Sociology

Sonic Icons: Religion, Ethnicity, and Genocide’s Afterlives in a Syriac Christian World

Presented by the Department of Sociology & Sexuality Studies

A talk by Lecturer of Sociology Sarah Bakker Kellogg about her forthcoming book:

In “Sonic Icons: Kinship, Christianity, and the Ethics of Recognition in a Syriac World” (Fordham University Press forthcoming), Sarah Bakker Kellogg uses the tools of multisensory ethnography to track a diasporic network of Syriac Orthodox Christians — also known as Assyrians, Aramaeans and Syriacs — in the Netherlands who intertwine religious practice with political activism to “save” Syriac Christianity from the twin threats of political violence in the Middle East and cultural assimilation in Europe. Coming of age in a historical moment when much of their tradition has been destroyed or forgotten by war, dispossession, displacement and genocide — their story of self-discovery is a story of survival, revival and reinvention. This book rethinks foundational theoretical accounts of ethnicization, racialization and secularization by examining how kinship gets made, claimed and named in the global politics of minority recognition.

Coming from Fordham University Press, Fall 2024

Email sociol@sfsu.edu for Zoom link if unable to join in person

New faculty members break barriers around education

San Francisco State University is committed to ensuring its campus is a place of inclusion, and its faculty and students continue to make sense of the world through racial justice. In the College of Health & Social Sciences, new tenure-track faculty members are breaking through barriers and appreciating the home that SF State has become for so many.

Asked why he chose SF State, Assistant Professor of Child & Adolescent Development Miguel Abad says, “San Francisco State University signifies access to higher education to young people who don't have that opportunity, have been pushed out of school, been written off, or have been told that higher education is not something they could strive to get into. San Francisco State has been that place to take in young people who aren't the traditional college-going story.”

Abad is a youth worker with more than a decade of experience collaborating with community-based and nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area in numerous fields, such as college access, career development, arts education and social movement organizing.

Angela Fillingim, a new assistant professor in the Department of Sociology & Sexuality Studies, says, “Relevant education permeates the entire school culture, not just in ethnic studies — which is the heartbeat that's embraced across the campus, but with a variety of different people with varying majors, and they all still feel that sense of community.”

A Salvadoran American sociologist, Fillingim centers her teaching and research center on social justice approaches to studies of race, human rights, social theory and Latinas/xs/os.

"When I dare to be powerful — to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid." — Audre Lorde

When discussing the theme of “When I Dare to Be Powerful,” based on the above Audre Lorde quote, both faculty members have similar experiences of pressure to conform to rigid ideas of what it means to be successful as an academic and how they put in the work to get away from finding validation in dominant norms.

Abad and Fillingim agree that daring to be powerful includes focusing on how to contribute to our community and the people they try to advocate for. Abad states, “It takes a lot of intention and awareness of the spaces you are moving in and a lot of self-reflection as to why you are doing something and who you are accountable for.”

Fillingim highlighted that after leaving graduate school, students learn to ask questions that call attention to the problems they face in the communities they come from. She says that power means “you must learn to be comfortable flipping the script and being at an institution where that is valued, centered in the students, and having a space that also values that work.”

Reflecting on how they face issues of diversity, equity and inclusion in their own lives, Abad and Fillingim say their experiences make them consider their own encumbrances to the struggles others may experience. They recognize in their own lives that to overcome these hindrances, they must aim to be grounded in a community where they work to support and acknowledge each other.

“Justice will look different for everybody, but the point is that you are working together to change something, and we can agree that change needs to happen,” Fillingim says.

The two new faculty members emphasize the role of education in breaking barriers. Fillingim reflects on her experiences in the K-12 system that focuses on discipline and obedience instead of encouraging students to develop themselves. She can see this repetition with high schoolers she works with; many students come in with that socialization. “Focusing on education that is dedicated to understanding its students and making education meaningful to their daily lives, who they want to be as a person, and the choices they make —that is the kind of education that is revolutionary and necessary,” she says.

Abad touches on this topic with the classes he teaches, such as having his students read about Native American boarding schools and asking them to reflect on themselves and learn about or challenge their assumptions that education is always a good thing.

When working with students, whether in a college class or a community-based space, Abad tries to focus on promoting collaboration and teamwork. He is struck by students’ adverse reaction to teamwork. He says, “Not only in school but in society [students] are taught, or they come to learn that collaboration is this thing that is too hard and it holds them back as individuals or that it is this negative thing.”

“Education is a vehicle for delivering particular values, and the kinds of values I and others hope to deliver are those focused on radical transformation and social justice,” Abad says.

He recognizes the slow work of helping his students see how they are more powerful together, and how the changes they want to see in themselves and their world will only happen if they work together and express similar values.

Fillingim shares similar values about work needing to be put into the K-12 system. “There hasn't been significant change despite all this work that has been done… there needs to be thinking of education as relevant, grounded in community, grounded in self-actualization,” she says.

Fillingim and Abad both express hope that education centered on self-actualization is possible, and that through the continuous challenges we face, people are working to push through and advocate for social justice-grounded change within education.

Department of Sociology & Sexuality Studies names undergraduate lounge in student’s memory

The Department of Sociology & Sexuality Studies held a ceremony on May 1 to name its new undergraduate student lounge in HSS 375 in memory of student Briana Fernandez Diaz, who died in September 2022. Members of her family were present for the dedication.

The event flyer stated, “We will gather to name the Sociology Lounge in honor of Briana, who embodied the true spirit of community and scholarship. We hope that students, faculty and staff continue to be inspired by her work and commitment to social justice.”

In Spring 2022, the department nominated Diaz for the University Hood undergraduate award, which celebrates top students’ academic excellence and special achievement. Sadly, the nomination coincided with Diaz’s diagnosis of myeloid sarcoma leukemia, a rare form of cancer.

Diaz was the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first-generation Chicana-Latina scholar in both the Sociology and Race and Resistance Studies programs. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology in May 2022. Throughout her time at SF State, she experienced many hardships while, at the same time, excelling in her education and professional career, maintaining a 3.98 GPA and making the Dean's List during her four years on campus. Faculty members who knew her agree that she was an intellectual light and strong voice in their classes. In Sociology, she served as a teaching assistant, supporting her peers and starting to explore her love of teaching.

Diaz was selfless with her academic colleagues and  also served the public in different capacities. She brought a much-needed sociological lens to the Human Rights Commission of San Francisco when selected as a Willie L. Brown, Jr. Fellow. During her time there, she worked on numerous initiatives, campaigns and policies, such as the Dream Keeper Initiative, the Campaign for Solidarity, Equity Studies Task Force and diversifying the SFUSD literature to expand inclusive and cultural texts. Diaz used her educational experience to work on political congressional campaigns, talking to community members about the importance of their vote through canvassing and phone-banking. She worked on amplifying the voice of underrepresented communities and was a fierce advocate of young people, as evidenced by her contributions to the opening of integrated youth mental health facilities across California.

“We are honored to have worked with Briana and witness her passion. The Department of Sociology and Sexuality Studies, San Francisco State University and San Francisco more broadly have lost a smart, bright and gentle light. We dedicate this student lounge in her name and in her legacy in hopes that the conversations, ideas and projects of the next generation of students in this space continue the bright light that Briana shone in her short time here.”

—Department of Sociology & Sexuality Studies

Drag Bans?

Two weeks ago, Tennessee passed a new state law that limits drag shows. Similar bills are pending in at least fourteen states and more are likely to come. In this talk, Professor Clare Sears will discuss the history behind these laws, connecting them to anti-cross-dressing laws from the nineteenth century, and exploring ways that similar laws might be challenged today.

Clare Sears is an associate professor of Sociology & Sexuality Studies at San Francisco State University. They are author of the book, “Arresting Dress: Cross Dressing, Law, and Fascination in Nineteenth-Century San Francisco” (Duke University Press, 2014).

Drag Bans event flyer

Marx in Texas: Capitalism, Racism and the Rise of the American West

Presented by the Department of Sociology & Sexuality Studies

A Talk by Ryan Moore, Ph.D.

What if Karl Marx had emigrated to Texas in 1845, on the eve of a war against Mexico fueled by an ideology of Manifest Destiny? What if he had joined the other émigré veterans of 1848 in agitating against slavery, electing Abraham Lincoln, and fighting the Civil War? What if he had then witnessed the rollback of Reconstruction, the triumph of industrial capital and the crushing of the labor movement in 1877?

Join us to speculate about what the founder of modern communism might have said if he had found himself on the frontier during the most pivotal period in U.S. history.

Thumbnail of Moore lecture flyer

Panel Discussion: Smithsonian Anthology of Hip Hop and Rap

Join the authors of the “Smithsonian Anthology of Hip Hop and Rap” for a panel discussion on their new project.

Panel:

  • Dawn-Elissa Fischer, Associate Professor of Anthropology
  • Andreana Clay, Professor and Chair of Sociology & Sexuality Studies
  • Dave Cook aka Davey D, Lecturer, Africana Studies

RSVP for panel discussion

If you require accommodations for this event, please email bucketmanyweather@sfsu.edu as soon as possible so your request may be reviewed.

Presented by SF State Black Unity Center

Hip Hop panel discussion flyer

Introducing the new faculty 2022-2023

The College of Health & Social Sciences welcomes four new faculty members this year:

Miguel Abad

Assistant Professor, Department of Child & Adolescent Development

Miguel Abad

Miguel Abad (pronouns: he/they) is a youth worker with more than a decade of experience collaborating with community-based and nonprofit organizations in the Bay Area in numerous fields such as college access, career development, arts education and social movement organizing. As a youth studies researcher, Abad’s scholarly work touches upon race and social justice, out of school time education, youth development, youth activism, and participatory action research.

Angela Fillingim

Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology & Sexuality Studies

Angela Fillingim

Angela Fillingim is a Salvadoran American sociologist. She received her Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and was a Chancellor's Post-Doctoral Fellow at UC Irvine. Prior to coming to SF State, she was the co-director of the Education and Social Justice Program and faculty in the interdisciplinary college at Western Washington University. Her teaching and research center social justice approaches to studies of race, human rights, social theory and Latinas/xs/os.

Cynthia Martinez

Assistant Professor, Department of Counseling

Cynthia Martinez

Cynthia Martinez’s scholarship interests lie in participant action research and include working with BIPOC families to create non-traditional therapeutic wellness groups. Martinez is also interested in studying trauma-informed, anti-racist advocacy and radical self-care for practitioners experiencing collective trauma. Her pedagogical frameworks include, community organizing, popular education, trauma-informed clinical supports, decolonizing critical praxis and antiracist advocacy. As a psychologist, her clinical training and expertise is in complex trauma and narrative and social justice postmodern theories. Prior to graduate school, she worked as an immigrant rights activist and obtained extensive experience in grassroots community organizing. Born and raised in San Francisco’s Mission District, Martinez is a proud child of immigrants from Guatemala and a first-generation college and graduate student.

Soyhela Mohammadigorgi

Assistant Professor, Family, Interiors, Nutrition & Apparel Department

Soheyla Mohammadigorgi

Soheyla Mohammadigorgi received her bachelor’s in Industrial Design from the University of Tehran, her first master’s in Industrial Design from Amir Kabir University of Technology (Tehran Polytechnic), her second master’s from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and her Ph.D. from the University of Florida, majoring in Design, Construction and Planning with a concentration in Interior Design. Before joining SF State, she worked as a research assistant professor at Clemson University. Her research focuses on improving health care security through space planning and design.

SF State Magazine Spotlights J Patterson as ‘Changemaker’

The Spring/Summer issue of SF State Magazine includes a “Changemaker” profile of alum J Patterson, who received the California State University Trustees’ Award for Outstanding Achievement.

Patterson, who has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from SF State and returned to the University last fall to earn a master’s degree in Social Work, says one of her dreams is to become a Bay Area social worker and provide youth services. Drawing from her experience growing up, Patterson made it her mission to work on issues around intersectionality to improve the quality of life for young people.

Read story in SF State Magazine

Grad student receives top CSU award, says it opens new doors to give back

J Patterson says award will help her continue transforming lives through social work

San Francisco State University graduate student J Patterson says that during her youth, she didn’t think college was in her future. There were many obstacles — including her struggle to come to terms with her identity as a queer, transgender person — that led to mental health issues and addiction.

Patterson eventually left the area where she grew up, Del Norte County in Northern California, but returned in 2013 with a goal. “I reconnected with my community to help build the support system I wished I had had as a young, queer trans person growing up,” she said. After founding Gender Talk, a youth-centered LGBTQ and gender justice community group, she discovered a passion for social work that inspired her to rethink her future.

Fast forward to today, and higher education is very much part of Patterson’s life: This semester she received the prestigious California State University Trustee Award for Outstanding Achievement, recognizing her commitment to giving back and the challenges she’s overcome. The annual award is the CSU’s highest recognition of student achievement for those who demonstrate superior academic performance and personal accomplishments.

“This award is so much more than just a lump sum of money. It means doors opening that I dreamed of,” Patterson said. “The contributions don’t stop here because everything I’ve done is to give back to others in some way. It is such a beautiful act to give.”

Patterson, who has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from San Francisco State and returned to the University this fall to earn a master’s degree in Social Work, says one of those dreams is to become a Bay Area social worker and provide youth services. Drawing from her experience growing up, Patterson made it her mission to work on issues around intersectionality to improve the quality of life for young people.

Another dream she has is to continue advocating for prison abolition and liberation, specifically for trans and gender nonconforming people in the school-to-prison pipeline. Patterson says the scholarship will help bring these dreams to life.

​​​​​​​Every year, the CSU honors 23 students, one from each CSU campus, with the Trustees’ Awards. Awardees have all demonstrated inspirational resolve along the path to college success, and many are the first in their families to attend college — just like Patterson.

“These 23 scholars wonderfully exemplify the ideals of the California State University,” CSU Chancellor Joseph I. Castro said. “Every year, and especially this year, our Trustees’ Award honorees demonstrate resilience, tenacity and resolve — together with a keen intellect — while making an indelible, positive impact on their families and their communities. They are truly an inspiration.”

Francisco-Menchavez receives Fulbright Award to conduct research in the Philippines

Project will examine post-COVID 19 migrations among Filipino care workers

San Francisco State University Associate Professor of Sociology Valerie Francisco-Menchavez received a Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program award for a project titled “Migrant Care Workers and Multinational Migrations in the COVID-19 Global Context,” which considers how multinational migration strategies might shift in response to the demand for care workers globally and the restrictions that arise from the pandemic. During the Spring 2022 semester, Francisco-Menchavez will examine the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on migration aspirations for Filipinos in the Visayas region of the Philippines. Her work will be based out of the University of San Carlos in Cebu.

The Fulbright project builds on Francisco-Menchavez’s previous research, including her award-winning 2018 book “The Labor of Care,” in which she explored how migration shapes the lives of Filipina migrants in the U.S. and their families in the Philippines. Her current research has focused on Filipino migrants working as caregivers in the Bay Area during the COVID-19 pandemic.

“My past research program is concerned about similar topics but has dealt with the matter after Filipinos have arrived to the U.S.,” Francisco-Menchavez said. “This study proposes to examine the various processes and institutions Filipinos interact with before they migrate, to consider how these factors shape their migratory journeys, especially within the conditions of a pandemic that is demanding their labor globally.”

While most migration research in the Philippines has focused on urban centers such as Metro-Manila, Francisco-Menchavez will conduct her research from Cebu City to explore the types of labor migration patterns that emerge from the Visayas, a region that is an emerging migration hub. She will study how mechanisms and processes of pre-migration decision-making and multinational migrations are made among Visayan families with overseas worker migration histories and in response to the global pandemic.

“In the United States, one out of four Filipinos work in the health care industry as nurses, caregivers to the elderly, and personal attendants. The unprecedented global pandemic will undoubtedly call on more Filipino migrants in the care industry all over the world.”

As she did in her earlier ethnographic study of Filipino transnational life, Francisco-Menchavez will use qualitative research methods including participant observation, interviews and what she calls “kuwentuhan,” a type of focus group that revolves around a Filipino cultural practice of exchanging important details through talk-story.

“The global COVID-19 pandemic has reorganized public health, care work and health services,” Francisco-Menchavez said. “Filipino care workers have been lauded as global essential workers while statistics show an unprecedented rate in deaths because of their work on the frontlines. In the United States, one out of four Filipinos work in the health care industry as nurses, caregivers to the elderly, and personal attendants. The unprecedented global pandemic will undoubtedly call on more Filipino migrants in the care industry all over the world. And while Filipino care workers have been a historic, formidable migratory population, the aftermath of the pandemic will surely reorganize their lives, as well.”

The Fulbright Program is the flagship international educational exchange program sponsored by the U.S. government. It is designed to forge lasting connections between the people of the United States and the people of other countries, counter misunderstandings and help people and nations work together toward common goals.