Emma Casey “Victimhood and Actorhood: Constructions of agency in anti-trafficking advocacy”
Emma’s thesis identified and critically analyzed patterns among antitrafficking organizations in their constructions of victimhood and victim agency. Emma will continue her intellectual pursuits as a PhD student in sociology at Stanford University. Committee: Lynn Hempel, Tara Opsal, Tony Roberts, and Sammy Zahran (Economics). 

Julia Kovacs: “Green Crime, Space, and Place: An Examination of the Role of Environmental Victims in the Treadmill of Crime”
Julia did an excellent job integrating the concepts of “space” and “place” to the theorization of environmental victimization and sites of acceptance in green criminology and environmental justice. Committee: KuoRay Mao and Tara Opsal, Sociology, and Elizabeth Tulanowski, Ecosystem Science and Sustainability

Katie Linenberger: “A Women’s Support Group: Addressing Gaps in Community Services”
Katie has been working on both a thesis and a program evaluation for the local organization, Arkitekt, looking at how women’s support groups play a role in building community and helping women to address their needs for support and personal development. Committee: Jeni Cross and Tara Opsal, Sociology, and Katie Gerst, Human Development and Family Studies

Severin Mangold: “Tiny House Communities: A Model for Sustainability”
Severin conducted a rigorous study on the role of community integration in promoting environmentalism among residents of Tiny House communities throughout the United States. Committee: Tony Roberts and Pat Mahoney, Sociology, and Phil Cafaro, Philosophy

Chelsey Potter: “One Country, Two Perspectives: Social Control Through News Media Framing During the 2014 Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong”
Chelsey did an innovative and rigorous study on the role of media framing in over-criminalization and authoritarian social control during the 2014 Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong. Committee: KuoRay Mao and Jeffrey Nowacki, Sociology, and Ziyu Long, Communication Studies

Yue Xu: “The Rise of Social Network Based Seafood Industrial Cluster and Rural Community Transformation in Zhoushan Islands of China”
Committee: Laura Raynolds and KuoRay Mao, Sociology, and Lynn Kwiatkoski, Anthropology and Geography

Drew Yarnell: “Risk Society and the Fight for Kratom”
Drew studied the rise of Kratom as a dietary supplement, its relationship to neoliberalism, and how its growing use challenges the dominance of Big Pharma. Committee: S. Patrick Mahoney and Pete Taylor, Sociology, and Meara Faw, Speech Communication