Professor and student present research

Dr. Chris Hausmann, associate professor of sociology at Northwestern College, and Brady Dyson, a junior from Willmar, Minn., presented their respective research projects at the Midwest Sociological Society’s 77th annual conference on April 3 in Omaha, Neb.

Hausmann presented his research, “The ‘Chaos’ of Social Movement Theory: Seeking Paradigm Shifts in an Uneasy Field,” which described a process for the generation of new ideas in the study of social movements. Hausmann drew examples from the sociology of religion and the study of bullying when crafting his presentation.

Dyson, a Spanish and sociology major, also presented at the annual meeting. Dyson’s study, “Christians’ Perceptions of the Nonreligious,” was based on research Dyson completed in Hausmann’s sociological research course last semester. His study focused on the perceptions some Christians have about nonreligious people and how that correlated with religiosity. In the process, Dyson discovered a correlation between Christians’ unwillingness to associate with the nonreligious based not only on aversive intolerance but also on the perceived threat that it would damage their faith. 

The conference offered over 100 sessions and 11 workshops representing every area of sociology. Two presentations were made by world-renowned scholars John Holmwood and J. Craig Jenkins that focused on the theme of the conference, “Left Behind Sociology: Revisiting Old Ideas, Old Theories and Understudied People.”