Bear Beginnings: Faculty Spotlight with Prof. Caitlyn Collins

Faculty Spotlights feature faculty presentations on disciplinary and departmental areas of interest and expertise. During this event, we will provide a sneak peek of the classroom atmosphere, introduce key ideas central to the study of Sociology, and feature faculty work being done in our department.

As a part of the broader Bear Beginnings programming, the WashU Department of Sociology invites first-year and transfer student to attend our Faculty Spotlight session, featuring Professor Caitlyn (Caity) Collins. Her presentation, "Understanding the Origins and Reproduction of Inequalities," will provide a foundational overview of what social inequality is, how it manifests, why it is a problem, and how the field of sociology seeks to measure, explain, and ameliorate it. We strongly encourage students who are interested in social work, community organization and advocacy, law, public health, social justice and activism, critical thinking and social theory, and civic engagement to attend this presentation. If you don't know what sociology is and what it is all about, this is a fantastic, low-stakes opportunity to learn - even before the semester starts. So many of our students wish that they had "found out" about sociology earlier in their college careers... Get a head start through this Faculty Spotlight presentation!

Prof. Caity Collins is an Associate Professor of Sociology and the Department's Director of Undergraduate Studies. She is an award-winning author (Making Motherhood Work: How Women Manage Careers and Caregiving) and an active public scholar, as demonstrated by her numerous media appearances, guest lectures, and policy contributions. Prof. Collins conducts cross-national qualitative research on gender inequality in the workplace and family life; however, she is more broadly interested in the relationship between policy, culture, and social inequality. At Washington University, Prof. Collins has taught courses on gender, social inequality within the United States, qualitative research methods, and will be serving as the Chair of the Sociology Honors Thesis Program for the 2023-2024 academic year.

 

We invite all students to participate in our Departmental Open House earlier in the day (11:15 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. in Seigle Hall, Suite 213) to preview what's to come in this sure-to-be-engaging presentation!

Students must attend one session from each of the three core disciplines within the College of Arts & Sciences: Humanities, Social Sciences, and Natural Sciences. This presentation will fulfill the Social Sciences component of the Bear Beginnings Faculty Spotlight requirements.