How does a discipline move from investigating a problem to investigating responses? This question is at the heart of a new Special Collection of Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, which explores ways for social scientists to move beyond describing and quantifying the problem of inequality and to focus instead on ways to reduce it.

Social science excels at advancing our understanding of how much inequality exists, what its sources are, and what consequences ensue. But comparatively little research aims to build understanding of policies or programs that can reduce inequality. In this dynamic virtual forum, authors and discussants will examine the potential of research to help build and strengthen efforts to address inequality, as well as delineate pathways through which research may lead to large-scale social change.

Speakers:

  • Elise Cappella, Vice Dean for Research, NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development
  • Adam Gamoran, President, William T. Grant Foundation
  • Brittany N. Fox-Williams, Assistant Professor, Sociology, Lehman College, CUNY
  • Andrew Nalani, Doctoral Candidate in Applied Psychology, NYU Steinhardt
  • Prudence L. Carter, Sarah and Joseph Jr. Dowling Professor of Sociology, Brown University
  • Thomas DiPrete, Giddings Professor of Sociology, co-director of the Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy, and co-director of the Center for the Study of Wealth and Inequality at Columbia University
  • Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Courtney Sale Ross Professor of Globalization and Education, NYU Steinhardt and Co-Director, Global TIES for Children Center, NYU Steinhardt and NYU Abu Dhabi
  • Janet Gornick, Professor of Political Science and Sociology, and Director, Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality, CUNY Graduate Center (moderator)
  • Nancy E. Hill, Charles Bigelow Professor of Education, Harvard University; President, Society for Research in Child Development
  • Leslie McCall, Presidential Professor of Sociology and Political Science and Associate Director, Stone Center on Socio-Economic Inequality, CUNY Graduate Center
  • Erin Godfrey, Director of NYU’s Institute of Human Development and Social Change, Associate Professor of Applied Psychology, NYU Steinhardt

Co-sponsored with the Institute of Human Development and Social Change at New York University (NYU), the Center for the Study of Wealth and Inequality at Columbia University, and the William T. Grant Foundation, Special Collection.