Tags: Society

young people outside on their phones
Socializing boosts mood more than screentime

People expect more enjoyment in conversation than on smartphones, but don’t always follow that instinct It turns out people might prefer social interactions over their smartphones, but that doesn’t mean they’re going to stop scrolling. A new study from researchers in the University of Georgia’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences found that when asked to scroll on their phones, sit quietly by themselves or have a conversation with a stranger,…

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Professor studies endangered languages and their variations

Awareness about languages, the differences in how individuals speak, and how these create local identities may come as no great surprise to American Southerners. When speakers of certain linguistic varieties decline, though, their languages become endangered. Keith Langston’s scholarship addresses questions of linguistic structure and the relationship of language and identity, with a focus on the country of Croatia. “We always have this idea…

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Semitic language scholar joins UGA as the Ann and Jay Davis Professor of Jewish Studies

Aaron Rubin joined the University of Georgia in August 2023 as the Ann and Jay Davis Professor of Jewish Studies in the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of religion. Rubin arrived at UGA after 19 years on the faculty at Penn State University. Jewish Studies is a vast field, which includes the study of religion, history, literature, language, philosophy, art, sociology, political science, and more. Rubin hopes to work with other…

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Dean Stenport meets with Franklin alumni from across the U.S.

Franklin College Dean Anna Stenport has been meeting with alumni and friends of the college at Meet-and-Mingle events designed to provide our alumni the opportunity to get to know Dean Stenport – and for Dean Stenport to learn about how our graduates want to help shape a vision for the Franklin College. The events began even before she officially started her duties as dean of the college when she attended a recital at Steinway Hall in NYC in…

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Classic Georgia accent fading fast

A collaborative study between the University of Georgia and Georgia Tech has found the classic Southern accent is undergoing rapid change in Georgia. The instigator? Generation X. “We found that, here in Georgia, white English speakers’ accents have been shifting away from the traditional Southern pronunciation for the last few generations,” said Margaret Renwick, associate professor in UGA’s Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of…

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Sociology faculty, students, honored at ASA conference

Faculty and students in the department of sociology were recognized for career excellence and innovative research at the 118th Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association: The Educative Power of Sociology in Philadelphia, PA in mid-August. William Alex Pridemore, professor and head of the department of sociology, received the 2023 Albert J. Reiss Distinguished Scholarship Award. Presented every other year by the…

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Dean's intro video scored by Hodgson School of Music student

Our new video introducing Dean Anna Stenport features a score composed and produced by Jacob Evarts, a media composition major in the Hugh Hodgson School of Music. The music helps create an elevated tone for the video and is another example of innovative experiential learning opportunities in the Franklin College. "Jacob already had a piece performed by the Orlando Symphony in 2022, called "Wonder of the World" as part of a program called "The…

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Alumni Association celebrates 2023 class of 40 Under 40

The University of Georgia Alumni Association unveiled the 40 Under 40 Class of 2023 – including 13 Franklin College alumni. The program celebrates the personal, professional and philanthropic achievements of successful UGA graduates under the age of 40. The honorees will be recognized during the 13th annual 40 Under 40 Awards Luncheon Sept. 22 in the Tate Student Center on campus. Congratulations to the 40 Under 40 Class of 2023! Franklin…

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Kudos, Summer 2023

Book awards, new grants, fellowships, and excellence in musical performance headline the outstanding accolades of Franklin College faculty and students over the summer. A sample of the good news from over the summer break – congratulations all: Anna Westerstahl Stenport became the 17th dean of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences on June 1 UGA appointed Gagan Agrawal, professor and associate dean for research and graduate studies in…

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Noted and Quoted, summer 2023

For Franklin College faculty across campus, 2023 was a summer 'on' for writing in and commenting for media reports from around the world. Expert insights and new research findings were widely covered in a variety of broadcast, digital, and print media. A sample from our tireless colleagues: Eating carrots (and other veggies) really does improve your eyesight, study says – research study led by Jack Harth, a doctoral candidate in the College…

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Welcome, class of 2027!

We welcome all of our new and returning students back to campus today, with special focus on the 6,200-strong first-year class: The incoming class includes students from 470 Georgia high schools, 143 Georgia counties, 45 states and 14 nations. Approximately 81% of the first-year students are Georgia residents. Overall, 84.5% of UGA’s undergraduate student body are Georgia residents, a percentage of in-state students far above that of many other…

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Pre-med student veteran receives national leadership award

University of Georgia student Gabriela Castillo was featured on the cover of the August issue of G.I. Jobs magazine for receiving the publication’s 2023 Student Veteran Leadership Award. The national honor is handed out annually by the magazine’s editorial team to student veterans who make a positive impact through serving their schools, communities and fellow veterans. Castillo, an Army medic turned pre-med student, logged…

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Five UGA faculty receive NSF CAREER awards for research

Five University of Georgia early-career faculty – three from Franklin College units – have been recognized in 2023 by the National Science Foundation’s Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER), which rewards faculty who have the potential to serve as leaders in the advancement of research and education:   UGA’s newest awardees include Akram Alishahi (Department of Mathematics), Amanda Frossard (Department of…

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Bram Tucker prioritizes people in work to understand cultures

Bram Tucker is an associate professor in the University of Georgia’s Department of Anthropology, where his Behavioral Ecology and Economic Decisions Labstudies how people make decisions under risks, vulnerabilities and changes. He works primarily with Mikea hunter-gatherers, Masikoro farmers and Vezo fishers in southwestern Madagascar, and previously served as president of the Society for Economic Anthropology with the American…

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In Memoriam: Lars G. Ljungdahl

University of Georgia Professor Emeritus Lars G. Ljungdahl passed away in July 2023 at the age of 96. A pioneer in the field of anaerobic metabolism, Ljungdahl made remarkable discoveries leading to a set of biochemical reactions now known as the Wood-Ljungdahl pathway, and about supramolecular cellulosome complexes that efficiently digest cellulose. Ljungdahl joined the faculty of the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences department of…

photo of three boys working together in classroom
How individuals learn racial biases at the microlevel

While many White American residents believe that disregarding race would help minimize racism, or fear that acknowledging race could lead to the development of racial biases in children, multiple research studies suggest that racial socialization in White American families can reduce racial biases among children and provide a counter narrative to the systemic factors that reinforce racial biases. Individual-level racial biases operate across…

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Wolf named director of the Franklin Residential College

The Franklin College of Arts and Sciences has named Montgomery Wolf as the new director of the Franklin Residential College (FRC), UGA's oldest living learning community. Wolf, Principal Lecturer of American History in the UGA department of history, succeeds Benjamin Ehlers as director of the FRC. Established in 2000, the Franklin Residential College is a collaborative partnership among the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences, the Office of…

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The First Kings of Europe: professor explores ancient hierarchies in Field Museum exhibit

Attila Gyucha, assistant professor of archaeology at the University of Georgia’s Department of Anthropology, and colleagues organized an exhibition at Chicago’s Field Museum of Natural History titled, “The First Kings of Europe”. Gyucha is the co-curator and leading editor of two books that accompany the exhibition, which runs through Jan. 28, 2024. It can be accessed by discovery or an all-access pass, and showcases more than 700…

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Adversity can accelerate brain aging among Black Americans

Longitudinal research studies led by faculty in the UGA Center for Family Research have changed the landscape of developmental, health, and prevention science by demonstrating its potential for narrowing social and racial disparities in health and well-being. By tracking the experiences of individual subjects over decades, prospective investigations of resilience among Black Americans have set a standard for conducting research with…

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UGA department of history announces creation of Sheffield Hale Fellowship

The University of Georgia department of history has announced the creation of the Sheffield Hale Fellowship. The annual award will underwrite a paid internship at Atlanta History Center, open to both undergraduate and graduate students interested in pursuing a career in public history and historical museums. The award honors Sheffield Hale, the current president of Atlanta History Center. Hale, who graduated with honors in History, summa cum…

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Five UGA undergraduates offered Boren Scholarships in 2023

The Boren Scholarships are designed to add important international and language components to students’ educations by giving them the opportunity to study overseas in world regions critical to U.S. interests. The national initiative is administered by the Institute of International Education on behalf of the National Security Education Program. Boren recipients commit to working in the federal government for at least one year after graduation in…

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Juneteenth 2023

In the tradition of recognizing and celebrating Americans and American history, we observe Juneteenth today. Two months after the American Civil War ended and two years after President Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation, U.S. Major General Gordon Granger, newly arrived with 1,800 men in Texas, ordered that “all slaves are free” in Texas and that there would be an “absolute equality of personal rights and rights of property between…

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Agrawal appointed director of School of Computing

The University of Georgia has appointed Gagan Agrawal, professor and associate dean for research and graduate studies in the School of Computer and Cyber Sciences at Augusta University, as the director of the UGA School of Computing. Agrawal was selected after a national search and will begin as director July 1. UGA elevated its longstanding department of computer science to a School of Computing in July 2022 in response to rising student…

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nothin' finer in the land

Georgia Magazine dons the Redcoats for the cover of its newest issue: Bawcum has been a part of the Redcoat Band for more than 30 years, first as a saxophonist and then as drum major, graduate assistant, and associate director before being named director in 2020. He’s heard lots of iterations of the Redcoat Chant. “The way the band performs the Chant changes every year, but the basics are still the same,” he says. “That’s on purpose, and it’s OK…

photo of woman outdoors, day
Welcome, Dean Stenport!

The University of Georgia and the Franklin College of Arts and Sciences today welcomes Anna Westerstahl Stenport as the 17th dean of UGA's oldest and largest college. Dr. Stenport, a professor of communication and an expert in transnational cinema and media, modern literature and drama, and visual and cultural studies, with a focus on the Arctic and Nordic regions, joined the UGA faculty as the University of Georgia Athletic Association…
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