practice’: Student Health and the Discourse of ‘Preparation’ in Post-secondary Music Education,” Jeffrey Sabo and Christine Guptill, University of Ottawa
“A Comprehensive Literature Review of an Institutional Ethnography of Graduate Student Enrollment and Retention,” Doriane E. Paso, Fredricka R. Saunders, Isaac Mensah, Laura Parson, Emily C. Schubert, Abby Griffin and Francisca Nyarko, North Dakota State University
“Navigating Academia and Motherhood: An Institutional Ethnography of International Graduate Student Mothers,” Fredricka R. Saunders, North Dakota State University
“Queering Institutional Ethnography: Designing a Conceptual Framework for Equity,” Kelley A. Larson, North Dakota State University
“Teaching Institutional Ethnography through Autoethnography,” Laura Parson, North Dakota State University
Date: Saturday, August 9
Time: 8:30 AM - 10:10 AM
Session 036: New Books of Interest to SSSP cosponsored by Gender, Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities
Room: Grant Park Parlor
Sponsors: Gender, Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities
Program Committee
Organizers: Assata Zerai, The University of New Mexico
Pallavi Banerjee, University of Calgary
Presider: Pallavi Banerjee, University of Calgary
Discussants: Freeden Blume Oeur, Tufts University
Kathleen J. Fitzgerald, University of North Carolina
Michael O. Johnston, William Penn University
Onwubiko Agozino, Virgina Tech
Description: The SSSP Program Committee and the Division on Gender, Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities are co-sponsoring a session to feature new books of interest to SSSP. These include:
Panelists:
Sharon M. Quinsaat, Grinnell College
Nora Gross, Barnard College, Columbia University
Date: Saturday, August 9
Time: 8:30 AM - 10:10 AM
Session 037: Mobility, Affluence, and the Aspirational Class in a Time of Crises
Room: Spire Parlor
Sponsor: Poverty, Class, and Inequality
Organizer, Presider &
Discussant: Judith R. Halasz, SUNY New Paltz
Description: In a historical moment of numerous crises including high inflation, widespread gentrification, unaffordable housing, overtourism, pandemic and AI-fueled employment shifts, mass migration, and attacks on democracy, understanding the effects of inequality and contemporary class dynamics demands research on both poverty and privilege. Complementing sessions on poverty, class, and inequality, this panel provides an opportunity to share research on affluence, mobility, and the aspirational class. What roles do affluence and mobility play in current crises? Focusing on elite spaces and gentrification, precarious privilege and work, and educational institutions, these papers examine how the affluent use their resources and status to influence communities, culture, and social institutions; view themselves, their status, and their role in inequality; and influence aspirational behavior and attitudes.
Papers:
“The Spread of Elite and Aspirational Spaces as a Spillover Effect of Super-gentrification,” Judith R. Halasz, SUNY New Paltz
“The Limits of Co-Ethnic Solidarity: The Role of Elite Ethnic Organizations in Urban Redevelopment,” Victoria Tran, University of California, Los Angeles
“Navigating Precarity through Life Investment: Gendered Dynamics of Digital Creative Labor and Financial Practices in Contemporary South Korea,” Sojin Lee, Yonsei University
“Bridges of Precarity, Borders of Privilege: How Indian Immigrant Tech Workers in the U.S. Engage in Boundary Work,” Rianka Roy, Wake Forest University
“Are the Elites the Exception? First-generation Student Social Mobility Experiences across Highly-selective and Regional-public Campuses,” Melissa Osborne, Western Washington University
