News – Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences

Andrea Laurent-Simpson: ‘Dog Mom’ and more – we’re living in multispecies families now. Here’s what it means

Fox News Originally Posted: July 30, 2021 WATCH The evidence of new families blended with people and pets arrived long before we considered what to call them. "Multispecies families" captures the scientific essence, but the lifestyle and character of this four-legged/two-legged companion coalescence is far-reaching and even comes with a glossary: Dog Mom; Puppy Child; Baby Doll; GrandCat; Daddy’s Girl. And on and on. The elevated state of companion animals is undeniable, and it’s no surprise family dynamics adjusted. Divorce courts now consider custody of the family pet. Millennial home buyers often pass on a home unsuitable for their dog. It’s become routine that rescue missions for pets occur before demolition of property touched by disaster. WATCH

By Katherine Nickles| 2021-08-01T18:54:41-07:00 August 2nd, 2021|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, Sociology, Sociology (Faculty)|Comments Off

SMU Senior Working With All Wheels Up Advocating For Wheelchair Space On Aircrafts.

Maguire Ethics Center Originally Posted: July 30, 2021 While catching a flight remains a simple part of life for most people, those flying as a wheelchair user may find flying a daunting proposition. While airlines are required to assist in making it possible to fly, it’s often not a pleasant process. Slings, hoists, and slide boards make the whole experience rather undignified, and all too often can end up with wheelchairs becoming damaged or broken, or even the passenger getting hurt. “Airlines need to recognize that each of their passengers need to be treated with dignity,” SMU senior Brady Martin says. “Some call air travel a luxury and believe that we are privileged if we have the opportunity to travel by air. However, in the globalizing [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2021-07-30T20:44:16-07:00 July 30th, 2021|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Diversity and Inclusion, Embrey Human Rights Events, Political Science, Undergraduate News, World Languages and Literatures|Comments Off

SMU students take first prize in International Statistical Institute competition

SMU News Originally Posted: July 24, 2021 From May 2020 through July 2021, the International Statistical Institute (ISI) launched the International Year of Women in Statistics and Data Science to commemorate the 200thanniversary of Florence Nightingale’s birth. As part of this year’s celebration, the ISI created its Florence Nightingale Prize for Data Visualization to honor Florence Nightingale’s exemplary use of data visualization to convey statistical information. A team of SMU undergraduates took first prize in the competition for their work: Modeling opioid use using Bayesian methods and understanding drug gateways through network analysis.

By Katherine Nickles| 2021-07-24T08:32:50-07:00 July 28th, 2021|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Events, Statistical Science, Undergraduate News|Comments Off

Team Building Spirit

Diversity in Action Magazine Originally Posted: May/June 2021 issue

By Katherine Nickles| 2021-07-24T08:29:17-07:00 July 26th, 2021|Chemistry, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Diversity and Inclusion, Faculty News|Comments Off

On a trek for Arctic dinosaur footprints in Alaska preserve

Washington Post Originally Posted: July 24, 2021 'Did you find one?" Tony Fiorillo yelled to his colleague, Yoshitsugu Kobayashi. The two paleontologists were climbing over dumpster-sized sandstone boulders, scanning the long, rocky beach of Aniakchak National Monument & Preserve at low tide for dinosaur footprints. “I think so,” Kobayashi called back. They have been coming to one of Alaska’s most remote coastlines since 2016 to search for evidence of Late Cretaceous era dinosaurs. Sedimentologist Paul McCarthy is part of the adventure. “I specialize in the mud between the [dinosaur] toes,” McCarthy joked. It’s a quip he once made on a local public radio show. Fiorillo has never let him forget it. “It was one of the few times you were witty,” Fiorillo, an expert on [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2021-07-24T08:14:23-07:00 July 24th, 2021|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Earth Sciences, Faculty News|Comments Off

SMU Biology Professor Published In Prestigious Journal, Science Advances

Science Advances Originally Posted: July 16, 2021 Congratulations to Richard S. Jones, SMU professor and chair of the Department of Biological Sciences. Research from his lab was published in Science Advances on July 16, 2021. For a research summary, click here. Paper Abstract from Science Advances Polycomb-group (PcG) proteins are epigenetic regulators that maintain the transcriptional repression of target genes following their initial repression by transcription factors. PcG target genes are repressed in some cells, but active in others. Therefore, a mechanism must exist by which PcG proteins distinguish between the repressed and active states and only assemble repressive chromatin environments at target genes that are repressed. Here, we present experimental evidence that the repressed state of a Drosophila PcG target gene, giant (gt), is not [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2021-07-16T12:52:20-07:00 July 16th, 2021|Biology, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences|Comments Off

Pets on Board: Meet The Multispecies American Family

SMU NEWS Contact: Nancy George, ngeorge@smu.edu July 13, 2021 New book defines trend – pets really are part of the family DALLAS (SMU) – Do you sign your pets’ names to your holiday card? Have you ever sent your dog to day care? Do you shop regularly for cat or dog toys? Welcome to a new breed of American family – the multispecies family. In her new book, Just Like Family: How Companion Animals Joined the Household (New York University Press: 2021) SMU sociologist Andrea Laurent-Simpson asserts what most pet-owners already know – the American family structure is changing to include nonhuman species, and the implications are huge. “American pet-owners are transforming the cultural definition of family,” Laurent-Simpson says. “Dogs and cats are treated like children, [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2021-07-14T07:35:20-07:00 July 14th, 2021|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News, Sociology, Sociology (Faculty)|Comments Off

Stoking the fires of change

SMU News Originally Posted: July 12, 2021 An unusually hot, dry spell bakes the landscape. Ready to say goodbye to summer, friends gather for Labor Day barbecues in neighborhoods surrounded by forest. Winds whip up and embers fly. In the blink of an eye, 1,500 structures are set aflame. That hypothetical scenario cooked up by environmental archaeologist Chris Roos and a friend about a fictional New Hampshire hamlet now plays out too often in places where wildfires were once unknown. “Climate change makes it real for a lot of people,” says Roos, an SMU anthropology professor who has studied wildfires in the Southwest for more than a decade. A blaze was too close for comfort in an iconic photo showing a barefoot man clad in [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2021-07-12T12:34:37-07:00 July 12th, 2021|Anthropology, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Faculty News|Comments Off

Reflecting on the 80th Anniversary of the Nazi Invasion of Russia

History News Network Originally Posted: July 11, 2021 By: Rick Halperin, director of the Human Rights Program at SMU Dallas. Eighty years ago last month Adolf Hitler unleashed almost 3 million soldiers along a 1,500-mile front, with the intent to utterly and militarily destroy the Soviet Union. It was the largest assembled army the world had ever seen. The havoc, destruction, and wholesale slaughter of human beings that ensued in the months and years to come would change the paradigm of World War II and alter world history. Among the death tolls were 2 million Jews and millions of Russian civilians who were murdered. Thousands of towns and villages were destroyed and wiped off the map, art and livestock were plundered and the human psyche scarred [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2021-07-12T08:23:32-07:00 July 12th, 2021|Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Dedman College Research, Embrey Human Rights Events, Faculty News|Comments Off

COVID-19 reminders for July term

SMU NEWS As SMU moves into Summer Session II (July term), it’s important to maintain a healthy campus by diligently following SMU’s current COVID-19 protocols. Here are some reminders. The Mustang Strong Dashboard recording COVID-19 cases at SMU is now updated weekly on Thursdays. SMU strongly encourages everyone to receive the COVID-19 vaccination to prevent the spread and lessen the severity of the virus, if contracted. COVID-19 vaccinations are available at the Dr. Bob Smith Health Center for current and incoming students, SMU employees and their eligible spouse/dependents. Book an appointment through the health portal or by calling 214-768-2141 (option 1). After receiving the vaccine, please record your status in the voluntary vaccination reporting tool. The Health Center also provides COVID-19 testing for students and employees, but appointments are required, so call first at 214-768-2141 [...]

By Katherine Nickles| 2021-07-07T08:28:44-07:00 July 7th, 2021|Anthropology, Biology, Chemistry, Dedman College of Humanities and Sciences, Earth Sciences, Economics, English, History, Mathematics, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Religious Studies, Sociology, Statistical Science, World Languages and Literatures|Comments Off