Author: skat25
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SKAT New Books Q&A with Diana Graizbord, author of Indicators of Democracy
Interviewed by Jorge Ochoa on November 25, 2025 Diana Graizbord is an Associate Professor of Sociology and Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Georgia. Her first book, Indicators of Democracy: The Politics and Promise of Evaluation Expertise in Mexico, was published by Stanford University Press in 2024. Graizbord is currently a Visiting…
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Q&A with Ulises A. Mejias, co-author of Data Grab
Interviewed by Jeba Humayra Prithwi on October 30, 2025. Ulises A. Mejias is a professor in the Communication Studies department at SUNY Oswego and a recipient of the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship. His research interests include critical data studies, philosophy and sociology of technology, and political economy of digital media. He’s on…
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Meet our SKAT student members
Every year we publish profiles of some of our SKAT section student members to highlight some of the important work that they are doing. Below, see the bios of nine of our student members. If you see them at ASA and at the SKAT reception or business meeting, remember to say hi! Jeba Humayra (Ph.D.…
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50th Anniversary of STS at Vassar College
The STS program at Vassar College celebrated its 50th anniversary. To mark the occasion we organized a conference on “Science and the Culture Wars,” April 3-5, 2025 held at the Vassar Institute for the Liberal Arts. Naomi Oreskes gave the keynote address, the Pauline Newman ’47 Distinguished Lecture, “From Anti-Government to Anti-Science and Back Again”.…
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Computing, Co-Creation, and the Well-Informed Citizen
By Besnik Pula, Virginia Tech, bpula@vt.edu In its landmark 2021 report on AI ethics, UNESCO cautions that a “digital and civic literacy deficit” could deepen divides between those who understand and shape computing technologies and those who remain excluded. This concern goes beyond issues of device ownership or software familiarity. It reflects how citizens, policymakers,…
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Q&A with Lauren Olsen, author of Curricular Injustice
Interviewed by Hayden J. Fulton on February 28th, 2025 Lauren D. Olsen, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Temple University. She is the author of Curricular Injustice: How U.S. Medical Schools Reproduce Inequalities (Columbia University Press 2024). Hayden: To start off, I was wondering if you’d be able to speak to how you…
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Q&A with Ya-Wen Lei, author of The Gilded Cage
Interviewed by Jorge Ochoa on March 7, 2025 Ya-Wen Lei is Professor in the Department of Sociology at Harvard University, and is also affiliated with the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies and the Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. She is the author of The Gilded Cage: Techno-State Capitalism in China (Princeton University Press, 2003) and…
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Q&A with Andrew Lakoff, Author of Planning for the Wrong Pandemic
Interviewed by Molly Clark-Barol on December 2, 2024 Andrew Lakoff is Professor of Sociology and Anthropology at the University of Southern California. He is the author of Planning for the Wrong Pandemic: Covid-19 and the Limits of Expert Knowledge (Polity 2024). Molly: Thanks so much for chatting, Andy. I just wanted to let you know…
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9 Tips for Preparing Your ASA Submission
Prepared by Molly Clark-Barol and Larry Au Last month, we crowdsourced tips and advice from SKAT Section members on things to keep mind when preparing your ASA paper or extended abstract submission. We received a lot of helpful suggestions from the SKAT community. Here are some ideas that we gathered: Remember that submissions for ASA…
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Q&A with Natalie Aviles author of An Ungovernable Foe
Interviewed by Hayden Fulton on November 18th, 2024 Natalie B. Aviles is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Virginia. She is the author of An Ungovernable Foe: Science and Policy Innovation in the U.S. National Cancer Institute (Columbia University Press 2024). Hayden: Throughout the book, you make a strong mandate on why…