sociology

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man stealing bag from car

Biases may stoke victim blaming, or reduce it, no matter what the crime

6/20/18

General biases may be at work when people blame or criticize victims of crimes, including rape and robbery victims, according to criminologists. For example, about 80 percent of participants in two studies on the role biases play in victim blaming assigned some direct blame to victims of robbery, while about 43 percent of the participants leveled some direct blame at rape victims.

three teens in handcuffs

Teen brains may not be as hardwired for crime as previously thought

8/7/17

Many researchers believed that because there was such a uniform spike in crime for teenagers that there must be something hardwired about criminal behavior in teens. Penn State criminologists, however, found that the age-crime patterns aren't so uniform in non-Western countries. In this study of Taiwan crime, for instance, there is no spike in crime for teenagers. The researchers suggest that several factors, including both biology and culture, affects age-crime patterns.

Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park

Learning in the Land Down Under

10/18/16

It’s a big world out there, and Penn State students have ample opportunity to explore it through education abroad programs. There are hundreds of options all over the globe, and this past summer, several students took advantage of a new program in Australia.

Young black female student looking in newspaper for job

Women with greatest need may face more obstacles to full-time work

4/14/16

In the last half of the 20th century we’ve witnessed a seismic shift in women’s employment, but paid work is a limited resource that not all women have equal access to, according to Sarah Damaske, assistant professor of labor and employment relations and sociology at Penn State, along with her colleague, Adrianne Frech, assistant professor of sociology at Akron University.

Penn State classroom

Turning distraction into engagement

8/25/15

Today, nearly two-thirds of a typical college student’s day is spent using his or her cellphone. Although some faculty members view them as a distraction in the classroom, others, like Sam Richards, a senior lecturer of sociology at Penn State, are finding ways to put cellphones and other mobile devices to positive use.

WPSU Penn State's "You Can't Say That"

WPSU interactive screening, discussion to tackle controversial topics

4/8/15

Students and community members can experience an inside look at Penn State’s Sociology 119, Race and Ethnic Relations — the popular course taught by Sam Richards — and offer their views on current societal issues during a simultaneous online screening and interactive discussion at 8 p.m. Eastern time Thursday (April 9). WPSU Penn State will help bring the conversation outside the classroom with “You Can’t Say That,” which focuses on initiating conversations about race, religion, gender and ethnicity.

Beth Montemurro

Dating and marriage trends focus of April 2 Research Unplugged

3/30/15

Beth Montemurro, associate professor of sociology, will present "Love, American Style: The Evolution of Courtship and Dating" at 12:30 p.m. April 2 in Schlow Centre Region Library in State College as part of the Research Unplugged lecture series.

Clocks at World in Conversation

Sociology class examines Israel-Palestine conflict through virtual conversation

11/10/14

Penn State students in Sociology 425 Social Conflict -- a class that explores inter-group and international conflict and cooperation related primarily to the Israel-Palestine conflict -- are using videoconferencing technologies to connect with people who live in the conflict zone or who have experienced conflict in another part of the world.

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