News
Dr. Jonathan Olsen discusses Angela Merkel's impact on a united Germany with AICGS
10/21/21
"As Germany’s first Chancellor from the former GDR, how has she bridged the gaps between east and west and furthered unification in a country that was divided for forty years?" the American Institute for Contemporary German Studies (AICGS) at Johns Hopkins University asked in a recent retrospective of Merkel's tenure and legacy as Chancellor.
"Angela Merkel’s contribution to German unity is ambiguous," Dr. Jonathan Olsen, professor and chair of the TWU Department of Social Sciences and Historical Studies, said. "On the one hand, as the first (and so far only) chancellor from the east, her symbolic stature is unquestionable, as is her role in advocating policies that have closed some of the economic, political, and social gaps between the east and west. On the other hand, considerable differences—from wages and wealth to social and political attitudes—have stubbornly persisted between the two halves of Germany.
Dr. Parker Hevron reflects on the impact of 9/11 in the DRC's 20th-anniversary article
9/13/21
TWU Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Parker Hevron recently spoke with the Denton Record-Chronicle on the 20-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, reflecting on how those events shaped domestic and foreign politics and policies in the aftermath.
“I think it’s kind of fitting that the war in Afghanistan ended a few weeks before the 20th anniversary of 9/11,” Hevron said. “In some ways, it has had a similar trajectory to how we all feel about that day. In the aftermath of the terrorist attacks — it was a horrific event, it was traumatizing — it was on everyone’s mind. Eventually, the event fades a little bit into the background. I think we all tried to compartmentalize trauma so we can move forward. And in some ways, that’s what happened to the war in Afghanistan.”
Christina Bejarano discusses changes in the U.S. political landscape with BELatina
8/31/21
"As demonstrated by researcher Christina Bejarano of Texas Woman’s University, beyond elections and incumbency, political participation rates of women from America’s once so-called 'racial and ethnic minorities' have also increased dramatically over the past ten years, far outpacing increases for men.
In fact, according to Bejarano, Latinas not only participate more but also 'express distinctive political attitudes that have helped them lead the way in boosting Latino political participation.'"
Sociology PhD student featured in GDAC 'Soul Art Renewal' exhibition
7/22/21
Petina JD Powers, a PhD student and GTA at TWU, has a series of three poems included in the Greater Denton Arts Council (GDAC) exhibition, "Soul Art Renewal: PENS & LENSES." Powers’ poems are part of her larger qualitative work on pandemic poetry and images.
TWU alumna says “multispecies families” impact birth rates, job location, disasters and more in new book
7/21/21
TWU alumna and current SMU sociologist Andrea Laurent-Simpson says treating pets like family has changed our laws, the number of children we have, and even where we choose to work. Her new book could make the fur fly for pet lovers and detractors alike.