Applied Learning

Student Research

Developing Scholars Program

Developing Scholars Program projects have previously explored federal civil rights protections surrounding race and gender identity, tracking what organizations funded laws that made being gay punishable with the death penalty in Uganda, and the difference between mere access to privileges versus freedom from structural violence as the defining feature of queer liberation. Our students have excelled in the Developing Scholars Program, earning awards for their research including the Coffman Excellence in Research Award.

Honors Program and Honors Thesis

Students enrolled in the Honors program have the opportunity to do their honors thesis in any department that is appropriate to their research, including Social Transformation Studies, and faculty in the department welcome the opportunity to work with Honors students on social justice-based projects. Students completing an honors project will get one-on-one mentorship with one of our dedicated faculty members who will help guide you through your research from beginning to end. Previous honors projects have included topics such as the need for transgender-specific training for eating disorder treatment, the history of lynchings and racial violence in Riley County, understanding how K-State's participation in eugenics impacted women of color in Kansas, and how discrimination in parole hearings keep trans prisoners deprived of freedom, to name a few.

Graduate Student Research

Many K-State master's and doctoral students have the opportunity to have faculty members outside their home department serve as members of their committees. Social Transformation Studies faculty enjoy working with graduate students and supporting their research goals by serving as outside committee members. Faculty members have served on projects for students in education, leadership communication, public health, English, biology, history, art, business, family science, sociology, and others.

Faculty Research

Faculty members in Social Transformation Studies have active research agendas in a diverse range of areas; here is just a small sample:

• Dr. Harlan Weaver recently published Bad Dog: Pit Bull Politics and Multispecies Justice, which is based on ethnographic research in dog shelters and explores how relationships between humans and animals not only reflect but actively shape experiences of race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality, nation, breed, and species.
• Dr. Maria Vallejo received the Outstanding Dissertation award from the College of Liberal Arts at the University of Texas-El Paso for her dissertation “On the Rio Grande: A Struggle for Land and Citizenship San Vicente del Llano Grande, 1749-1930.” She earned her PhD in Borderlands History in 2020, and is currently working on a book manuscript based on the dissertation.
• Dr. Susan Rensing recently co-authored an article that appeared in the Journal of Women’s Health entitled “Integrating National Violent Death Reporting System Data into Maternal Mortality Review Committees,” based on research conducted with the support of a grant from the CDC and American Public Health Association.
• Dr. Yolanda Broyles-González is working on several research projects, and is co-author of the forthcoming book (from University of Texas Press) Mario Barradas and Son Jarocho: The Journey of a Mexican Regional Music