USC Department of Sociology - Graduate Students

Below is a list of our graduate students, including those who are on the market for a job!

Hatice Akca, BS Sociology, Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University, Istanbul, Turkey, 2005. Main interests are currently in Cultural Studies, Globalization, Political Sociology, Women Studies, and Religious Sociology. I specifically studied on Political Modernization of Turkey for my Dissertation. Email: haticeakca@gmail.com
Emily Arnold, BA, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, 2004. Emily's main interests in sociology center on inequality, migration, and status. Currently, Emily is examining the migration of illegal and legal workers between the United States and Mexico. Emily has prior work experience in social services with the Spanish speaking population. Email: EARNOLD1@sc.rr.com
Nick Berigan , M.A. Sociology, University of South Carolina 2008; B.S. Sociology, University of Iowa 2006. Nick's research interests are in social psychology, group processes, and mathematical sociology. More specifically, Nick is interested in distributive justice, collective action, and conflict resolution. His current research examines how conceptions of fairness emerge in mixed-motive settings. Email: berigan@mailbox.sc.edu
Tim Bertoni, BA History, USC 2002. Tim's current interests include historical-comparative sociology, structural sociology, and Ecological-Evolutionary Theory. He is preparing an MA thesis on obituary notices in newspapers using insights from evolutionary theory. Email: TJBERTONI@wmconnect.com
Matthew Alexhan Cazessus, BA Sociology and BS Psychology Stetson University2001. Matthew previously worked as a case manager and supervisor at Covenant House Florida, a crisis shelter for homeless and at-risk youth in Orlando, for four years. He is presently a first-year master’s student and research assistant. His sociological interests include crisis resolution, subculture identity and societal implications of new technology. Email: cazessus@yahoo.com
Yamilette Chacon, BA, Winthrop University, Rock Hill, South Carolina, Associate of Arts, Anthropology, El Camino College, Torrance, California. My interests in Race/ Ethnic/Minority Relations, Immigration, Stratification/mobility, Social Change, Religion, and Indigenous Peoples of Latin America. I have conducted anthropological fieldwork among the Cotacachi and Otavaleño Indians of Ecuador. Email: chacony@mailbox.sc.edu
Lisa Dilks, M.A., Sociology, University of Wyoming, 2007; B.A., Women's Studies & Sociology, University of Wyoming, 2003. Lisa's research interests center on social psychology, group processes, and law and society. Her current research involves testing economic theories of discrimination and small group theories of inequality. Other projects include work on justice and rational choice theory and crime deterrence. Email dilks@mailbox.sc.edu
April Dove, B.A., Sociology, University of South Carolina Upstate, 2005. April’s interests include social movements, social control, cultural and collective memory, and museum creation. Her most recent research has focused on the creation of southern civil rights museums during the 1990s. April is currently working on her Masters thesis, which focuses on the mobilization and surveillance strategies of two civilian border patrol groups operating on the US/Mexico border. Email: aldove1@yahoo.com
Tabitha Epperson, Tabitha Epperson, BA in history and political science, University of Southern Hattiesburg, Mississippi, 2006. Tabitha's main interests in sociology are family structure and sibling relationships. Currently, Tabitha is the graduate assistant for the Trio Program's Opportunity Scholars Program. Email: tdepperson@gmail.com
Lynn Frederick, BA Social Sciences/History, Chadron State College, 1974; MSW, University of Iowa, 1979. The Social Service field has been one of Lynn's major interest. She has written an article on the health impaired elderly project for the Southern Gerontologist Newsletter. Lynn was also a featured speaker at the Fourth National Forum on Research in Aging. Email: frederlm@mailbox.sc.edu
Eric Gladstone, BS Sociology, Grand Valley State University , 2007. Eric’s primary interests revolve around experimental social psychology and evolutionary sociology/psychology/anthropology. More specifically, Eric wishes to seek out the evolutionary and physiological mechanisms underlying social behavior. Behavioral phenomena of particular interest are: egoism and altruism, trust and distrust, religion, sexuality, collective action and aggression, computer simulations and complexity theory. Email: cyclicalreasoning@gmail.com
Ashley Harrell, BA Psychology, University of South Carolina 2008. Ashley's current interests include social psychology, particularly pro-social behavior and religion. Email: HARRELLA@mailbox.sc.edu
Samantha Hauptman, BSc, Jacksonville State University, Alabama, 1997, Master of Criminal Justice, University of South Carolina, 1999. During and after completing her MCJ, Samantha worked in administration at the South Carolina Department of Corrections for 6 years. Her sociological interests include criminal/social deviance, social control, immigration, and globalization. Samantha is presently teaching in a technical college. Email: SAMRICH@MYEXCEL.COM
Kathryn Dixon Jost, Master's in Taxation, 1996; MBA, 1981; BS Accounting & Finance, 1977 - University of South Carolina. Professional certifications: Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA). As a former investment professional, Kathryn is interested in how values related to money are transmitted within families at all income levels, how values about money support or displace pro-social behavior, and the most effective means of promoting responsible behavior regarding financial issues such as consumer credit and investing for retirement. Email: kathryn.jost@gmail.com
Colby King, BA WestminsterCollege, New Wilmington ,PA, 2007. Colby completed an Honors project at WestminsterCollegetitled, “Too Much Politics or Too Much Beer: Investigating Cultural Interaction in a Mixed American Indian and Caucasian Community,” in which he used interviews and participant observation to further develop models of cultural interaction. His interests include qualitative methods, cultural interaction and assimilation, urban sociology, subcultures, and deviance. Email: kingcr@mailbox.sc.edu.
Naomi Kolberg, B.A., Sociology, Bloomsburg University, Bloomsburg, PA 2004. Interests include aspects of social psychology, stratification and inequality, and sociology of religion. Naomi is currently an assistant of Dr. Higgins. Email: kolberg@mailbox.sc.edu
Peter Lawrence, BA in Sociology, Minor in Psychology, University of South Carolina. My main interests are in experimental social psychology with an emphasis on prosocial and altruistic behavior. I was a Chef for 20 years, before returning to college, cooking in large 5 star hotels across the country. I intend to pursue my PhD in sociology. Email: lawrencp@mailbox.sc.edu
Danielle Lewis, BA Psychology with a minor in Sociology, University of South Carolina with Honors from the South Carolina Honors College, Columbia, South Carolina, 2006. My main area of interest is prosocial behavior. I am currently a research and teaching assistant for David Willer. Email: Mullett02@aol.com
Marecus Matthews, B.A. Sociology, University of South Carolina. Marecus's main interests include: College-educated African Americans' perceptions of race effects on life outcomes; Hip Hop music and culture as a tool for upward social mobility; Structural and psychological barriers to productive Black Fatherhood; The effects of Misogynistic views of women in hip hop music; The effects of living in public housing; and, African Americans and Sociological reasoning for conversions to Islam. Email: mbm_kos@hotmail.com
Shannon McDonough, BA, Miami University, Ohio, 2003. Shannon's interests include social stratification, race/ethnicity, and gender. Currently, Shannon is investigating the perpetuation of racial stereotypes in advertisements. Email: Smcdonough1@sc.rr.com
Tucker McGrimmon, BSc Economics, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK, Tucker's main interests in sociology center on experimental social psychology, game theory, and mathematical sociology. Tucker is currently investigating social learning and public information, games played on random graphs, network externalities, games of status, and the link between sociological and economic approaches to terrorism via evolutionary approaches. Email: mcgrimmo@mailbox.sc.edu
Jennifer McLeer, B.A. Psychology and Religious Studies, Manhattan College, 2007. Jennifer's main interests are in social psychology, sociology of religion and evolutionary psychology. More specifically, this includes altruism, morality, punishment and secularization. Jennifer is concurrently pursuing her M.A. in Religious Studies on a thesis exploring supernatural punishment in relation to the second order collective action problem. Email: jmcmac205@gmail.com
Alison McLetchie, B.Sc. Psychology (2000),South CarolinaStateUniversity ; M.A. Anthropology and Certificate in Museum Management (2003), University of South Carolina.M.A. thesis: "Incidents of Douglarization: The Worship of la Divina Pastora in Trinidad ." My major interests remain in the areas of ethnicity, race and identity formation in Trinidad and Tobago (and the wider Caribbean ); religion; calypso and Creolization. Email: amcletchie@msn.com
Kerry Mcloughlin, BS Sociology and Criminology, Barry University, 1997; MA Sociology, University of South Carolina, 1999. Kerry’s interests in sociology center around education, social theory, family, social stratification, and ethnic / race relations. Written work includes “Assimilation, Cultural Pluralism and Multiculturalism: Searching for Democratic Social Order.” Email: KMCLOUG@HOTMAIL.COM
Mary F. McKenzie, M.S. North Carolina State University. Research interests include criminology, deviance, and family sociology. Mary is also a Lecturer in Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Email: mfmck@attglobal.net
Dayang Suria Muliah, MA, Wichita State University, Kansas. My main interests in Sociology center on gender, women's studies, and immigrations. I also have prior work experience at the University Malaysia Sabah (Malaysia). Email: yahmulia@yahoo.com
Joseph Park, B.A. Sociology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, 2006. Joseph's interests in sociology center around deviance, networks, and power structures. Email: joep3000@gmail.com
Darwin Ramsey-Tamar. Darwin is currently serving as a fulltime temporary Sociology Instructor at Winthrop University. She is teaching Corrections, Criminology, Introduction to Archaeology, Principles of Sociology, and Archaeological Field Methods. Email: ramseyd@winthrop.edu
Ryan Reynolds, BA Sociology, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina, 2006. Ryan's main interests in sociology are the study of science, religion, stratification, game theory, and social interactions in general. He is currently working with Dr. Nolan. Email: Reynoljr@mailbox.sc.edu
Chris Robinson, Masters of Divinity, Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, VA; Bachelors degree, Anderson College in Anderson, Indiana. Chris served as a part-time youth pastor at Forest Lake Presbyterian Church in Columbia and is presently an ordained minister. His interest include the way in which today’s culture has impacted family life. Email: crobinson@signalpres.org
Alex Rose, BA (Honors) University of South Carolina. He wrote an Honors Thesis on the standing of the legal profession, which greatly influenced his decision not to go to law school and attend graduate school instead. He is interested in sociology of law, social control, and theory. Email: ROSEAS@mailbox.sc.edu
Stefanie Schwartzkopf, BA, Augusta State University , 2005. My main interests include race and gender inequality, immigration, and education. Being a native of Germany, I hope to tie my German history into my studies somehow as well. Email: Stef1916@yahoo.com
Hyo-Hwan Song, BA and MA, Chonbuk National University, South Korea, 1986 and 1992, MA, University of South Carolina, 2000. I'm interested in social policy, political economy, and historical sociology. Currently I'm working on the relationship between the state and civil society focusing on the health reform policy in South Korea. Email: HSONG12@MAILBOX.SC.EDU
Mike Steketee, BS Sociology, Grand Valley State University, Michigan, 2005. Main interests are currently in Social Psychology, Globalization, Social Networks, and Economic Sociology. I am currently working on my MA thesis and other projects including: globalization as evidenced by global trade networks, emotions and social dilemmas, and social identity and Scientology. Email: Steketee@mailbox.sc.edu
William Tinney, Jr. A.S. (Criminal Justice, 1993), B.A. (Sociology, 1996), University of South Carolina-Aiken; M.A. (Sociology, 1999), State University of West Georgia. Ph.D. Candidate (A.B.D.), University of South Carolina. Will's main interests in sociology center on social demography, deviance and social control. Will is currently an assistant professor at Black Hills State University in South Dakota. Email: paladin72@aol.com
Jennifer Triplett, BA, Oglethorpe University, Georgia, 2004. Jennifer's main sociological interests involve various aspects of social psychology, race and ethnicity, gender studies, class inequality, and children's and family studies. She is currently assisting in bargaining and negotiation research. Email: jennylynntriplett@hotmail.com
Leia Velasquez, BA Psychology and Sociology, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 2004. Her research interests include social psychology, group process, and collective action. E-mail: velasqul@mailbox.sc.edu
Ying Yang, Doctoral Candidate. Ying's main interests are immigration, urban inequality, and economic sociology. Currently, she is working on her dissertation about wealth inequality between immigrants and natives in US. Email: YANG52@MAILBOX.SC.EDU
Qian Zhang, BA Sociology at Huazhong Normal University, China , 2004; MA Sociology at Wuhan University ,China, 2004. My main interests are social stratification, family research and social Psychology. Currently, I am working as a graduate assistant for Dr. Stepanikova to do research about the effect of Patient-Physician encounter. Email: zhqwind@gmail.com