Pozen Family Center for Human Rights 

6pm, Ida Noyes Hall, Third floor theatre 

Center for East Asian Studies, CEAS, CEAS Teach In and Discussion 

April 4: "State Formation in the Massachusetts Bay Colony: The Participatory Foundations of Church and Civil Government" Can Mert Kokerer PhD Candidate, UChicago Sociology 

2:00pm - 3:20pm, Keller Center Room 1022  

Mar 26: Omer Tamuz, Caltech

March 28: Tracing the 19th century North China materia medica market in Astragalus stories, Ruiling Xue 

March 28: “No Man Left Behind? Hostage Deservingness and the Politics of Hostage Recovery”, Lauren Prather, University of California, San Diego 

April 4: TBC, ANTON STREZHNEV University of Chicago 

Jonathan Schoots, UChicago PhD’21, 19-20 CISSR Rudolph Fellow, and 20-21 CISSR Dissertation Fellow, recently wrote a chapter for the book Uncovering Untold Histories: The Power of Quantitative History. The book delves into the problems of traditional archival research and how these methods at times fall short of assessing and representing narratives that remain on the fringes of Eurocentric, classical historiography. The book examines how quantitative methods can remedy or equalize this narrative imbalance and demonstrates the effectiveness of quantitative tools in regions where historical records are preserved but biased narratives persist.

Schoots's chapter, "Political Innovations in African Nationalist Organisations, 1880-90," examines the 'proto-nationalist' movement and how it created new visions of political identity and new forms of political action. He uses quantitative techniques of network analysis combined with in-depth examination of the ideas and actions of African political organizations. Uncovering Untold Histories establishes a vital connection between quantitative research and narrative social history. It challenges the limitations of traditional archival sources and reshapes the landscape of historical research, showing the transformative power of quantitative history in revealing the untold stories of marginalized groups. Read the chapter on Google Books. 

22-23 CISSR Rudolph Fellow Priyanjali Mitra reviewed "They Eat Our Sweat: Transport Labour, Corruption and Everyday Survival in Urban Nigeria" by Daniel E. Agbiboa in 2023 for "Doing Sociology," an independent women-led digital resource aimed at exploring and expanding sociological consciousness from the perspective of sociology students based in India. Mitra, who attended the University of New Dehli, recieved her Master’s from Oxford University, and previously worked in the development sector, is currently completing her PhD in Sociology with a focus on issues of informal labor, gender, and urbanization in the Global South. Her review outlines the content of each chapter and offers reflections on both methodology and content, exploring how Agbiboa incorporates a range of terms borrowed from anthropology, sociology, and other fields. Read the full book review at Doing Sociology.

Maryam Alemzadeh, Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Oxford, UChicago PhD’18, and 17-18 CISSR dissertation fellow, wrote an article on the almost-traditionalized anti-regime movement in Iran, and the ironic contrast of this perpetual contention with its goal: a sense of normalcy. Referencing the protest song “Baraye” that is now a staple of women’s rights protests in Iran, Alemzadeh notes that the “longing for a normal life” is both behind a barrier put in place by the regime and alienated from the fervent desire to attain it. By exhibiting this contrast between political contention and the civic demands at the core of it, Alemzadeh shows that the designs of oppression seep into the movements that counter it, and questions whether any possibility of success, a counter-revolution, will bring the desired normalcy by giving examples from post-revolution authoritarianism around the world. Read the full article in the International Journal of Middle Eastern Studies.