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Book Review Publication

Rogers-Brown, Jennifer. (2023). Democratising Participatory Research: Pathways to Social Justice from the South. Contemporary Sociology, 52(3), 257–259. https://doi.org/10.1177/00943061231172096u

Please check out my recent book review publication in the May 2023 issue of Contemporary Sociology. I review the book “Democratising Participatory Research: Pathways to Social Justice from the South” by Carmen Martinez-Vargas.

Here’s the opening couple paragraphs from the review:

“Carmen Martinez-Vargas’ Democratising Participatory Research: Pathways to Social Justice from the South demonstrates the potential of a participatory research process, informed by decolonial debate, to bridge diverse areas of knowledge production and empower co-researchers and participants.

Martinez-Vargas proposes a new research process called “Democratic Capabilities Research” (DCR), which reimagines the Capabilities Approach (CA) with a deliberate focus on a participatory process and decolonial debate from a Global South perspective. Participatory research can be a tool for democratizing research through providing access to research exploration and equal involvement in knowledge production to groups historically left out of this process. However, Martinez-Vargas’ project expands Western-dominated applications of participatory research and shows the value of a “flexible ontological approach that is able to accommodate different epistemic systems” (p. 68). She also illustrates what a DCR project may look like through an analysis of a collaborative project at the University of the Free State in South Africa.”


Dr. Rogers-Brown is the new Treasurer-Elect for SWS

I am happy to announce that I won the election to be the new Treasurer-Elect of the Sociologists for Women in Society. This is a three-year term where I serve as Treasurer-Elect for one year before moving on to be Treasurer and then Past-Treasurer. Each position holds new responsibilities and committee assignments. I am happy to be part of the council leadership at the organization. I am a long-time member of SWS. It has been an academic home for me since graduate school.

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Teaching Award

Thank you students and fellow faculty! I am honored to receive the 2020 LIU David Newton Award for Excellence in Teaching. This is a career award for teaching at Long Island University. I am overwhelmed at the wonderful letters and evaluations offered by my peers.


#ClimateStrike in NYC on September 20, 2019

I had an exciting day at the 9/20 Fridays For Future rally and climate strike in New York City. I traveled with fellow members of the Long Island Mothers Out Front group and met up with a group of LIU Post faculty and students. My day was captured in this article by Newsday, this video by Newsday, and this video by Mothers Out Front!

Mothers Out Front was also just awarded the UN Global Climate Action Award: Women for Results.

 


Sustainability Dinner at LIU Post

 

On April 26, 2017, I was honored to co-host the annual Sustainability Dinner and Awards Ceremony. Our keynote speaker this year was former Congressman Steve Israel. Congressman Israel recently started the LIU Global Institute. He spoke about the need to push for policy on campus, in the community, and in the US to protect the environment. He noted that climate change is a recognized as a threat to national security. Chef Justin, and his Aramark team, prepared a delicious vegan dinner – thereby lessening the environmental impact of the email.

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Environmental Soc students visit Covanta facility

IMG_1866As part of our focus on waste and environmental pollution, my environmental sociology class toured Covanta’s Babylon facility. This is a waste-to-energy facility that produces enough energy to light one in three houses in Babylon. The site is located on an old landfill that polluted the groundwater. As part of their contract with the city, Covanta cleans the contaminated water and uses the clean water to operate their equipment. After a technical lecture about their operations, our guide took us around the facility and we even braved the room where the trash is sorted.

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Campus event: Film screening of “Food Chains”

food chains campus posterWith support from Sustainable Post and the Sociology department, Sarah Pomerenke and I showed the film “Food Chains” at LIU Post. This event is part of a semester long campus focus on food and waste issues. As a graduate intern with Aramark, Sarah has worked on sustainable campus food issues. I was inspired to show this film on campus after viewing it at a community event hosted by Rural Migrant Ministries. This organization loaned us photography from the movie. We displayed these photos at the film screening and at other events on campus.

 

Food Chains flyer

 


Campus event: Sustainability & Food

sustainable food flyerOn November 17, 2015, we hosted a well attended event with SLOW Food organizer and chef, Bhavani Jaroff, and Aramark Sustainability Director Matthew Thompson. While they were approaching the issue with different solutions, they both spoke about the importance of student involvement and consumer awareness. They identified the importance of eating local and the problems of mass production. Students interested in campus food issues can contact me, Prof. Scott Carlin, or Sarah Pomerenke at LIU Post. We also encourage you to attend the Sustainable Post meetings. And don’t forget about the Sociology of Food course this Spring 2016!

 


Nanotechnology Brief distributed by the California Research Bureau

Nano Brief PictureIn collaboration with Christine Shearer and Stacey Frederick (fellow CNS-affiliated researchers), we produced a brief on nanotechnology for the California Research Bureau (CRB). The CRB published and distributed the brief to California legislators, and specifically: the Governor’s Office; the Senate committee on Business, Professions, and Economic Development; the Senate committee on Labor and Industrial Relations; the Assembly committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials; and the Assembly committee on Jobs, Economic Development, and the Economy. To view and download the brief, click here: