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Jackson State University’s Department of Criminal Justice and Sociology will host the 48th annual Alabama-Mississippi Sociological Association (A-MSA) conference on Feb. 23-24. This year’s theme is “Race in the Deep South.”
Dr. Bessie House-Soremekun will give this year’s plenary speech, “The Political Economy of Race and Race Relations in the Deep South,” at 1 p.m. Feb. 23. House-Soremekun is associate dean and professor of political science at JSU.
The keynote speaker will be Dr. Earl Wright II, professor of African Studies at the University of Cincinnati. Wright’s presentation is titled “A Well-Dressed Lie and the Naked Truth” and will be at 6 p.m. Feb. 24.
A-MSA current president and JSU associate professor of sociology, Dr. Thomas M. Kersen, said he is honored to be the organization’s third president from JSU and wishes to keep the A-MSA very active in the community.
“My predecessors as well as many other A-MSA presidents, members and students, were and are very active in the community. As we know, members of the public often have little knowledge about us or what we do. Therefore, we need to be the face of sociology for the public,” Kersen said.
The A-MSA was established in 1969 with the mission to facilitate the development of an environment that celebrates the diversity of life. As well, it recognizes the necessity of incorporating multiple forms of knowledge to answer social problems.
The organization is a community of professionals and students committed to constructing a better world through sociology and other social sciences.
As a founding member institution of the A-MSA, JSU has a long history with the organization and sociology. Two former presidents of the A-MSA are JSU alumni, and this will be the second year that the conference will be hosted on JSU’s campus.
Information
What: 2017 Alabama-Mississippi Sociological Association Conference
When: February 23-24, 2017
Where: Jackson State University, 1400 John R. Lynch Street, Jackson, MS 39217
Theme: “Race in the Deep South”