Anthropology

The world’s biggest problems are global in nature. They affect everyone, but in different ways. To solve these kinds of problems, the world needs people who understand humanity in all its diversity, complexity, and potential. Since its establishment in 1925, the Discipline of Anthropology has maintained a reputation for its critical insights into the contemporary world, for the breadth and variety of our ethnographic research, and for our outstanding commitment to the training of postgraduate research students.

Our members and students use in-depth fieldwork and ethnographic description to capture the perspectives and experiences of people across a wide range of situations and communities in which people live today, from the global scale of transnational movements and organizations, to the rhythms of life in urban environments, rural landscapes, and nation states.

The Discipline seeks to represent the breadth and diversity of contemporary social and cultural anthropology today. We have long focused our research and teaching on the regions of Oceania, Indigenous Australia, South-East Asia, and Latin America. We are continuously deepening and expanding our ethnographic and theoretical inquiries within and beyond these geographical settings.

Students in anthropology encounter and learn to analyze the influence of culture and the unseen dimensions of social life through the comparative study of different societies and situations. Topics investigated by our students include economic systems, gender and sexuality, experiences of illness and healing, the nature of racial and ethnic identities, questions of poverty and development, environmental and social justice struggles, and the local and global effects of climate change.

Undergraduate 

  • Anthropology major *
  • Anthropology minor *
  • Anthropology (Honours)

*Available to all students studying the  Bachelor of Arts ,  Bachelor of Economics  and  Bachelor of Visual Arts , as well as all combined  Bachelor of Advanced Studies  degrees.  

We offer three research degrees in Anthropology and you will need to have a substantial background in this area to be eligible to enrol. 

  • Doctor of Philosophy (Arts and Social Sciences)   
  • Master of Philosophy   
  • Master of Arts (Research)    

Development Studies

As a part of the Masters of Social Justice, students grapple with the challenges of achieving sustainable human development on local, national, and global scales. This concentration brings the unique perspective of anthropology and its methodologies to bear on practical problems and the policies and programs that address them.

Postgraduate 

  • Master of Social Justice (Development Studies )
  • Graduate Diploma in Social Justice (Development Studies)
  • Graduate Certificate in Social Justice 

Our research

Our members and students study questions and carry out research that connects with one or more of these major themes in anthropology:

Imagination and human realities

Diversity is the defining characteristic of humanity. Each society creates its own alternative way of living and being in the world as an expression of its unique values. How we each do this, and how and why a society is able to sustain its own way of life, is examined both through sustained ethnographic research and through dialogue with many other social science and humanities disciplines, including history, philosophy, political theory, critical race studies, and Indigenous studies. Our theories of culture, mind, and experience and our methodological frameworks of relativism and interpretivism serve as foundations for research in our other themes.

Humans and the environment

For generations, anthropologists have studied the ways humans live with and transform the environment. Today, anthropologists increasingly center their inquiries on the roots and effects of human industrial activity on the planet, in an epoch known as the “Anthropocene.” Our research continues the discipline’s historical focus on the impact of environmental change on small-scale, marginalised and rural communities around the world, and also explores the larger transnational dynamics of environmental degradation and activist movements. We seek to understand the perspectives and experiences of actors involved in industrial processes, as well as the people, politics, laws, social movements and more-than-human discourses that produce and challenge the Anthropocene.

Value and power

How are capitalism, socialism, and democracy reproduced, experienced and contested in the household, the school, the factory, the office, the prison, the rural village, the urban slum or the street? When these ideas enter into settings like these, they often encounter alternatives, and the encounter itself also gives rise to new possibilities. The ethnographic study of systems of value, forms of power, and structures of domination reveals capacities for continuity and transformation. By focusing on the small things, anthropology reveals how big things not only grow, but how they decline and how, amidst it all, humans and their relationships prevail and form the bedrock of any social system.

Health, embodiment and wellbeing

Wellbeing embodies physical, mental, and emotional health, as well as the pursuit of a meaningful and happy life. However, healthcare around the world continues to face challenges such as ageing populations, rising chronic diseases, emerging infectious diseases, and growing health inequality.

Our members are interested in how human beings understand themselves and others as embodied, gendered beings, who are born, get sick, and die. We explore these questions through research on infant and maternal health, indigenous disadvantage, childhood development, poverty and malnutrition and the cultures of death, dying and mortuary rituals in Southeast Asia, Melanesia and Indigenous Australia. We conduct leading research on critical health issues contributing new perspectives to multidisciplinary research and to local and global health policies.

Academic staff

  • Professor Warwick Anderson
  • Dr Luis Angosto Ferrandez
  • Dr Sophie Chao
  • Dr Anjalee Cohen
  • Dr James Dunk
  • Dr Michael Edwards
  • Dr Cate Massola
  • Dr Robert Peters
  • Dr Ryan Schram
  • Dr Shiori Shakuto

Honorary Associates

  • Emeritus Professor Diane Austin-Broos
  • Emeritus Professor Linda Connor
  • Honorary Professor  Gillian Cowlishaw
  • Honorary Senior Lecturer Dr Cynthia Hunter
  • Honorary Senior Lecturer Dr Neil Maclean
  • Honorary Senior Lecturer Jadran Mimica

In memoriam

Honorary Senior Lecturer  Gaynor Macdonald

For a full listing of our upcoming events, please visit the School's events calendar .

Seminar Series

We hold regular seminars on Thursdays for the general public, staff, students, visiting anthropologists and colleagues from related fields to exchange ideas and discuss new research. Join our mailing list for upcoming seminars and other events.

Master of Social Justice

Discipline chair, school of social and political sciences.

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Our journal

Our internationally renowned flagship journal

Featured news

Sydney anthropologist wins critical anthropology book award, tracking transnational plastic waste in southeast asia, fellowships create research and mentoring opportunities for first nations scholars, new scholarships to support anthropology students.

Students who plan on studying anthropology in 2023 at the postgraduate level, including both Master of Arts (Research) and PhD, have until 6 December, 2022 to apply for a Carlyle Greenwell postgraduate scholarship.

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Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Sociology, University of Sydney, Australia

Melbourne Research Fellowships in University of Melbourne, Australia

Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Sociology: The Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies (SCHS) is hiring a Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Level A) or Research Fellow (Level B) in Sociology for a full-time, fixed-term position of 2 years, with the possibility of extension. The role involves contributing to the ARC Discovery project: “The Social Life of Death,” focusing on experiences of death, dying, and bereavement amid rapid social, economic, and political transformation.

Designation:

  • Postdoctoral Research Fellow (Level A) or Research Fellow (Level B)

Research Area: Sociology

Location: Camperdown Campus, The University of Sydney

Eligibility/Qualification:

  • A Ph.D. in sociology, anthropology, humanities, social work, counseling, psychology, medicine, nursing, public health, science and technology studies, or a closely related discipline.
  • Advanced qualitative research methods skills and experience.
  • Project management experience.
  • Skills and experience in working with qualitative data.
  • Demonstrated capacity for engagement with social science/sociological concepts and theory.

Job Description:

Postdoctoral Research Fellow or Research Fellow in Sociology

The successful candidate will work on the ARC Discovery Project, conducting qualitative fieldwork, leading data analysis, co-publishing academic papers, and contributing to the vision of the Sydney Centre for Healthy Societies. The SCHS is a Flagship Centre for the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, focusing on various spheres of health and wellbeing. The School of Social and Political Sciences at The University of Sydney is a leading social science environment.

How to Apply: Applications, including a cover letter, CV, and additional supporting documentation, can be submitted via the Apply button. For University employees or contingent workers, login to your Workday account and navigate to the Career icon. For inquiries or reasonable adjustments, contact Lena Jiang at [email protected] .

Applications Close – Thursday 01 February 2024 11:59 PM

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Disclaimer: This job post is sourced from a reliable channel. Applicants are advised to verify details from The University of Sydney’s official website for the most accurate and up-to-date information. The details, including application deadlines and requirements, may be subject to change, and the official website will provide the latest information.

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  • Bachelor of Visual Arts, Bachelor of Visual Arts/Bachelor of Advanced Studies
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  • American Studies
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Unit outlines will be available through Find a unit outline two weeks before the first day of teaching for 1000-level and 5000-level units, or one week before the first day of teaching for all other units.  

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Sociology & anthropology

Sociology & anthropology

Connect lived experience to broad social issues

Studying sociology and anthropology at UNSW develops your capacity to connect lived experience with broad societal issues. Renowned as the first sociology program in Australia, we have a strong international reputation for theoretical innovation, teaching excellence and training. You’ll examine the realities, conflicts and challenges of social life in its many cultural forms.  

Combining sociology and anthropology in our program ensures that cultural diversity is central to our teaching. We provide you with a deep appreciation of the complexity and the possibilities of lived experience in a fast-changing world. The combined nature of our program creates a unique space that generates new perspectives on the diversity of social and cultural experiences.

Cutting-edge research that addresses big questions

What makes life meaningful? Why do we disagree and why do we care? What constitutes social change? The study of sociology and anthropology addresses these fundamental questions with conceptual rigour and the application of practical insights. Together, our academics and students seek to understand the differences in how we live our lives and the way cultural assumptions are enacted, challenged and transformed in everyday life. This approach underpins how we communicate and interact in the world and equips you in your studies, future work and research prospects. 

We teach and research a variety of topics such as:

  • cultural and social theory
  • Indigenous Australia and identity
  • media sociology
  • work and technology
  • ecology and post-humanism
  • visual sociology
  • Asia Pacific region and Australia
  • place, ethnicity, citizenship and globalisation
  • applied cultural anthropology and sociology
  • health, quality of life and life cycle.

Critical perspectives to broaden your worldview

The study of sociology and anthropology addresses the tensions and interactions between different social and cultural groups. This makes your training as a sociology and anthropology Major increasingly valuable in our highly globalised and interconnected world. 

Our graduates pursue a wide variety of careers in fields such as:

  • public sector
  • policy work
  • not-for-profit organisations
  • media industries
  • arts practice
  • international and multilateral organisations.

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Sociology and anthropology at UNSW is unique among New South Wales universities. We integrate both subject areas through innovative curriculum design and advanced teaching techniques. We also offer a diverse program of study in related subject areas such as social theory, cultural studies, feminist theory, social anthropology, sociological approaches to communication and public media, political sociology, ethnic studies and policy-related studies.

We offer the below undergraduate courses with a specialisation in sociology and anthropology:

  • Bachelor of Arts 
  • Bachelor of Social Sciences
  • Bachelor of Arts/Law
  • Bachelor of Arts/Education (Secondary)
  • Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours)/Arts
  • Bachelor of Commerce/Arts 
  • Bachelor of Computer Science/Arts
  • Bachelor of Economics/Arts
  • Bachelor of Engineering (Honours)/Arts
  • Bachelor of Environmental Management/Arts
  • Bachelor of Fine Arts/Arts
  • Bachelor of Media/Arts
  • Bachelor of Medical Studies/Doctor of Medicine/Arts
  • Bachelor of Science/Arts
  • Bachelor of Science (Advanced Mathematics)(Honours)/Arts
  • Bachelor of Media/Arts 
  • Bachelor of Media/Social Sciences 
  • Bachelor of Advanced Science (Honours)/Social Sciences
  • Bachelor of Media/Social Sciences
  • Bachelor of Science/Social Sciences
  • Bachelor of Social Work/Social Sciences

In addition to the above courses, we offer the below undergraduate single degrees with a minor in sociology and anthropology:

  • Bachelor of Design
  • Bachelor of Fine Arts
  • Bachelor of Media
  • Bachelor of Economics

Studying honours in the School of Social Sciences offers a chance to develop your research and professional skills guided by staff passionate about research and the development of new researchers. The research produced as an honours student will set you apart from other graduates because of the skills developed and the extended engagement in a relevant field of study.

As a postgraduate research student, you’ll produce an original body of work supervised by our leading academics. In sociology and anthropology, you can choose from a  Doctor of Philosophy  or a  Masters by Research .

Our higher degree research students produce original research that may involve the following topics:

  • Indigenous Australia
  • political communication and media sociology
  • ontological ground of the ‘social’ and the ‘human’
  • human rights and citizenship
  • cinema and cultural sociology.

Find a research supervisor

  • Faculty of Arts
  • School of Social and Political Sciences
  • Disciplines

Our program investigates the complexity and breadth of living in today’s societies, challenging expectations and assumptions about what it means to live with others.

Sociology, Social Policy and Social Theory

Sociology, Social Policy and Social Theory at Melbourne

From the changing nature of work to the emergence of new digital technologies and persisting socioeconomic inequalities, our program conducts rigorous research on issues that influence individual lives, family dynamics and social networks within and between communities. We study pressing social issues such as gender, race and health inequality, and labour market disadvantage within and across generations, in Australia and around the globe. This research aims to inform and shape policy, reduce social disadvantage and improve people’s everyday lives.

View our staff

Professor Lyn Craig

Sociology is the systematic study of all aspects of our lives and the discipline that matters for understanding and improving our social world. Sociology at University of Melbourne has a strong analytical, empirical and evidence-based focus that engages with real-world problems and is reflected in our teaching, research and engagement activities.

Professor Lyn Craig

Explore our research

Research narrative: diverse lives. equal futures.

Our program seeks to be at the forefront of academic and public debates on issues around social disadvantage and inequality in order to assess, improve and shape more effective policies.

Most of our research is funded by the Australian Research Council (ARC), as well as by the local and federal government including the Department of Human Services and Department of Social Services.

Our researchers collaborate with numerous scholars from around the globe and have strong alliances with Melbourne Institute (renowned for its HILDA data) and six Faculties within the University of Melbourne through our joint Hallmark Economic and Social Participation Research Initiative . Researchers also have strong links with non-governmental institutions such as Brotherhood of St Laurence and Scope.

Diverse Lives. Equal Futures.

A collection of research projects gathered under the theme Diverse Lives. Equal Futures.

The Anti-Racism Hallmark Research Initiative

The goal of the Anti-Racism Hallmark Research Initiative is to undertake and disseminate solutions-focused anti-racism research and interventions to combat racism at both the interpersonal and structural levels, in collaboration with government, community organisations and businesses.

The Work Futures Hallmark Research Initiative

The Work Futures Hallmark Research Initiative aims to foster our understanding of how the future of work is changing. We explore how technologies such as artificial intelligence, automation and digital platforms are profoundly shaping the nature of work, workplaces and working lives.

Study with us

Our program strives for excellence in teaching students analytical, problem solving and critical skills so they can understand and address social issues and problems. We deliver programs that transform students into independent scholars and practitioners that can scrutinise complex information and solve complex social situations and issues.

Undergraduate

  • Bachelor of Arts Sociology Major
  • Bachelor of Arts (Degree with Honours)

Graduate coursework

  • Graduate Certificate in Arts
  • Graduate Diploma in Arts
  • Graduate Certificate in Arts (Advanced)
  • Graduate Diploma in Arts (Advanced)
  • Master of Social Policy

Graduate research

  • Master of Arts (Thesis Only)
  • Master of Arts (Advanced Seminar and Shorter Thesis)
  • Doctor of Philosophy – Arts

Meet our Sociology, Social Policy and Social Theory staff

Sociology, Social Policy and Social Theory at the University of Melbourne brings together a team of seasoned experts in gender and race issues, diversity and Indigenous studies, inequality, cross-national research and public policy.

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Prof Lyn Craig

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Dr Ashley Barnwell

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Dr Brendan Churchill

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Dr Liz Dean

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Prof Karen Farquharson

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Prof Belinda Hewitt

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Dr Garrity Hill

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Dr Nicholas Hill

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Dr Max Holleran

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Dr Carmel Laragy

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Prof Keith McVilly

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Prof Irma Mooi-Reci

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Dr Lutfun Nahar Lata

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Dr Olivia Nicol

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Dr Nick Pendergrast

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A/Prof Signe Ravn

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Prof Leah Ruppanner

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Dr Megan Sharp

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Dr Monica Tan

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Prof Dan Woodman

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Sociology, Social Policy and Social Theory honorary staff

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Kathryn Freeman Anderson

Graduate Studies Director

Kathryn Freeman Anderson, Ph.D. Office: 495 Philip G. Hoffman Hall E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 713-743-9476

Stella Grigorian

Graduate Faculty Advisor

Stella Grigorian, Ph.D. Office: 473 Philip G. Hoffman Hall E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 713-743-3960

Ph.D. Program

Doctoral student, Tamkinat Rauf, with Sociologist, William Julius Wilson, at a CASBS event.

Grad student, Tamkinat Rauf, with Sociologist, William Julius Wilson, at a CASBS event. Image credit: Jerry Wang, courtesy of CASBS at Stanford

The Ph.D. program is defined by a commitment to highly analytical sociology

The program trains graduate students to use a range of methods – quantitative and qualitative – and data – survey, administrative, experimental, interview, direct observation, and more – to answer pressing empirical questions and to advance important theoretical and policy debates.

The Ph.D. curriculum and degree requirements provide students with the methodological skills, substantive knowledge, and mentorship to make important and impactful contributions to sociological knowledge. The program guides Ph.D. students to work on ambitious, independent research projects about which students are passionate. Graduates finish the program well-positioned to be leaders in the field of sociology.

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Students in the doctoral program in Sociology at UBC graduate with extensive experience in research, publication, and teaching.

Besides the comprehensive curriculum equipping our graduates with a strong mixed-methods background, our students build extensive resumes through publication, instruction, and collaboration with a world-class faculty.

Graduates from the PhD program have established themselves at prestigious universities and research institutions worldwide, and students’ research has earned them numerous major awards.

We welcome around 4 students each year into the PhD program.

Sociology PhD students have the opportunity to specialize in any one or more of the Department’s four major research streams:

  • Race, Ethnicity and Migration
  • Sex, Gender and Sexuality
  • Environment and Community
  • Sociology of Health

Think critically and socially

Understand the world in which we live and how you can change it..

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Are Americans feeling like they get enough sleep? Dream on, a new Gallup poll says

FILE - A traveler takes a nap as he waits for a ride outside Miami International Airport, Friday, July 1, 2022, in Miami. The Gallup survey, released Monday, April 15, 2024, says that a majority of Americans say they would feel better if they could have more sleep. But in the U.S., where the ethos of grinding and pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps is ubiquitous, getting enough sleep can seem like a dream. (AP Photo/Wilfredo Lee, File)

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If you’re feeling — YAWN — sleepy or tired while you read this and wish you could get some more shut-eye, you’re not alone. A majority of Americans say they would feel better if they could have more sleep, according to a new poll.

But in the U.S., the ethos of grinding and pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps is ubiquitous, both in the country’s beginnings and our current environment of always-on technology and work hours. And getting enough sleep can seem like a dream.

The Gallup poll , released Monday, found 57% of Americans say they would feel better if they could get more sleep, while only 42% say they are getting as much sleep as they need. That’s a first in Gallup polling since 2001; in 2013, when Americans were last asked, it was just about the reverse — 56% saying they got the needed sleep and 43% saying they didn’t.

Younger women, under the age of 50, were especially likely to report they aren’t getting enough rest.

The poll also asked respondents to report how many hours of sleep they usually get per night: Only 26% said they got eight or more hours, which is around the amount that sleep experts say is recommended for health and mental well-being. Just over half, 53%, reported getting six to seven hours. And 20% said they got five hours or less, a jump from the 14% who reported getting the least amount of sleep in 2013.

(And just to make you feel even more tired, in 1942, the vast majority of Americans were sleeping more. Some 59% said they slept eight or more hours, while 33% said they slept six to seven hours. What even IS that?)

THE REASONS AREN’T EXACTLY CLEAR The poll doesn’t get into reasons WHY Americans aren’t getting the sleep they need, and since Gallup last asked the question in 2013, there’s no data breaking down the particular impact of the last four years and the pandemic era.

But what’s notable, says Sarah Fioroni, senior researcher at Gallup, is the shift in the last decade toward more Americans thinking they would benefit from more sleep and particularly the jump in the number of those saying they get five or less hours.

“That five hours or less category ... was almost not really heard of in 1942,” Fioroni said. “There’s almost nobody that said they slept five hours or less.”

In modern American life, there also has been “this pervasive belief about how sleep was unnecessary — that it was this period of inactivity where little to nothing was actually happening and that took up time that could have been better used,” said Joseph Dzierzewski, vice president for research and scientific affairs at the National Sleep Foundation.

It’s only relatively recently that the importance of sleep to physical, mental and emotional health has started to percolate more in the general population, he said.

And there’s still a long way to go. For some Americans, like Justine Broughal, 31, a self-employed event planner with two small children, there simply aren’t enough hours in the day. So even though she recognizes the importance of sleep, it often comes in below other priorities like her 4-month-old son, who still wakes up throughout the night, or her 3-year-old daughter.

“I really treasure being able to spend time with (my children),” Broughal says. “Part of the benefit of being self-employed is that I get a more flexible schedule, but it’s definitely often at the expense of my own care.”

THERE’S A CULTURAL BACKDROP TO ALL THIS, TOO So why are we awake all the time? One likely reason for Americans’ sleeplessness is cultural — a longstanding emphasis on industriousness and productivity.

Some of the context is much older than the shift documented in the poll. It includes the Protestants from European countries who colonized the country, said Claude Fischer, a professor of sociology at the graduate school of the University of California Berkeley. Their belief system included the idea that working hard and being rewarded with success was evidence of divine favor.

“It has been a core part of American culture for centuries,” he said. “You could make the argument that it ... in the secularized form over the centuries becomes just a general principle that the morally correct person is somebody who doesn’t waste their time.”

Jennifer Sherman has seen that in action. In her research in rural American communities over the years, the sociology professor at Washington State University says a common theme among people she interviewed was the importance of having a solid work ethic. That applied not only to paid labor but unpaid labor as well, like making sure the house was clean.

A through line of American cultural mythology is the idea of being “individually responsible for creating our own destinies,” she said. “And that does suggest that if you’re wasting too much of your time ... that you are responsible for your own failure.”

“The other side of the coin is a massive amount of disdain for people considered lazy,” she added.

Broughal says she thinks that as parents, her generation is able to let go of some of those expectations. “I prioritize ... spending time with my kids, over keeping my house pristine,” she said.

But with two little ones to care for, she said, making peace with a messier house doesn’t mean more time to rest: “We’re spending family time until, you know, (my 3-year-old) goes to bed at eight and then we’re resetting the house, right?”

THE TRADEOFFS OF MORE SLEEP While the poll only shows a broad shift over the past decade, living through the COVID-19 pandemic may have affected people’s sleep patterns. Also discussed in post-COVID life is “revenge bedtime procrastination,” in which people put off sleeping and instead scroll on social media or binge a show as a way of trying to handle stress.

Liz Meshel is familiar with that. The 30-year-old American is temporarily living in Bulgaria on a research grant, but also works a part-time job on U.S. hours to make ends meet.

On the nights when her work schedule stretches to 10 p.m., Meshel finds herself in a “revenge procrastination” cycle. She wants some time to herself to decompress before going to sleep and ends up sacrificing sleeping hours to make it happen.

“That’s applies to bedtime as well, where I’m like, ’Well, I didn’t have any me time during the day, and it is now 10 p.m., so I am going to feel totally fine and justified watching X number of episodes of TV, spending this much time on Instagram, as my way to decompress,” she said. “Which obviously will always make the problem worse.”

Sanders reported from Washington, D.C.

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Sociology and chemistry faculty members win 2024 gsas mentoring award.

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Sarah Mayorga and Bing Xu, the winners of the 2024 Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dean's Mentoring Award

April 5, 2024

Abigail Arnold | Graduate School of Arts and Sciences

Sarah Mayorga of Sociology and Bing Xu of Chemistry are the 2024 co-recipients of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dean’s Mentoring Award . In their nominations, Mayorga and Xu both received high praise from their students.

Charles Golden, Interim Dean of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, said, "We are thrilled to be able to recognize these two highly deserving faculty members, who exemplify all the goals that we aim for as teachers at Brandeis working to support the success of our students. Although we are only able to make two awards, it was a real privilege for me to read the other nominations from students on behalf of so many of my colleagues - I was moved and impressed and wish we could recognize them all."

In nominating Mayorga, students praised the way she went above and beyond to support them. One wrote, “Sarah Mayorga is an outstanding, kind, and generous mentor. She is always available for her students and is not only interested in our work, she is also interested in us as people…Most importantly, she makes her students feel seen.” Another wrote, “Sarah is an excellent mentor in every way possible: she responds promptly and always steps up to support grad students, even to last minute requests where she really doesn't have to. She manages to provide feedback that is kind, encouraging, and pushes us all at once.” Students also commented on Mayorga’s role in the department and campus communities, with one writing, “Since becoming the Sociology department chair, Professor Mayorga has made significant efforts to bring together faculty and students. Even further, she is an active community member of the Brandeis campus and goes out of her way to create spaces for students of color on campus through reading groups, talks, and more.”

Mayorga was excited to be a winner of this year’s award. “I’m really honored to receive this award. Working with the brilliant, compassionate, and thoughtful students at Brandeis is joyful and exciting work,” she said. “I am very fortunate to have had a wonderful graduate school mentor, Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, who funny enough, I jointly nominated for a graduate mentor award when I was in school, so this is a lovely full-circle moment. Eduardo taught me how to think like a sociologist and cared about me as a person. But most importantly for me, he believed I could do excellent work, even as a first-year student (trust me, that was not immediately obvious). I bring that same steadfast belief in my students to my role as an advisor. I see my job as meeting students where they are and helping them reach new heights. And when they do? Pure joy! I’m grateful I get to do this work and humbled to be recognized by my student colleagues in this way. Thank you.”

Students who nominated Xu praised his kindness and the ways he helped students access resources. “He not only provides valuable suggestions to guide me through various stages of my PhD program but also creates opportunities for us to undergo training and participate in diverse conferences,” wrote one. Another wrote, “Excellent mentorship, patience and great platform for students’ career development.” Students also described him as “very kind and respectful,” “the most supportive and open-minded advisor I’ve worked with,” and “a caring and considerate supervisor.”

Xu was also very pleased to be a winner this year. “It was an unexpected and pleasant surprise to receive the Faculty Mentoring award,” he said. “Working with the graduates over these years has been a blessing. I am grateful for the opportunity to have both worked with them and learned from them.” Like Mayorga, Xu spoke to the importance of mentorship, saying, “I have been fortunate to learn from great mentors, such as Tim Swager and George Whitesides. Tim showed me what research is, and George showed me what a scientific paper is. My lab still uses the Whitesides ‘outline approach’ for planning and communicating research.”

GSAS is delighted to present this year’s Mentoring Award to Sarah Mayorga and Bing Xu and extends our warmest congratulations and thanks.

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