Sociology and Your World: How Culture Designs Power and Privilege in Our Daily Lives" combines peer reviewed articles and original writing to examine complex topics related to inequality and introduce basic sociological concepts, theories, and terms. The material exposes readers to real-world information related to race, class, and gender and encourages them to focus on how their own lives may be impacted. Divided into three sections, the book opens with discussions of classical and modern sociology and culture. It then addresses the three primary aspects of inequality privilege, power, and social status. Part three gives students the opportunity to look to the future, consider practical aspects of sociology, and envision how applied sociology can empower the oppressed, particularly through education. Specific topics in the text include social symbols and norms, immigration, poverty, sex trafficking, and homophobia. "Sociology and Your World" effectively uses advanced, progressive discussions on challenging topics, and makes them suitable for introductory courses. The book is well suited to classes in sociology or social problems. Dawn Tawwater holds a master's degree in sociology from Texas Women's University. A current faculty member at Austin Community College, she has taught courses in introductory sociology, American minorities, gender inequalities, and social psychology. Her areas of interest include oppression and dominance, race/ethnicity, gender and class inequality, feminist and postmodern theory and sociology of art. She has served as a director of a relationship violence shelter in North Texas and as a consultant to the Tarrant County Tornado Recovery Team. Professor Tawwater is a member of the American Sociological Association, the Association for Humanist Sociology, and Sociologists Without Borders.
Climate Change, Food Production, and Farming while Black - 2023
COVID on Campus - 2021 (TXST)
Art, Poverty, and the Settlement Movement - 1996 - 1998
Women in Sociology - Published Interviews - 1996
Independent Research Interests and Work
Focus: How rural residents, especially marginalized groups, experience and respond to food insecurity.
Methods: In-depth interviews with families, community organizers, food pantry staff, and farmers; ethnographic observation at food distribution centers and markets.
Angle: Explore mutual aid networks, community gardening efforts, and gaps in state/federal assistance.
Focus: Gentrification, land loss, and cultural erasure in historically Black or Hispanic rural communities.
Methods: Oral histories, participant observation, archival photo or land record analysis.
Angle: Highlight intergenerational narratives of land ownership, resistance, and identity preservation.
Focus: Educational barriers and alternative learning models (e.g., homeschooling, community-led education) among low-income or nontraditional students.
Methods: Life history interviews with students, educators, and parents; focus groups with youth.
Angle: Investigate the role of sociology or social justice education in shaping identity and opportunity.
Focus: Access to clean water, especially in unincorporated or under-resourced rural communities.
Methods: Interviews with residents, local officials, and environmental activists; photovoice or community mapping.
Angle: Explore perceptions of environmental harm, community advocacy, and intersection with race and poverty.
Focus: How structural barriers (e.g., lack of healthcare, transportation) shape experiences of mental health in rural areas.
Methods: Narrative interviews with residents, social workers, and clergy; case studies of rural clinics or informal support networks.
Angle: Examine the intersections of trauma, place, and stigma in mental health narratives.
Focus: How rural faith institutions support or hinder emancipatory efforts in Central Texas.
Methods: Ethnography of church services, interviews with clergy and congregants, analysis of sermons or church programs.
Angle: Analyze tensions between traditional values and grassroots activism.
Focus: Women and nonbinary individuals’ participation in informal or precarious labor (e.g., elder care, cleaning, food vending).
Methods: Life story interviews; observation of work settings; participatory mapping of economic activity.
Angle: Highlight how rural residents create work, resist exploitation, and sustain families amid economic instability.
Focus: Challenges faced by individuals returning from incarceration to rural areas.
Methods: Interviews, life histories, community focus groups.
Angle: Explore themes of stigma, employment barriers, and grassroots support systems.
Focus: The experience of recent immigrants or second-generation families in rural communities.
Methods: Oral histories, ethnographic observation at cultural events, and community center interviews.
Angle: Identity negotiation, cultural preservation, and rural integration.
Focus: How farmers, ranchers, and residents perceive and adapt to environmental shifts.
Methods: Interviews, field visits, photo documentation.
Angle: Connect cultural understandings of climate with everyday survival strategies.
PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS:
2022 “Vulnerability and Climate Change: The Fallacy of Migration or Adaption for the Many, and the Rise of Eco-elitism.” November 2nd-6th. Association for Humanist Sociology (annual meeting). Mexico City, MX.
2022 “Women in AHS: A Feminist Critique of Structures and Histories.” November 2nd-6th. Association for Humanist Sociology (annual meeting). Mexico City, MX.
2022 “Applied Sociology for All” NCSA: Inter-Organizational Applied Sociology, Guest Speaker. May 19th (Virtual).
2019 “Truth Be Told – Restorative Justice in a Small Texas Town.” Oct. 29th – Nov.3rd. Association for Humanist Sociology (annual meeting). El Paso, Texas.
2017 “Neoliberalism, Post-Feminism, and the Profit of Positivity.” November 1-5. Association for Humanist Sociology (annual meeting). Havana, Cuba.
2016 “A Retrospective - The Academic Life and Work of T.R. Young.” November 2-6. Association for Humanist Sociology (annual meeting). Denver, CO.
2015 “Art Builds Solidarity” October 21-25. Association for Humanist Sociology (annual meeting). Portland, OR.
2014 “Intersections of Oppression in Immigrant Detention Debates: Women Becoming Victims to Escape Victimization.” October 8-12. Association for Humanist Sociology (annual meeting). Cleveland, OH.
2014 “Critical Race Theory and the Expanding Criminalization of Ethnicity in the United States.” April 17-19. Southwestern Sociological Association (annual meeting). San Antonio, Texas.
2014 "Immigration Detention and the Expansion of Ethnic Criminality in 21st Century Internment Camps." April 17-19. Southwestern Sociological Association (annual meeting). San Antonio, Texas.
2013 "Immigration Detention and the Expansion of Ethnic Criminality in 21st Century Internment Camps." Nov. 7-11. Association for Humanist Sociology (annual meeting). Arlington, VA.
2012 “Equal Pay for Equal Work: The Plight of Contingent Faculty in Institutions of Higher Education.” Nov. 7-11. Association for Humanist Sociology (annual meetings). Nashville, TN.
2011 “Toward a Sociology of Oppression: From a Disparate View to a Broad Theoretical Understanding.” Oct. 13-16. Association for Humanist Sociology (annual meeting). Chicago, Ill.
1996 Roundtable Discussant: “Education and Research for Liberation: Scholar and Grassroots Activists in the Struggle for Race, Class and Gender Equality.” August 16-20. Race and Ethnic Refereed Roundtable, American Sociological Association (annual meeting). New York, NY.
1996 “Bridging the Gap between Scholar and Activist.” Aug. 12-16. American Sociological Association (annual meeting, Racial and Ethnic Minorities Section, Session: Research for Liberation). New York, NY.
1996 “Resolving Controversy among Feminists in a Feminist Classroom.” Aug 15-18. Society for the Study of Social Problems (annual meeting, Education Problems Division, Session: Education and Research for Liberation). New York, NY.
1995 “Collective Behavior in a Postmodern Modality.” Oct. 10-14. Association for Humanist Sociology (annual meeting). Columbus, Ohio
1995 “Women for Intellectual Emancipation: TWU a Case Study in Protest.” June 22-25. National Women’s Studies Association (annual meeting). Norman, OK
1995 “The Social Construction of Whiteness” May 19-21. Gregory Stone Symposium (Session: Postmodern Approaches to Mind, Self and Society). Des Moines, Iowa.
1995 “Texas Women’s University Preservation Society.” March 20-22. South Central Women’s Studies Association (annual meeting). Denton, TX.
1995 “Hull House Theory” March 15-18. Southwestern Social Science Association
TALKS AND WORKSHOPS:
2017 “Exploring a Women’s Faculty Association at ACC.” Workshop presented during Spring Faculty Development Day for Austin Community College Faculty and Staff. Austin, Texas.
2010 “Gender Equality in the Office: Exploring the Feminist Workplace.” Workshop presented during Spring Faculty Development Day for Austin Community College Faculty and Staff. Austin, Texas.
1996 “The Role of Art in the Settlement Movement.” Workshop presented at the annual meeting of the United Neighborhood Centers of America, Inc. September 26-28. Phoenix, AZ.
1996 “Student Activism.” Workshop presented for the Women’s History Month – Speakers Series, University of North Texas. Denton, Texas.
1995 “Recognizing Sexism in Ourselves and Society.” Workshop presented at the Residence Hall Association, University of North Texas, Denton, Texas.