WCSU Department of Social Sciences to Host Speaker Series

DANBURY — The Western Connecticut State University Department of Social Sciences will host the Social Sciences Speakers series this spring in conjunction with the Kathwari Honors Program, WCSU International Center, UndocuAlly Task Force and the Racial Justice Coalition. The virtual talks are free and the public is invited. Those interested in participating can email bandhauerc@wcsu.edu with any questions. The talks are:

• Monday, Feb. 14, WCSU hosts USC Professor of Sociology and Gender Studies Dr. Rhacel Salazar Parreñas for a 5:30 p.m. virtual discussion about “Servants of Globalization: Women, Migration and Domestic Work.” Register for the discussion at https://wcsu.webex.com/wcsu/j.php?MTID=m100901c2f85ac3f6723772a1bf70540e.

• Monday, March 7, features a 5:30 p.m. talk by Dr. Leisy Ábrego, Professor and Chair of Chicana/o and Central American Studies at UCLA, about “Sacrificing Families: Navigating Laws, Labor and Love Across Borders.” Register at https://wcsu.webex.com/wcsu/j.php?MTID=m6bc6ad79bf46bb667b87c1c0485a201a.

WCSU Chair and Professor of Sociology Dr. Carina Bandhauer, who is hosting the lectures, said, “We are delighted to be welcoming two of the top immigration scholars in the world. Dr. Parreñas’ research engages global labor migrations particularly out of the Philippines. Dr. Ábrego’s research explores transnational families originating from El Salvador. Both scholars have contributed to our understanding of how this impacts childhood, gender relations and families in general.

“Danbury is a site of considerable interest among immigration scholars given its unique composition of residents, especially those hailing from Ecuador and Brazil,” Bandhauer continued. “Drs. Parreñas and Ábrego’s willingness to join us is a testament to the commitment of academics to engage public universities, and their ability to do so virtually is one of the small benefits we’ve gleaned from the pandemic.”