Sophia Haynes ’27 spent three weeks this summer researching one of these species: the striped plateau lizard. Living and working out of the Southwestern Research Station, located about 5,400 feet above sea level, Haynes studied how the cold-blooded lizard thermally regulates in the heat of the Arizona mountains, and more specifically, whether the lizards take refuge in trees when it’s hotter in order to regulate their temperature.
Sophie Goble ’27, a double major in communication studies and sociology and anthropology (SOAN), spent her summer examining the growing digital phenomenon of “tradwives.” Her research analyzes how U.S.-based “momfluencers” and traditional wives use social media to communicate political and ideological beliefs, often without stating them directly.
New research into the inter-personal relations connecting China and Central America will provide a critical perspective on shifting global alliances. This work, led by Monica DeHart, University of Puget Sound professor of sociology and anthropology, has been awarded a prestigious 2025 Project Development Grant from the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).
What does it mean to be a grandmother today? For many, it’s no longer just weekend visits or holiday baking. As Jennifer Utrata, professor of sociology at Puget Sound explains, grandmothers across the country, often assisted by involved grandfathers, are stepping into daily, essential caregiving roles like never before. Her in-progress book manuscript, Keeping the Kids Afloat: Intensive Grandmothering and Family Inequality, uncovers how this quiet shift is transforming family life, and placing new, often invisible demands on an older demographic.
