Research – Sociology

Prof. Gauchat, Prof. Chesley, and affiliate faculty member Prof. Bonds, are recognized as being among the top 2% of researchers in the world in 2024.

Sarah J Weidner — Thu, 30 Oct 2025 20:25:54 +0000

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Prof. Gauchat presented research at Northwestern University’s inaugural Symposium on Science and Politics, hosted by the Kellogg School’s Center for Science of Science and Innovation.

Sarah J Weidner — Wed, 22 Oct 2025 19:41:46 +0000

Talk Title

Science and Democracy: Revisiting the Institutional Model

Abstract
This talk revisits the relationship between science and democracy through the lens of the institutional model of science. Drawing on Merton’s classic formulation and recent developments in cultural and cognitive sociology, I argue that science is best understood as a norm-governed institution whose credibility depends on both normative commitments (e.g., universalism, communalism, skepticism) and epistemic practices (e.g., consistency, theorization, fallibilism). Using survey evidence on science literacy and public attitudes, I show that the cultural authority of science shapes how citizens evaluate democratic governance, with science providing a belief system for navigating complexity and uncertainty. At the same time, polarization and populist movements expose the fragility of this cultural affinity. By rethinking the institutional model, we can better explain how science sustains legitimacy in democratic societies—and why that legitimacy is vulnerable under conditions of distrust and ideological contestation.

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Exploring Technology’s Impact On Relationships

Tue, 03 Sep 2019 15:42:34 +0000

Professor Noelle Chesley talks with 51�� Today about how our digital lives are deeply connected with our social experiences.

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Who Isn’t Using Patient Portals And Why?

Wed, 05 Dec 2018 16:10:40 +0000

The Health Affairs online journal recently published the research article by Denise L. Anthony (University of Michigan), Celeste Campos-Castillo (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee), and Paulina S. Lim (University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee graduate student of psychology). The December 2018 issue of Health Affairs is dedicated to Telehealth, a broad range of technologies used to connect clinicians to each other and to their patients. Distinguished authors examined the broad reach of telehealth and highlighted significant areas of unrealized potential and discussed their findings at a forum at the National Press Club in Washington, DC., on December 4, 2018.

Article on Celeste Campos-Castillo’s research in L&S InFocus Online Magazine

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Daniel Bartholomay, Sociology Doctoral Dissertator, served as an academic expert on WPR’s “The Morning Show”

Fri, 28 Sep 2018 14:14:50 +0000

Daniel Bartholomay, Sociology Doctoral Dissertator, served as an academic expert for a discussion of the “Rainbow Wave” on WPR’s “The Morning Show” on September 27th.

Listen to “The Rainbow Wave And Impacts Of LGBT+ Candidates” at

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“Trust In Climate Scientists”

Thu, 26 Apr 2018 16:05:32 +0000

“Those who distrust climate scientists are more likely to be skeptical of climate change and reluctant to support mitigation policies. Now research shows that scientific interest in early adolescence is associated with increased trust in climate scientists in adulthood irrespective of political ideology.”

51�� Sociology Professor Gordon Gauchat talks about the relationship between distrust in climate scientists and being skeptical of climate change and mitigation policies.

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“Op Ed: How City Should Solve Lead in Water”

Mon, 05 Mar 2018 17:15:05 +0000

Noelle Chesley, Associate Professor of Sociology, along with 51�� colleagues Anne Dressel, John Berges, and Helen Meier, discuss the lead exposure in the City of Milwaukee’s water system and how the city should solve the issue in the recent article “How City Should Solve Lead in Water” on Urban Milwaukee.

Anne Dressel is an Assistant Professor of Nusring at 51�� and the Director of the Center for Global Health Equity. John Berges is a Professor of Biological Sciences and School of Freshwater Sciences at 51��. Helen Meier is an Assistant Professor of Epidemiology at the 51�� Zilber School of Public Health.

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Advancing health science through collaboration

Wed, 20 Dec 2017 21:14:43 +0000

51�� faculty Noelle Chesley, associate professor in the Department of Sociology, Jake Luo, assistant professor in the Department of Health Informatics and Administration, and W. Hobart Davies, professor in the Department of Psychology “have teamed up to create TecHealth, an initiative that aims to harness and develop regional, inter-institutional and transdisciplinary research strength to solve problems at the intersection of health and technology.”

Read the article “Advancing health science through collaboration” in The Chronicle: Highlights from the College of Health Sciences at /healthsciences/news/advancing-health-science-through-collaboration/.

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Wave of the Future: Microchip Workers

Fri, 04 Aug 2017 14:12:20 +0000

51�� Department of Sociology’s Noelle Chesley was quoted in the article “Wisconsin company holds ‘chip party’ to microchip workers.” Chesley stated that microchips and other body technologies are “the wave of the future.” The article (by Jeff Baenen) appeared in the Chicago Tribune and over 30 other newspapers as distributed by the Associated Press. It featured the story of 41 out of 85 employees of a Wisconsin technology company who volunteered to receive a microchip implant in their hand that allows them to open doors, log onto computers, and buy breakroom snacks by a wave of their hand. The article also touched upon an employee’s health concerns about the implant.

Read the story.

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New “Work in Progress” Blog

Wed, 21 Dec 2016 18:21:33 +0000

The research of the 51�� Department of Sociology’s Noelle Chesley is highlighted on the new blog “Work in Progress: Sociology on the economy, work and inequality.” The theme of Professor Chesley’s research article is what the experiences of breadwinner workers tell us about work (and home). The article examines the breadwinner roles portrayed in the popular ABC sitcom Modern Family and how they do not agree with the Pew Research Center Report of 2013 which states that 40% of mothers are breadwinners. The article brings up such issues as fatigue and stress in parenting, and how each parent handles the conflicts between family and work. Read the .

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