A photo with my advisor, Dr. Hearne, after completing my conference presentation.
Author: Christina Varghese | Major: Sociology | Semester: Spring 2022
My name is Christina Varghese, and I am a sociology major. I have been working for the past couple years on my honors thesis research examining how perceived threat of COVID-19 differs across the intersections of age, race/ethnicity, and gender. By performing statistical analyses on nationally representative survey data, I was able to identify which subgroups were more likely to perceive COVID-19 as a major threat to population and personal health. This research is useful for understanding which groups may have worse mental and physical health outcomes and for supporting further research on the impact of perceived health threat.
This April I attended and presented at the Southwestern Social Science Association (SSSA) 2022 Annual Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. I flew in on Wednesday so I could to attend conference sessions on Thursday and Friday morning before my presentation on Friday afternoon. I consulted with my advisor about what sessions I might find helpful or interesting. Considering my pre-med focus, she suggested attending the session Thursday about the Sociology of Gender and Sexuality as well at the Medical Sociology sessions on Friday morning.
Attending the presentations, I was impressed by the creativity of the research topics and how the presenters found relevant topics which suited their interests. The SSSA conference is known to be relatively casual, allowing graduate and undergraduate students to present on more specific and interesting topics. For example, I attended a session about modern perspectives on Durkheim where a graduate student spoke on how the cult-like nature of the Star Wars fandom aligned with Durkheim’s theories of religion. Such topics helped me realize the broad reach of sociological research.
One of the more impactful presentations was in a Medical Sociology session. A graduate student presented her research on dysautonomia, an autoimmune disease with varying symptoms, little research, and no clear treatment. The discussed experiences of dysautonomia patients often involved negative experiences with healthcare providers and the medical system, which indicates a need for change. Because the researcher was herself a dysautonomia patient, she was able to share their personal experiences and struggles as well. I found this discussion impactful as it emphasized the importance of recognizing the social aspects of medical practice, which has been my personal goal as a sociology major.
The presentation I applied and was accepted for was a roundtable workshop. While I was not certain how it would go, my advisor Dr. Brittany Hearne, assured me it would relatively informal. I had already completed my thesis defense and continued to practice leading up to the presentation, so I was nervous but confident going in. The conference had assigned one professor to read my paper before the conference to facilitate feedback. When the session began, I gave her a brief presentation of my research, referring to my figures and table which I had printed out. After I completed the presentation, the professor made a suggestion about using a different statistical measure but was overall impressed by the quality of my work. The process was much less intimidating than I expected. While I had hoped to receive more specific feedback, I am grateful that my work has been well polished, and I am glad that my preparation paid off.
Attending this conference gave me the opportunity to see what sociology research look like at higher levels of education. The individual sessions were educational and featured fascinating topics. I believe attending such conferences provides a useful experience for undergraduate students to better understand higher academia. While it is daunting at first, in my experience everyone was encouraging and excited to have undergraduate students at the conference. I am grateful to the Honors College for providing this opportunity for experience and growth.