Research
Faculty in the Sociology Program conduct research on a wide variety of topics and publish in some of the top journals in their fields. Below are several areas of particular strength and concentration among our faculty.
Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration
The study of race and ethnicity, along with immigration, is a special strength among our faculty. Sociology faculty conduct research on a wide range of topics in this area. Mexican American culture, religion, assimilation, and identity are of particular interest to sociology faculty members, a reflection of our unique location at the U.S.-Mexico border. Faculty also study racial and ethnic disparities in education, health, and in the labor market as well as processes of racial construction and racial attribution. Immigrant incorporation and ethnic relations also represent key areas of research among sociologists at UTRGV.
Faculty:
- Steven Foy
- Ramon Guerra
- Salvatore Restifo
- Bienvenido Ruiz
- Igor Ryabov
- Dawid Wladyka
- Arlett Lomeli
Gender, Family, and Sexuality
Sociology faculty conduct research on the complexities of gender, family and sexuality in the 21st century. Research areas among our faculty include family and gender roles, how gender intersects with class and race, and the relationship between household composition, family structure, and poverty. Other research focuses on sexuality and LGBT issues, such as the experience of LGBT young adults, and anti-LGBT sentiment and activism.
Faculty:
- Amie Bostic
- Igor Ryabov
- Arlett Lomeli
- Young-Rae Oum
- Billy Ulibarri
- Salvatore Restifo
Environmental Sociology and Disaster Studies
Research related to environmental sociology and disasters is a unique feature of sociology at UTRGV and facilitates the new Disaster Studies M.A. program. Faculty in our program conduct research on population and social vulnerability to disaster, as well as disaster/emergency management and preparedness.
Faculty:
- William Donner
- Dean Kyne
- Dawid Wladyka
- Arlett Lomeli
Medical Sociology/Sociology of Health
Sociology faculty conduct research on a wide variety of topics related to the sociology of health and medicine. These topics include access to and utilization of healthcare services, processes of medicalization, mental health issues, eating disorders among adolescents, and obesity.
Faculty:
- Steven Foy
- Igor Ryabov
- Qi Sun
Sociology faculty members conduct research on a range of other topics, including the sociology of religion, demography, social psychology, the sociology of education, and social movements.
Recent publications by sociology faculty
Chad Richardson
William Donner
- “Who Will Stay, Who Will Leave: Decision - Making of Residents Living in Potential Hurricane Impact Areas during a Hypothetical Hurricane Event in the Rio Grande Valley."
- "The general use of outdoor warning sirens: A preliminary survey of emergency managers"
Steven Foy
- “Beyond America: Cross-National Context and the Impact of Religious versus Secular Organizational Membership on Self-Rated Health.”
- “Reliably Republican? Shifts in U.S. Veterans’ Political Party Affiliation from 1974 to 2016.”
- “Nourish the Soul or Damage the Body?: Belief in the Connection between Christian Moral Failure and Diminished Health.”
- “The Rise of Rational Choice Theory as a Scientific/Intellectual Movement in Sociology¨
- ¨The Shade of a Criminal Record: Colorism, Incarceration, and External Racial Classification"
- "Challenges From and Beyond Symptomatology: Stereotype Threat in Young Adults with ADHD"
- “The Catholic Church and Mexican American Social Mobility in the Postwar Midwest”
- "Mexican Americans," The Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Race, Ethnicity, and Nationalism
- "Social Context, Parental Exogamy and Hakka Language Retention in Taiwan"
Dean Kyne
- “Who Will Stay, Who Will Leave: Decision - Making of Residents Living in Potential Hurricane Impact Areas during a Hypothetical Hurricane Event in the Rio Grande Valley."
- ¨Nuclear Power Plant Emergencies in the United States¨
- "A Fukushima-Like Disaster in New York City and Possible Issues Associated with the Extreme Event Management System"
- "Living With the Invisible Risks in the U.S. Urban Areas: Potential Nuclear Power-Induced Disasters, Urban Emergency Management Challenges, and Environmental Justice Issues"
- "Emerging Environmental Justice Issues in Nuclear Power and Radioactive Contamination"
- "Public Exposure to U.S. Commercial Nuclear Power Plants Induced Disasters"
- "A Longitudinal Study of Human Exposure to Potential Nuclear Power Plan Risk"
- "Managing Nuclear Power Induced Disasters"
Salvatore Restifo
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“Racial/Ethnic Hierarchy and Urban Labor Market Inequality: Four Poignant Historical Cases” (Link forthcoming Fall 2018)
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“Reliably Republican? Shifts in U.S. Veterans’ Political Party Affiliation from 1974 to 2016”
- "Legitimation, State Repression, and the Sioux Massacre at Wounded Knee"
Ben Ruiz
Igor Ryabov
- "Conspicuous consumption among Hispanics: Evidence from the Consumer Expenditure Survey"
- "Educational outcomes of Asian and Hispanic Americans: The significance of skin color"
- "Examining the role of residential segregation in explaining racial/ethnic gaps in spending on fruit and vegetables"
Katarzyna Sepielak
- "Challenges in achieving sustainability in Iberian rural areas and small towns: Exploring immigrant stakeholders’ perceptions in Alentejo, Portugal, and Empordà, Spain"
- "Immigrants’ Integration Challenges and Sustainability in Stratford-upon-Avon: Perceptions and Experiences from a ‘Global’ Small Town in Nationalistic Times"
- "War in the Feudal Zone: State Failure and the Abandonment of Anthropological Research in Mexico and Central America"
- "A sustainable touristic place in times of crisis? The case of Empuriabrava – a superdiverse Mediterranean resort"
- "The Impact of Researchers' Perceptions of Insecurity and Organized Crime on Fieldwork in Central America and Mexico"
- "The Queries to Google Search as Predictors of Migration Flows from Latin America to Spain"
- "Chinese immigrants in the Sagrada Familia neighbourhood of Barcelona, Spain: Their socio-economic viability and identity"
- "Inter-group perceptions and representations in Barcelona: A comparison of Poble Sec and Sagrada Familia neighborhoods"