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Religion and reporting

Bernard Grofman, political science professor, Jack Peltason Chair, and Center for the Study of Democracy director, assesses U.S. media coverage of stories involving faith

The U.S. may be a secular country, but religion permeates public discourse on issues ranging from abortion rights to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. And where religion is concerned, emotions can run high - sometimes clouding the facts. Controversies over a proposed mosque near Ground Zero and President Obama's religious affiliation are cases in point, underscoring the importance of unbiased, accurate reporting on religion-tinged subjects. With this goal in mind, UC Irvine's Center for the Study of Democracy in the School of Social Sciences contributed to the recently published Faith, Politics & Press in Our Perilous Times, edited by Stephen Burgard, director of Northeastern University's School of Journalism. Here, center director Bernard Grofman offers his thoughts on religion, media and UCI's role in producing the anthology, which features an essay by UCI Distinguished Professor of English Jack Miles.

Monroe receives dual honors from American Political Science Association

Goodnow and Ithiel de Sola Pool awards recognize the political scientist and former association vice president for her contributions to the field and the association

Kristen Renwick Monroe, political science professor and Interdisciplinary Center for the Scientific Study of Ethics and Morality director, has received the 2010 Frank J. Goodnow Award from the American Political Science Association. Named in honor of the association's first president, the award recognizes Monroe, a past vice president of the association and past president of the International Society of Political Psychology, for her contributions to the development of the political science profession and the building of the American Political Science Association. The recognition adds to her previously announced 2010 Ithiel de Sola Pool Award from the association which included the honor of delivering a general lecture at the association's annual meeting in Washington, D.C. September 2-5.

Population control in China

After 30 years under the one-child per couple birth control policy, how has China's population changed? Wang Feng, UCI sociology professor and newly named senior fellow and director of the Brookings-Tsinghua Center in Beijing, weighs in on the policy's effects in a special Science magazine feature

September 25 marked the 30th anniversary of China's public announcement of the one-child per couple policy. Originally designed as a means for slowing the country's burgeoning population, its effectiveness and continued enforcement in an age when more couples are choosing to have less children has produced a highly distorted gender imbalance, vulnerable families, and nationwide labor shortage, says Wang Feng, UCI sociology professor and recently named senior fellow and director of the Brookings-Tsinghua Center in Beijing . The resulting scenario, he says in a special Science magazine feature, has heightened rather than helped the economic and social conditions the policy was designed to address. Here, Wang Feng discusses how the policy has contributed to China's changing demographic makeup and what its implications are for the country's future.

Garcia wins prestigious PEN book award

Honor recognizes the anthropologist's study on heroin addiction among rural residents in New Mexico's Española Valley

Angela Garcia, anthropology assistant professor, has received the 2010 PEN USA Literary Award for University of California Exceptional First Book. Garcia, author of The Pastoral Clinic: Addiction and Dispossession along the Rio Grande, is a medical anthropologist who studies heroin addiction among rural residents in New Mexico's Española Valley. PEN USA is the West Coast center for the renowned writers' organization International PEN and honors outstanding work by writers in 10 separate genres. The awards will be presented at the organization's 20th Annual Literary Awards Festival, known as LitFest, on Nov. 17 at the Beverly Hills Hotel. Past winners of awards from PEN USA include Alice Walker and Gore Vidal. Garcia's prior work on drug addiction in New Mexico earned her the Stirling Prize for Best Published Work in Psychological Anthropology, awarded by the Society for Psychological Anthropology of the American Anthropological Association, in 2009.

Lee discusses race, immigration and the blurring color line in on-screen interview

Topics are focus of new book co-authored with UCI's Frank D. Bean

Check out Jennifer Lee, sociology associate professor, as she discusses issues of race, immigration and the blurring color line in an on-screen interview with author Dalton Conley. The topics are the focus of Lee's new book, The Diversity Paradox: Immigration and the Color Line in Twenty-First Century America, co-authored with Frank D. Bean, UCI sociology professor.

Jones receives research funding to study drug cartels in Mexico

One-year fellowship awarded by UC Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation

Nathan Jones, political science graduate student, has received a $14,200 dissertation fellowship from the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation (IGCC) to study the resiliency of drug trafficking organizations in Mexico. Through interviews with journalists, law enforcement personnel, academics, U.S. and Mexican government officials and other experts, he aims to learn how, despite major offensives, the trafficking industry continues to thrive. Findings from his study have implications for international policy and law enforcement initiatives. Funding began in October and will run through June 2011.

Burciaga receives award to study undocumented students' impact on immigrant rights movement

Funding provided by UC Center for New Racial Studies

Edelina Burciaga, sociology graduate student, has received a $3,000 research award to study how undocumented students are impacting the immigrant rights movement. "Undocumented students have been advocating for the passage of the Federal Development Relief and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act for the past ten years," says Burciaga. Advocacy activities have ranged from staged graduation ceremonies to more recent acts of civil disobedience, such as sit-ins and hunger strikes. Through interviews with the student activists, Burciaga aims to learn how their participation is impacting the immigrant rights movement. Already, she says, their actions have been successful in raising the profile of the undocumented student movement and pushing passage of the DREAM Act to the top of the immigration reform agenda. Funding, provided by the UC Center for New Racial Studies, began in July and will run through June 2011.

A whole new ball game

UCI soccer star and sociology undergrad Mar Rodriguez represents Mexico in under-20 Women's World Cup

Mar Rodriguez, a UC Irvine sophomore in sociology and member of the women's soccer team, took her game to the world stage this summer by playing for Mexico in the FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup in Germany. During her first year at UCI, forward Rodriguez made the record books with four game-winning goals. For the season, she had five goals and two assists and didn't miss a match for Anteater head coach Scott Juniper's squad. "I think what helped me make the final cut for the Mexican national team was that I did fairly well my freshman year," says the Santa Ana resident, who endured several rounds of tryouts beginning last spring in Pomona. Rodriguez, who was born in the U.S. but whose parents were born in Mexico, has dual citizenship.

Times Higher Education ranks UCI among world's top 50 universities

High marks earned for research influence and international mix of staff and students

Times Higher Education has ranked UC Irvine 49th in its annual list of the world's top 200 universities. The British magazine's 2010-11 World University Rankings are based on data provided by Thomson Reuters and an invitation-only reputation survey of more than 13,000 verified academics. "As global higher education is becoming more competitive than ever, inclusion in this year's ranking is an impressive achievement for any institution," said editor Phil Baty. According to the publication, the newly revamped rankings place less importance on reputation and heritage than in previous years and give more weight to research, teaching and knowledge transfer. UCI earned high marks for its research influence and international mix of staff and students.

SPOTLIGHT EVENT - Election 2010 and Beyond

October 13, 2010 @ 11:15 a.m.
UCI University Club

Come eat lunch at the University Club and listen as Matt Beckmann, UCI political science associate professor, sorts through the potential impacts and influences of the coming election -- short and longer range. Q & A will follow, moderated by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, a co-sponsor with the University Club. There is a fee of $11.50 for UClub members and $13.50 for non-members, including tax and gratuity. For reservations, please call 949-824-7960.