Congratulations to everyone who graduated this weekend! And an extra special congratulations to Vaun Baltimore and Yuri Lim, who graduated this weekend with their master's in Sociology! 🥳🎓

Anthropology senior Rose Raymer completed an internship this summer with the Defense POW/MIA Accounting Agency, where she helped analyze remains from a WWII disinterment alongside leading forensic experts who work to bring missing service members home. mtsunews.com/forensic-ant...

Scan the QR code to submit a ~30 second video about how Dr. McKinzie impacted you. Those uploaded by early Tuesday will be included in the memorial. Those uploaded later will be added to an archive.

Colorful clothing is encouraged. Glitter is optional. ✨ The memorial will be followed by an outdoor lantern launch. Arrive early to write a message on a lantern. There will be a designated space for memorial offerings.

🌻There will be a memorial service for Dr. Ashleigh McKinzie on Wednesday, December 10 at 4 pm in the KUC Theater. This gathering is intended for those who knew her or were impacted by her work. The ceremony will be quiet and personal, focused on remembrance and support.🌻

Please know help is available for students through MTSU Counseling Services (KUC 326-S, 615-898-2670). Faculty and staff who need support may contact the Employee Assistance Program at 1-855-Here4TN (1-855-437-3486) or visit Here4TN.com.

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology is saddened to confirm the passing of our colleague, Dr. Ashleigh McKinzie. We offer heartfelt sympathy to Dr. McKinzie's loved ones and those among us dealing with this news.

We invite Sociology and Anthropology students, alumni, faculty, and staff to join us for our end-of-year Holiday Homecoming potluck celebration on Wednesday, December 3, from 5:00 - 7:30 pm at the MTSU Foundation House! 🍗🍰🍊🥖🧈🥧🍽️🎊

Students, faculty, and staff are invited to participate in The Great Sugar Showdown baking contest on Wednesday, November 20th, in the glass room next to Todd 342! Whether you're entering a dessert or just coming to enjoy the sugar-fueled fun, we hope to see you there!

You are invited to join the MT Student Sociologists for a Holiday Craft Party on November 14th at 1 pm in Peck Hall 300! Take a break and learn about winter holidays around the world! We will have food, games, bracelet making, and coloring. All students are welcome!

Congratulations to Taylor Tims and Dr. Andrew Wyatt, who received a fall URECA grant to fund their project, "Anthropogenic Soils and the Amazon: An Analysis of Terra Preta in Caxiuana, Brazil!"

Please join us on Wednesday, October 29th, at 6:30 p.m in the Student Union Ballroom for the William Bass-Hugh Berryman Legends in Forensic Science Lectureship! Forensic anthropologist Dr. Eric Bartelink will discuss the recovery and identification of wildfire victims.

Open advising for Sociology and Anthropology students is October 22 (11 am - 1 pm) and October 23 (12 pm - 2 pm) in Peck Hall 109 (the Archaeology Lab). During this time, students can stop by and meet with an advisor.

Join MTSS on Tuesday 10/21, where we will host a panel of sociology faculty to discuss various opportunities for students and learn more about the Career Development Center! 📚✍️ 🗓️ Tuesday, October 21st 🕰️ 4:30PM - 6PM 📍ACB Room 102 🥤Food and drinks provided! ✨Open to Everyone✨ See you there! 🫵

As you create your Spring 2026 course schedules, consider taking one or more of these electives in Sociology! As a bonus, all of them have zero textbook cost! 🧑‍🏫📓✏️

Tomorrow!

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Middle Tennessee State University invites applicants for a full-time, tenure-track faculty position (#129230) in anthropology at the rank of assistant or associate professor. careers.mtsu.edu/en-us/job/49...

Please join us for the Fall 2025 Anthropologica lecture on October 9 from 1:00 - 2:25 pm in the College of Education building room 160 to hear Dr. Alisse Waterston deliver a lecture entitled "Writing to be Read: Crafting and Communicating Knowledge as if the World Depends Upon It."

We're shining the spotlight on research by Sociology Assistant Professor Dr. Rachel Davis, who is reshaping how scholars understand intimacy, social class, and digital life! 🔍 She is developing a book on hypergamy, a form of romantic partnership marked by economic inequality. 💰⚖️

We're shining the spotlight on Sociology Master's program alum Presley Powers, who graduated in 2021 and currently works as an Energy Analyst! 🔦🔍

We're shining the spotlight on Sociology Master's student Vaun Baltimore! 🔍 His thesis examines algorithmic media curation across social media platforms, with attention to how platform personalization shapes adolescent content exposure. He plans to pursue a PhD in Sociology! 🎓

It's official: The 2025 Tennessee Archaeology Awareness Month Poster is hot off the presses! This year's poster celebrates public archaeology and outreach efforts in Tennessee, highlighting the role of the late Dr. Kevin Smith and the MTSU Archaeology Field School.

We're shining the spotlight on Sociology Assistant Professor Dr. Rachel Davis! 🔦🔍 Fun Fact: Dr. Davis was an Odd Future fanatic in high school! She had the honor of being kicked in the head (accidentally) by Left Brain in the mosh pit of one of their shows. 😳

Congratulations again to Dr. Ida Fadzillah Leggett for her promotion to full Professor of Anthropology! We're glad you were able to celebrate and be celebrated at the university's recent reception!

Demos' is coming to @mtsuofficial.bsky.social! And the husband-and-wife owners are both MTSU Sociology alums! Kristin highlights the impact their alma mater had on their success. "I think [Peter's] work ethic and stress management was founded in his college experience." mtsunews.com/demos-to-cam...

Congratulations to Dr. Ida Fadzillah Leggett for her promotion to full Professor of Anthropology!

Sociology professor Dr. Ugur Orak and his co-authors Ozden Ozbay and Sabuha Bindik have a new article entitled "Social class and deviance among young adults in Türkiye" published in the International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice! Read it at www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

Congratulations to sociology professor Dr. Ugur Orak, who has been chosen for the 2025 - 2026 cohort of the MTSU Provost's Faculty Leadership Development Institute!

Congrats to Dr. Ida Fadzillah Leggett, who recently received an instructional support grant to develop resources using Microsoft Sway for her Engage-certified classes! Engage-certified classes foster a culture of engaged learning by supporting students’ growth as integrative, reflective thinkers.

MTSU Archaeology students are getting hands-on with history through ongoing research at the site of one of Nashville’s first post-Civil War Black neighborhoods. Read this story and more at liberalarts.mtsu.edu/publications/

A Celebration of Life for Dr. Kevin E. Smith will be held on Saturday, June 21, 2025, in the MT Center in the Ingram Building, from 2 to 5 pm.

Check out this article from MTSU's research magazine about Sociology professor Rachel Davis's research with undergraduate student Melissa Guinn on law enforcement perceptions of sex trafficking!

Check out this Out of the Blue interview with Dr. Shannon Hodge, our department chair, about where curiosity meets career—and how MTSU grads are using their people skills to make a real-world impact in everything from nonprofits to public service.

Great write-up about Tennessee's award-winning Archaeology Awareness Month poster design! mtsunews.com/mtsu-archaeo...

Join us on June 7th!

MTSU is once again hosting its Volunteer Archaeology Days program at the Castalian Springs Mound Site! If you’d like to visit or help us excavate, the site will be open to the public on May 31 and June 7, weather permitting. Note: Site requires crossing a shallow creek. All ages are welcome!

Congrats to Dr. Ida Fadzillah Leggett, who completed the MT Engage Summer Institute yesterday! She is pictured here with Drs. Jordan Solomon (Sociology), Ugur Orak (Sociology), and Brian Hinote (former faculty member in Sociology and current Vice Provost for Faculty and Strategic Initiatives).

MTSU Anthropology seeks a full-time temporary lecturer for the 2025-2026 academic year, with specialization in Southeastern Archaeology. careers.mtsu.edu/en-us/job/49...

Student Melissa Guinn received a platinum-level summer Undergraduate Research Experience and Creative Activity (URECA) grant under the supervision of mentor Dr. Rachel Davis for their project, "The Role and Effectiveness of Sex Education in Sexual Abuse Awareness and Prevention." Congratulations!

Tennessee's Archaeology Awareness Month poster was the winner of the 2025 Society for American Archaeology poster contest! Tennessee last won the SAA poster contest in 1996. You can read more about the poster here: tennesseearchaeologycouncil.wordpress.com/2024/09/09/t...

Last week's Ben Austin Social Science Symposium (BASSS) was a success! Thank you to the presenters, and congratulations to the award winners! #SocialScienceSymposium #Sociology #Anthropology #SocialScience #CommunityImpact #BenAustinSymposium #CommunityAndCulture #SocialJustice

Sociology Professor Rachel Davis is co-facilitating a workshop, “Resilience Over Harm: Tools for Trauma-Informed Pedagogy,” on May 1 at 3 pm in the LT&ITC (Library 348). Anyone interested in attending may register at the following link: w1.mtsu.edu/workshops/re...

The annual Ben Austin Social Science Symposium (formerly the Undergraduate Social Science Symposium) will take place April 17th, 2025, in the Tom Jackson Building! You can find the conference schedule at the link: soc.mtsu.edu/wp-content/u...

The deadline for submissions has been extended to April 14th!

Once again, the Society for American Archaeology has opened voting to the public for their "Best State Archaeology Poster." There are some really strong entries this year, but Tennessee's is clearly the best! If you’d like to vote, you can do so using this link: saa.org/education-ou...

ANTH 3230: Anthropology of Salt is organizing an online lecture “Neolithic salt production in the Wieliczka and Bochnia region - preliminary results of a new stage of research,” by Katarzyna Lajs-Klose, on Friday, April 11, 2025, 10:30 – 11:15 am central. mtsu.zoom.us/j/86477851135

As you register for classes, consider signing up for Dr. Rachel Davis's online summer course on Social Media and Society!

We are asking for students to participate in our 2025 Ben Austin Social Science Symposium, which will take place on April 17th! If you are interested in presenting, please submit your abstract (or paper for the paper competition) by April 11th: form.jotform.com/250475566899....

Dr. Paul Eubanks, Anthropology faculty member, and Dr. Ivana Pandzic, Fulbright visiting scholar, participated at the 5th International Congress of Anthropology of Salt this week in Rzeszow, Poland!

Open advising for Sociology and Anthropology students will be available on April 1st (2-4 pm) and April 2nd (10am-12pm) in Peck Hall 109 (the Archaeology lab)!