Sociology of Education Brown Bag Series Sociology of Education Brown Bag Series, University at Buffalo, Fall 2005- Spring 2006
Sociology of Education Brown Bag Series Introduction "Education" takes place both in and outside of school. Young people and adults alike are increasingly working across different learning sites and settings (e.g., schools, colleges/universities, community centers, churches, and the work place) and engaging with many different kinds of technologies (e.g., the Internet) and texts (e.g., popular culture) in their daily lives. Moreover, they are doing so in a world that is rapidly changing socially, economically, culturally and technologically. Indeed, schools themselves have become complex spaces, where new kinds of class positions and identities are both reproduced and reinvented. The relationship between "school" and "society" has thus become increasingly difficult to predict a priori, making the "sociology of education" a particularly exciting area in which to work. With an eye towards untangling such complicated issues, the Brown Bag series in Sociology of Education brings in speakers from diverse backgrounds all across the United States and around the world. The Brown Bag series is an integral part of the concentration and simultaneously serves a broader audience, making it a unique space in which students and faulty discuss cutting edge issues related to education. We hold several brown bag sessions each year, which highlight nationally and internationally known scholars. Sociology of Education Brown Bag Series, University at Buffalo, Fall 2005- Spring 2006
Sociology of Education Brown Bag Series Core Faculty Members Lois Weis Greg Dimitriadis Contact: Lois Weis: weis@buffalo.edu Greg Dimitriadis: gjd3@buffalo.edu Website: http://www.gse.buffalo.edu/programs/elp/social_foundations/soe.asp Sociology of Education Brown Bag Series, University at Buffalo, Fall 2005- Spring 2006
Sociology of Education Brown Bag Series Events Index (Fall 2005 - Spring 2006) Critical Ethnography and Racial Identity: Methodological Issues Greg Dimitriadis, et. al 2 Getting the Dissertation done without going Crazy: Tips from Relatively Recent PhD Students Lois Weis et. al 2 Turning the Dissertation into a Book Length Manuscript: Some Hints from Successful Former Students Lois Weis, et. al 3 Toward a Pedagogy of Cultural Reciprocity: Rethinking Literacy, Power, and Minority Education in a New Socio-economic Context Guofang Li 3 Current Trends in Foundation Funding Michael McPherson 4 Sociology of Education Brown Bag Series, University at Buffalo, Fall 2005- Spring 2006 1
Presentation by Greg Dimitriadis, et. al, University at Buffalo Time: Noon 1:00 pm, Tuesday, October 12, 2005 Place: 474 Baldy Hall, University at Buffalo Speaker: Chaired by Greg Dimitriadis, Associate Professor, UB Graduate School of Education, and Robert Stevenson, Associate Professor, UB Graduate School of Education; David Cantaffa, Ph.D. candidate, UB Graduate School of Education (Topic: Considering race in an ethnographic study of youth participating in a gay and lesbian community youth center); Carrie Freie, Ph.D., UB Graduate School of Education (Topic: Class construction: White working-class student identity in the new Millennium); Michelle Meyers, Ph.D. candidate, UB Graduate School of Education (Topic: Suburbia in black and white: Methodological issues and tensions) Critical Ethnography and Racial Identity: Methodological Issues This panel focuses broadly on the theory and practice of critical, participatory ethnography today. The panelists discuss key tensions and complexities in navigating researcher-researched relations, particularly around questions of race. They also draw exemplars from recently completed and ongoing fieldwork. Presentation by Lois Weis et. al, University at Buffalo Time: Noon 1pm, Wednesday, November 30, 2005 Speaker: Chaired by Lois Weis, Professor, Graduate School of Education, UB; Tina Wagle, Ph.D., Mentor, Center for Graduate Programs, Empire State College, State University of New York, Buffalo; Craig Centrie, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Adult and Graduate Education, Medaille College, Buffalo; Karyn St. George, Ph.D., Assistant Administrative Director, Honors Program, UB Getting the Dissertation done without going Crazy: Tips from Relatively Recent PhD Students This panel focuses on key "speed bumps" associated with completion of the dissertation. Panelists share personal experiences with respect to dealing with this challenging phase of graduate school and offer tips and suggestions for those who are entering and/or living through this phase of their work. Sociology of Education Brown Bag Series, University at Buffalo, Fall 2005- Spring 2006 2
Presentation by Lois Weis, et. al, University at Buffalo Time: Noon 1pm, Wednesday, February 1, 2006 Speaker: Chaired by Lois Weis, Professor, Graduate School of Education, UB; Craig Centrie, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Adult and Graduate Education, Medaille College, Buffalo; Carrie Freie, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Education Department, D'Youville College, Buffalo Turning the Dissertation into a Book Length Manuscript: Some Hints from Successful Former Students This panel focuses on key issues and processes associated with publishing a book off one's Ph.D. dissertation. Panelists share personal experiences with respect to this process, including stumbling blocks. Presentation by Guofang Li, University at Buffalo Time: Noon - 1:00pm, Wednesday, February 15, 2006 Speaker: Dr. Guofang Li, Assistant Professor, Department of Learning and Instruction, The State University of New York at Buffalo Toward a Pedagogy of Cultural Reciprocity: Rethinking Literacy, Power, and Minority Education in a New Socio-economic Context In this presentation, Dr. Li critically examines the challenges of second language and literacy education in an increasingly complex educational landscape in which literacy, culture, race, and social class intertwine. Drawing on an ethnographic study conducted in Canada, Dr. Li uncovers disturbing cultural conflicts, educational dissensions, and "silent" power struggle between mainstream schools and immigrant families. Advocating for a greater cultural understanding of minority literacy beliefs and a more critical examination of mainstream instructional practices, Dr. Li offers a new theoretical framework for minority education that emphasizes a reciprocal relationship between school and home. Sociology of Education Brown Bag Series, University at Buffalo, Fall 2005- Spring 2006 3
(This presentation is co-sponsored by Asian American Model Minority Myth Research Group.) Presentation by Michael McPherson, Spencer Foundation Time: 11:15 12:15 pm, Friday, April 21, 2006 Speaker: Dr. Michael McPherson, President, The Spencer Foundation Current Trends in Foundation Funding Michael McPherson has been president of the Spencer Foundation since 2003. The Spencer Foundation was established in 1962 by Lyle M. Spencer and began formal grant making in 1971. Since that time, it has made grants totaling approximately $250 million. The foundation primarily funds individual investigators to pursue important research projects of their choice regarding educational issues. A nationally known economist whose expertise focuses on the interplay between education and economics, McPherson was previously president of Macalester College (1996-2003) and spent the 22 years prior to assuming the Macalester presidency as professor of economics, chairman of the economics department, and dean of faculty at Williams College. He serves as a trustee of the College Board and the American Council on Education. He was a Fellow of the Institute for Advanced Study and a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. (The is a joint Brown Bag with the Center for Comparative and Global Studies in Education, University at Buffalo) Sociology of Education Brown Bag Series, University at Buffalo, Fall 2005- Spring 2006 4