Fourteen Augsburg sociology students recently joined the Jewish Community Relations Council鈥檚 annual trip to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. Tim Pippert, the Joel Torstenson endowed professor of sociology, led the Augsburg group, who were also joined by a group from Minnesota Hillel.
鈥淔or us, it provided the opportunity to show how sociology is applicable in lots of different ways,鈥� Pippert said in an about the group鈥檚 experience. 鈥淪o I asked [the students] to think about this trip and the experience in the museum, as how does their sociological training inform what they witnessed? How did the theories that they鈥檝e read about, how does that play out in the symbolic representation of a horrific tragedy? How do you choose to tell that story? And what are the symbols that are used to tell that story?鈥�
Associate Professor聽Lars Christiansen teaches courses in Augsburg’s Department of Sociology and Urban Studies Program. Christiansen puts his scholarship into practice as director of the Friendly Streets Initiative, a St. Paul-based organization that聽facilitates community organizing through聽creative public engagement events. The聽group aims to help communities envision positive change to public spaces, collect and analyze data, and assist聽neighbors in navigating聽city planning processes.
Tim Pippert, associate professor of sociology, was among the first sociologists to visit the Bakken oilfield region聽in western North Dakota and to research the social effects of the area’s聽rapid growth. Pippert contributed his expertise to a series of stories by the Forum News Service about sex trafficking in the Bakken, and the articles聽have been republished by media ranging from the Pioneer Press in St. Paul, Minn., to the Daily Republic in Mitchell, S.D.
Augsburg College President Paul C. Pribbenow recently announced the appointment of Garry W. Hesser as the College’s first Sabo Professor of Citizenship and Learning. Hesser’s work in this new role will lay the groundwork for the establishment of the endowed Martin Olav Sabo Center and Chair.
The Augsburg community mourns the death of Joel Torstenson, professor emeritus of sociology. He died Oct. 18 at the age of 94. On Saturday, Oct. 27, a memorial service will be held in Hoversten Chapel at 5 p.m., with visitation 1 hour earlier.
As Augsburg鈥檚 Department of Sociology celebrates its 60th anniversary this year, it is a good time to look back at how the program began. Or, rather, at who began it.