Hamden Resident Receives Grant For Sociology Research

HAMDEN, CT — (From Quinnipiac University): Grace Yukich, of Hamden, associate professor of sociology at Quinnipiac University, recently was awarded a $29,249 grant from the Louisville Institute to study how Americans draw on religious and secular discourses and practices to define and cultivate courage in an uncertain, tumultuous period.

“I am honored to receive this grant from the Louisville Institute and energized by the opportunities it affords for conducting my research,” Yukich said.

Yukich will use ethnography, content analysis, interviews and surveys to examine three groups representing diverse responses to fear: those who seek to create change during uncertain times, those who withdraw from society in periods of uncertainty, and those who try to accept society as it is, uncertainty and all. The research will contribute to sociological theories of culture, religion, politics and morality and will have implications for religious institutions and broader U.S. society as well.

The Louisville Institute’s Project Grant for Researchers program (PGR) supports research, reflection, and writing by academics and pastors concerning Christian faith and life, the practice of ministry and/or religious institutions. Grants of up to $30,000 support a diverse range of projects that may involve independent study, consultations or collaborative projects involving pastors and academics. Projects that show potential to benefit the church in North America are particularly attractive to the Institute.

The Louisville Institute is a Lilly Endowment-funded program based at Louisville Seminary supporting those who lead and study North American religious institutions. The fundamental mission of the Louisville Institute is to enrich the religious life of North American Christians.