Social Sciences

Erin Baggott Carter and Brett Carter, associate professors of political science and international relations, were awarded the William H. Riker Book Award by the American Political Science Association for their book Propaganda in Autocracies: Institutions, Information, and the Politics of Belief. The prize recognizes the best book published on political economy over the past three years. The Carters’ work analyzes how authoritarian regimes use propaganda to shape beliefs, advancing scholarly understanding of political institutions and information control.

USC Dornsife’s Josh West is co-principal investigator of a National Science Foundation-funded collaboration focused on the ongoing impact of earthquakes, hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters.

Deisy Del Real, assistant professor of sociology, has been elected to the council of the International Migration Section of the American Sociological Association. Her research examines how immigration systems are created and how they shape migrants' legal status, rights and opportunities. As a council member, Del Real will help guide the section’s programming and support its community of migration scholars.

Hajar Yazdiha, associate professor of sociology, has been elected to the councils of the Altruism, Morality and Social Solidarity Section and the Sociology of Culture Section of the American Sociological Association. Yazdiha’s research on social movements, race and ethnicity, immigration and cultural politics aligns closely with both sections' focus on moral community and cultural life. She will help shape agendas and programming in these roles while supporting fellow scholars' research.

Jennifer Hook, Florence Everline Professor of Sociology, has been named chair-elect of the Family Section of the American Sociological Association. Her research, which examines the intersection of gender, work and family, aligns closely with the section’s mission to support scholarship on how families are formed and function in broader social structures. As chair-elect, Hook will help guide the section’s programming and foster its academic community over the coming year.

Brittany Friedman, assistant professor of sociology, has been named a fellow of the American Sociological Association’s Policy Outreach Program. As one of 10 scholars selected nationwide, Friedman will spend the next year refining her skills in translating complex sociological research into accessible language for policymakers and the public, a major emphasis of the program, which aims to bridge the gap between academic research and public policy.

Deisy Del Real, assistant professor of sociology, was awarded the RC31 Best Scholarly Article Award from the International Sociological Association (ISA) for her article “The Impact of States' Legal Structures and Bureaucracies on Immigrant Legalization and Livelihoods,” published in January 2024 in International Migration Review. Established in 2016 by the ISA’s Research Committee on the Sociology of Migration (RC31), the award honors outstanding research articles that advance the field of migration studies. Del Real’s article examines how legal and bureaucratic structures shape immigrant integration and economic stability.

Dorinne Kondo, professor of American studies and ethnicity and anthropology, has been awarded a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) fellowship supporting her book project The Art of Vulnerability: Sexual and Racial Violence, Disability, and Asian/American Performance. The highly competitive fellowship — NEH funded just 7% of the applications it received — supports Kondo’s exploration of pressing social issues through the book, which will examine the intersections of race, disability and performance, advancing conversations on vulnerability and justice.