UT introduced the launch of the new Center for the Study of Social Justice, which is aimed at evaluating the social issues plaguing the world today.
The College of Arts and Sciences will incorporate this new center, which will organize the intellectual efforts of UT’s social science researchers. With a forum to generate new ideas, the Center for the Study of Social Justice will make UT more competitive for various types of funding available in this field.
Stephanie Bohon, associate professor of sociology, and Scott Frey, head of the sociology department, will direct the new center together.
“The center was created to bring together faculty from different disciplines to seek science-based answers to a variety of research questions meant to inform policymakers about what is fair, just and equitable for people,” Bohon said. “The center is also designed to promote more externally funded research in the social sciences, humanities and law.”
Since the problems relating to social justice are multifaceted, the new center will unite researchers from a multitude of different fields and organize their efforts. Contributions will come from the fields of education, political science, law, philosophy, psychology, sociology, social work and many others.
“The creation of the center is an acknowledgment that interdisciplinary collaboration is integral to the social sciences, and that many if not most issues social scientists are concerned about play a role in all fields of study, such as sociology, political science, and economics,” Harry Dahms, associate professor in the sociology department, said. “While departments will continue to be important to the study of the different dimensions of social life, in the future we may see more centers dedicated to enabling social scientists from different fields to work together towards a more in-depth and complex understanding of the nature of social order and social problems and the links between both.”
This new center will merge previously separated spheres of research on topics involving social justice, creating a level of cooperation previously unprecedented on the UT campus.
“About five years ago the sociology department was reorganized around the theme of social justice, which encompasses the department’s three primary specialties: criminology, political economy and environmental sociology,” Bohon said. “Creating a center around this theme and involving faculty from across campus seemed like the logical next step.”
The center will study topics that pertain to the formation of public policy in areas such as immigration and health care. It will generate valuable information for the policymaking community and increase understanding about social justice issues among the university community.
“The center will benefit the UT community in many ways,” Bohon said. “First, it will make it easier for faculty to find collaborators from other departments to work on their projects. Second, it will generate revenue in the form of external grants. Third, the center offers lectures, colloquia and films that help students and faculty better understand issues of social justice.”
Students are encouraged to engage with the center by attending its sponsored film series and participating in its colloquia. Graduate students with published research regarding social justice are invited to petition for Center for the Study of Social Justice fellowships.
The Center for the Study of Social Justice entered into the UT community with a lecture by Jeremy Rifkin on Tuesday in the UC Ballroom.
