The Social Climber

But those well prepared should have a positive adventure, a challenge that will afford resting places between exhaustion, and the occasional exhilaration of insights, or new ways of seeing. In this context, The Social Climber refers to our department as a training facility for students and faculty -- a place to learn to climb. That’s the meaning I see in the title, and our Newsletter is intended to inform you of how things are going back at the training facility.

Who’s this guy waxing philosophical about the name of a Newsletter? I’m the new kid in town, the guy from someplace else, who showed up when the department conducted a national search for a new Head. My name is Jeff Nash, now into my second year as Head, learning as I go, making my share of mistakes, (some of which have been pointed out to me and others I get to find out about on my own). Although I grew up not far from the Ozarks (across the boarder down there in Tulsa), I am fairly well traveled. I taught at the University of Tulsa after finishing my degree at Washington State University; but for twenty years, I practiced sociology at a small liberal arts college in St. Paul, Minnesota called Macalester College. Some of you may know of it. A great little college with arguably the worst athletics program in all of NCAA (just kiddin’ but it’s great to be at a school where championships aren’t ancient history).

Mostly, I enjoyed my years at Macalester, but I was anxious for a change. I wanted to try my hand at practicing sociology at a state university. The Department, the Dean and a bunch of other folks thought I could contribute something here, so here I am!  So far so good. We are off and running. Since I’ve been here, we have started all sorts of things, and The Social Climber will do its best to keep you informed. Let me offer my list of "big" events in the department:

1.     We have a really impressive presence on the World Wide Web. We have a hard working Webmaster, Marty Prosono (also editor of the Climber), who has developed an attractive and informative Home Page for our department. If you are wired, you’ve got to check us out. If you’re not, think about it. See the Editor’s Desk for instructions about how to find us.

2. We have done something quite remarkable. Primarily through some very hard work of faculty members and students, we have raised enough money to endow a significant scholarship fund. Through denotations and a contract to work concessions at selected athletic contests at Plaster Sports Complex and Hammon’s Student Center, we have raised close to $17,000 since Fall 95. This money has become endowed scholarships, two of which will honor both Don Landon and Lloyd Young. Both scholarships will become active upon their respective retirements. These men have made lifetime contributions to sociology and our department. We are proud of our senior sociologists, and you can look forward to further tributes to them in future issues of the newsletter. All the work necessary to earn the scholarship money would surely never have happened without Bill and Marsha Larkin who coordinated the whole project and now know more about the business of selling pop and hot dogs than they ever wished to.

3. We are ambitious. Consider this: We want to have our students in statistics and research methods classes using really neat computer software to aid them in understanding how these subjects relate to social climbing. We're working on that. Already, we have developed two new classes to support the university’s new general education requirements. We have two sociology classes and two anthropology classes in this new curriculum -- all designed to excite students to see that sociology and anthropology make strong contributions to the university’s goal of producing educated persons who practice citizenship through public affairs. SOC 150 is now called Introduction to Society and imparts a basic understanding of the composition and dynamics of society. SOC 160 is called Individuals in Society and shows students how they can increase their self awareness through understanding the inextricable link between self and society. The Anthropology folks have divided their chores into ANT 100, World Cultures, and ANT 125, The Human Story. ANT 100 shows students the wonder of cultural diversity and self awareness, and ANT 125 promotes understanding of society and culture through the rigorous study of the prehistorical world and the emergence of humankind. These new classes represent a long and hard job well done.

4. The Anthropology minor is growing up. For some years now, the department has wanted to offer students a major in anthropology. We finally got our plan through all the necessary phases of development and approval, and we going to offer the major in Fall 1997. Again, much hard work has been done, and I could not help but notice that Bill Wedenoja’s patience, hard work and persistence have finally paid off. Look for a complete report on our new major in future issues.

I hope you can tell I am excited to be a part of this department and optimistic about the future -- not only of the department, but our college and the university.

Turkey is a land of contrasts. The nation bridges Europe and Asia -- literally and figuratively. Shepherds still work in the fields while professionals work in modern skyscrapers; visitors can travel from an arid salt lake to snow-covered mountains in a few hours; and one can literally travel through time from the ancient culture of Anatolia to the modern universities of Turkey.

I spent a portion of my summer in Turkey as a participant in the Council on International Educational Exchange Program. The purpose of the program is to enhance faculty understanding and appreciation of other cultures. Since Turkey is a region I had not visited in my travels, I looked forward to this opportunity to expand my international horizons. The daily seminars introduced participants to the history and culture of the region for the past 7000 years. To put it mildly, the seminar program was ambitious!

A typical day began with seminars on the culture, history, architecture, archaeology, and sociology of the nation of Turkey. Then, after cutting-edge seminars on the nation, seminar participants spent the remainder of the day traveling throughout the country.

I have memories, experiences, and knowledge that will last for a long time. Among my most memorable images include the sight of the valley below the Great Temple at Hattasus and attempting to envision life in this ancient city whose walls rival those of the Great Wall of China; sharing bread and fruit with Muslim women in a cemetery and listening to stories about their husbands who were working in Europe; climbing the steep walls of Ihlara Valley to ancient Christian shrines and observing the pictographs that remain from the third century C.E.; visiting with a Turkish family in their home which they had carved out of stone and noting the intricate handwork which characterized their labors; watching pilgrims arrive at the holy Islamic site of Haci Bektash with ill family members; roaming the streets of Istanbul at night and watching the lights reflect off Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque--holy Christian and Islamic sites; standing in their room where Ataturk delivered his address concerning the creation of the nation of Turkey; and watching a colleague whose academic specialty is ancient Latin cultures weep as he sees Augustus' inscription in Ankara for the first time.

Dr. Carlie, hired by the department in 1986 with the responsibility of creating a program of study in criminology or criminal justice, resigned in July of 1996 as Coordinator of the Criminal Justice Studies Program which was finally developed. While he continues to teach in the program and conduct research in the field, Dr. Karl Kunkel has filled the position of Coordinator.

The Criminal Justice Studies Program began officially in 1987 with 115 students enrolled in its first course, "An Introduction to the American Criminal Justice System." That original group of 115 is now 350 strong, all of them minoring in CJS. Hundreds of students have graduated from the CJS program since 1986, many of whom have found careers in law enforcement, institutional corrections, community based corrections (probation, parole, drug and family counseling, etc.) and at all levels of government (federal, state, county and city).

The CJS students are graduating with majors in a variety of areas including sociology, psychology, business and communications, to name only a few. The knowledge and skills they acquire in their majors have positioned them well for careers in criminal justice. The department continues to refine the CJS program including the most recent addition of requiring that all students take our course in policing and a course about criminal and juvenile courts. In this regard, the CJS program continues to reflect the changing nature of the criminal justice field.

Among the most significant of those changes is the problem- or community-oriented approach being adopted by policing agencies throughout the United States. Moving away from a singular focus on reducing crime through arrests, these police departments are working with residents in their communities to identify the problems which are causing the criminal and delinquent activity. (Modern law enforcement recognizes that crime is not the problem. The problem is that which is causing the crime.)

Police are finding themselves more and more in the position of being facilitators and leaders in bringing about needed change in their communities. There is much sociology has to offer in guiding these efforts and we are proud of the fact that our CJS program brings the sociological perspectives to future police personnel in the form of our CJS students. Our corrections students also are being prepared well for entry-level positions.

During the past four years, I have done a few things that might be of interest to our friends and alumni. I have been promoted to professor of sociology. In 1995, I was nominated by Gender Studies faculty and then appointed by the Vice President of Academic Affairs as the Coordinator of the Gender Studies Program. The Gender Studies Program is an interdisciplinary program offering a minor of 18 hours with a selection of courses in Humanities, Social Sciences, Arts and Business classes

I have been working on a comparative study of religious fundamentalism and women's roles in the United States, Egypt, and Iran. I conducted field work and administered questionnaires to samples of women in these countries. The result is a book that I just published, Women and Fundamentalism: Islam and Christianity (New York: Garland Pub., 1996).

Three years ago, like many women across the world, I started preparing for the United Nations' Fourth World Conference on Women to be held in Beijing. Cooperating with three non-governmental organizations in the U.S., Iran and Pakistan, I organized a panel on "Fundamental Movements and Women's Civil Rights in Third World Countries" as part of NGO Forum, 95 to be held in Beijing, China. I consider myself fortunate to have been admitted and accredited by the U.N. to participate in the largest international conference ever held. I was the only participant from the Springfield and Missouri State community to attend the two meetings of NGO Forum and the U.N.'s FWCW in Beijing, China. A grant from Missouri State partially funded my trip to China.

Dr. Tim Knapp has been conducting research on economic developments in rural Midwest communities for the past several years. Working with students from the Center for Social Research, he and two colleagues surveyed nearly 1,400 leaders from small towns in six states. Information describing economic and social trends was gathered and analyzed. The results of the survey were published in two forms: a research monograph from the Department of Agriculture's Experiment Station at North Dakota State University, and an article published in the journal Small Towns.

As new coordinator of the Criminal Justice Studies minor, I want to update you on recent changes and activities. First, the requirements for the CJS minor are revised. We combined the content of two previously required courses, CJS 330 "America Behind Bars: Institutional Corrections" and CJS 340 "Treatment of Offenders in the Community," into a new course, CJS 370 "Institutional and Community Corrections." This change made room for an additional required course, CJS 360 "Criminal Courts in Society." We felt it important to expose students to all aspects of the criminal justice system: police, courts, and corrections.

We also are offering a number of interesting special topics courses during University intersessions. Currently, students have the opportunity to take short courses in gender and justice, white collar and corporate crime, reforming prisons, crime depictions in the media, capital punishment, criminal justice Internet resources, as well as comparative criminology. The faculty hopes to eventually include some of theses topics in our regular semester course offerings.

In support of the new Missouri State public affairs mission, the CJS Program offers a symposium series dealing with current public issues in criminal justice. Several sessions are scheduled during both the fall and spring semesters. Speakers include academic scholars researching criminal justice issues, professionals from criminal justice agencies, and others working to influence justice policy. Topics addressed in the series have included youth gangs, comparative cross-cultural crime rates, the death penalty, drug policy, overviews of work by community-based treatment programs, as well as an alumni panel of CJS graduates discussing their jobs and career paths. To learn about upcoming sessions look at the announcements posted on the CJS Bulletin Board outside of Cheek Hall Room 202 or ask a member of the CJS faculty.

The Criminal Justice Society student organization is very active. This group is run by students and offers the opportunity to meet and socialize with others who have similar interests and have experiences not possible in the traditional classroom situation. This past fall the Society held a "ride-along" with the Tulsa Police Department and is planning another this spring with the Kansas City Police. This spring they will also watch the local SWAT team practice and are planning tours of area prisons.

All in all, the CJS program is very active. We currently have 320 declared minors. If you are familiar with the World Wide Web and want to learn more about our program, the homepage for the CJS minor can be located at http://www.missouristate.edu/contrib/soc/soanhome.htm. You can also reach me at 836-5640.

Dr. Karl Kunkel

Also, you should pay a visit to the Department's  web page.   We are very proud of our web page which is growing as every day goes by. Dr. Michael Carlie has recently added a very interesting page entitled AdviseNet. CJS alumni should access this site to learn about job opportunities, studies related to their own work and other criminal justice information. Missouri State will have a wonderful resource to consult on our pages.

Again, as editor of this newsletter, allow me to extend a hearty welcome and encourage any of you who might have something of interest to contribute to send it to me by mail to Missouri State, Department of Sociology, 901 S. National, Springfield, MO 65804 or by email.