A female student visiting an Italian-themed resort at Lake Las Vegas.

Department of Sociology News

The Department of Sociology offers courses that inspect concerns about human behavior, social life, and social change. Students examine topics such as crime; economic inequalities; gender; leisure and sports; marriage and family; occupations; race and ethnic relations; and religion.

Current Sociology News

unlv pumpkins
Campus News |

A monthly roundup of the top news stories at UNLV, featuring the presidential election, gaming partnerships, and much more.

artistic photo of woman in dark room behind large lit lamp shade
People |

The sociologist found her 'light' at UNLV by studying families seeking community and citizenship.

man looking to side with banner that reads 'REB' in the background
People |

The Facilities Management project manager has been leading a collaborative effort to improve and update the security for Frank and Estella Beam Hall.

The Las Vegas strip as seen on Super Bowl weekend (Josh Hawkins/UNLV).
Campus News |

A collection of news stories and highlights featuring UNLV students and faculty.

a UNLV football helmet placed on the turf with an Allegiant Stadium sign and empty bleachers visible in the background
Campus News |

As the nation's most-watched sports entertainment event rolls into town, UNLV researchers are available to provide expertise.

collage of six people
Business and Community |

Meet some UNLV grads who've had a hand in shaping the city's sports identity. 

Sociology In The News

KNPR News

It’s getting cold in Las Vegas, which is nice after that brutal summer. And for many people, reading a good book is the perfect thing to do when it’s this cold out. So today, four local authors and editors are with us to talk about their books, ones we think you really might be interested in.

Las Vegas Review Journal

As Hate Crimes Awareness Month comes to a close, the reason behind the month rings louder than ever before.

ProPublica

Over the past two decades, Tim O’Hare methodically amassed power in North Texas as he pushed incendiary policies such as banning undocumented immigrants from renting homes and vilifying school curriculum that encouraged students to embrace diversity.

The Texas Tribune

Over the past two decades, Tim O’Hare methodically amassed power in North Texas as he pushed incendiary policies such as banning undocumented immigrants from renting homes and vilifying school curriculum that encouraged students to embrace diversity.

Public News Service

Plenty of political and social leaders are calling for unity and condemning political violence after this weekend's assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump. However, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas sociologist said he is not too optimistic about the country's capacity to use this political moment to catalyze change.

KNPR News

It has been 10 years since Cliven Bundy summoned a mob to his Nevada ranch and staged an armed standoff over control of federal public land. He was never convicted, and his cows continue to graze illegally today. His son Ammon also remains free despite a months-old arrest warrant. NPR's Kirk Siegler reports on why the Bundys appear to be above the law.

Sociology Experts

An expert in health and social inequality.
An expert in gender, sexuality, sexual politics, prostitution, sex work and sex trafficking.
An expert on gaming and society, Bernhard has been featured on CNN, The Discovery Channel, the BBC, and The History Channel.
An expert on the intersection of travel and tourism with sociology, social justice, and environmental sustainability. 
An expert in urban culture and interactions, popular culture, religion and spirituality, craft beer, and the Boston Red Sox.
An expert in both urban sustainability and political extremism, including white supremacy

Recent Sociology Accomplishments

Chenghui Zhang (Sociology) published an article titled, "Constructing Hate Crimes: Does Respondent's Racial/Ethnic Identity Matter?," in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence. This article explores whether and how respondent's racial/ethnic identity affects hate crime perception, considering the races/ethnicities of the offender and the victim.…
Aldo Barrita, Shane Kraus, Rachael Robnett, Gloria Wong-Padoongpatt (all Psychology) and Cassaundra Rodriguez (Sociology) recently published a paper titled, "The Illegal Threat": The Presumed Illigality Microaggressive Experience Scale in the journal of Translational Issues in Psychological Science. This research project aimed…
Elizabeth Lawrence (Sociology) published a paper with co-authors at the University of North Carolina - Chapel Hill in the international Journal of Epidemiology. The article, titled "Data Resource Profile: Add Health Mortality Outcomes Surveillance," describes newly available mortality data for The National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to…
Robert Futrell (Sociology) recently co-authored an article in the Annual Review of Sociology titled: "How Threat Mobilizes the Resurgence and Persistence of US White Supremacist Activism: The 1980s to the Present." The review asesses micro, meso, and macro-level research on white supremacist activism to explain analytic commonalities and…
On July 18, Adrianna Munson (Sociology) presented a paper titled, "Assessing daily life: Standardization and discretion in home healthcare evaluations," at the joint meeting of the European Association for the Study of Science and Technology (EASST) and the Society for Social Studies of Science (4S). The paper is co-authored with Guillermina…
Robert Futrell (Sociology) was featured on NPR's All Things Considered in the story "A decade after armed standoff, the Bundys appear to be above the law."