宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 senior Dante Thomas presented his research at the prestigious Eastern Sociological Society annual meeting in Baltimore before returning to campus for the 本科研究 exhibition.
阿宾顿,爸爸. — 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 senior Dante Thomas recently won two awards for his 本科研究 project, "Black Men's Romantic Partner Preferences: Exploring How Race and Color Matter," and presented his study by invitation at the prestigious Eastern Sociological Society's annual meeting in April. The early stage project investigated how Black men's dating choices shape racial and color hierarchies.
Thomas earned second place in the Division of Social Sciences at the annual 阿宾顿学院本科生研究活动(ACURA) 他获得了第三名 大学图书馆本科生研究奖 在信息素养方面表现卓越.
Presenting at the sociological society’s national conference was a new and unexpected experience for Thomas, a 心理与社会科学 少校，他说.
"People were so positive about my project, and they asked good questions about my research,” he said. “I was nervous going into it, but it was more informal and open than I expected.”
在…的指导下工作 伊丽莎白·休斯, 社会学助理教授, Thomas underwent extensive training to master the complex dynamics necessary to successfully interview subjects for qualitative research.
“I talked to each man in the sample for about 90 minutes,” said Thomas. “Interviewing them in person made their answers stronger and more profound. If the interviews weren’t in person, the exchange of information wouldn’t have been as genuine.”
The project is a testament to the time Thomas invested in the process, including repeatedly reviewing the research protocol and questions, 与休斯和其他人进行练习访谈, and assessing the results of the test interviews and analyzing ways to improve his technique.
“I'm not sure you would have gotten the same responses without Dante as the lead interviewer,休斯说. “He made people feel comfortable with intimate conversations. Dante paid attention to the responses and was aware of clues for follow-up questions. It appeared natural, but he worked hard to develop key skill sets.”
Hughes explained that there is a broader value to participating in 本科研究 for students, including experiencing graduate school-level academic rigor and engaging with and committing to a project that may last as long as three semesters.
“Being adept at qualitative research skills outside the classroom helps you communicate effectively,”她说。. “You are listening for key words and ideas and following up to get a sense of people’s reality. It’s really deep listening, which is an important life skill.”
Being adept at qualitative research skills outside the classroom helps you communicate effectively. ... It’s really deep listening, which is an important life skill.”——伊丽莎白·休斯，社会学助理教授
The roots of Thomas’s research topic can be traced to Hughes’ dissertation on Black women’s body image and sexuality, 以及肤色歧视或肤色分层.
“Colorism as a part of body image kept cropping up in my interviews even though I didn’t ask that question,”她说。. “There’s not much literature on men’s body image and colorism, so I thought this new avenue would round out the literature.”
Hughes first connected with Thomas after several faculty members recommended him for this line of research.
教授们提到但丁在课堂上表现出色, 他是个天生的演说家, 他能够传达复杂的理论. 他还完成了必要的课程, 所以我觉得他很适合这个项目,”她说。.
在采访他的样本对象之前, Thomas dug into the existing research on Black men's body image, which illustrated that colorism significantly shapes their daily lives. Lighter-skinned individuals are often socially rewarded due to their proximity to whiteness.
The published literature has devoted considerable attention to the outcomes of colorism on health, 监禁, 劳动力市场不平等, 但是关于恋爱关系的数据并不多. Colorism is particularly salient in terms of dating and relationships in which lighter-skinned individuals are often perceived as more desirable due to approximating whiteness. Black men's partner preferences can perpetuate or disrupt broader patterns of colorism.
关于宾大阿宾顿
易胜博娱乐分校提供了一个负担得起的, accessible and high-impact education resulting in the success of a diverse student body. It is committed to student success through innovative approaches to 21st-century public higher education within a world-class research university. 有3个以上,100名学生, 宾州州立大学阿宾顿分校 is a residential campus that offers baccalaureate degrees in 25 majors, 本科研究, 施赖尔荣誉学院, NCAA三级田径和更多.
