Faculty in the School of History and Sociology Active at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting

Posted October 29, 2015

School of History and Sociology faculty members Willie Pearson Jr. (professor of sociology) and Bill Winders (associate professor of sociology) recently attended the 110th annual meeting of the American Sociological Association (ASA) in Chicago.

Winders gave a presentation titled “The Geopolitics of Grains: Neoliberalism and Economic Conflict in Agriculture, 1975 to 2010” in the session “New Directions in the Study of Agriculture and Food Systems.” The papers in the session examined new questions about changes in farming and the food system that span the political economy to local food systems.

Winders’ research showed that over the past 40 years the world economy has experienced significant liberalization in many economic sectors, including agriculture. For agriculture, liberalization has meant changes in national and international regulations and coordination of prices, production, and trade.

In light of these changes, Winders’ paper examined how key conflicts that have long existed among producers of different kinds of grains — corn, rice, and wheat — have contributed to liberalization, and how liberalization has, in turn, exacerbated competition between grain producers. His research utilized key cases such as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the wheat trade war between the United States and Europe, the battle to put agriculture in General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the battle of export subsidies, and the expansion of global meat consumption.

Pearson participated in an invitation-only reception on data and policy analysis, hosted by ASA Executive Director Sally Hillsman. Among the invitees were ASA executive office senior staff; deputy of the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Division at the National Science Foundation (NSF); the senior program officer for sociology at NSF; members of the ASA Council; and data analysts.

Pearson serves as a consultant to a major American Sociological Association research initiative examining the career patterns and experiences of sociologists and economists, especially those from underrepresented groups.