What started out as a class project in Associate Professor of Sociology Julie Collins-Dogrul’s class turned into a published article in the academic journal Armed Forces & Society.
Tackling issues about the stereotypes of women in the military, Collins-Dogrul worked closely with Jaimus Ulrich ’15—her student at the time— to examine gender roles in their article, Fighting Stereotypes: Public Discourse About Women in Combat.
“Our aim was to understand the gender ideologies that underlie opinions about women serving in combat roles,” said Collins-Dogrul. “From that class project I invited students to collaborate with me long term if they wanted to. [Ulrich] was passionate about research and had the skills that enabled the article to come to fruition.”
Working together, Collins-Dogrul and Ulrich brought to light gender issues that transcend the military and play a larger role in society’s expectations of men and women.
In addition to the published article, the duo was also interviewed for the SAGE sociology podcast where they discuss their work, methodology, and findings.
“Working with Professor Collins-Dogrul has been foundational to my growth and development in higher education and academia,” said Ulrich, who now works at Whittier as a transfer admissions counselor. “She has challenged me in ways that not only prepared me for conducting ethical research, but for being successful in my classes after Whittier.”
Working with students on research is essential to Collins-Dogrul’s teaching and mentoring. “I am a teacher-scholar, so I build bridges between the classroom and my research and I work to create opportunities for long-term student involvement,” she said.
