Fabio Rojas Makes ‘A Plea for Good Society Science’ at Center for Ethics Spring Public Lecture

The Murphy Institute’s Center for Ethics is pleased to announce Fabio Rojas, the Virginia L. Roberts Professor of Sociology at Indiana University Bloomington, as the featured speaker for the Spring Public Lecture Series. Professor Rojas will outline what a good society science might look like in a talk titled "A Plea for Good Society Science" at Tulane on Wednesday, March 11, 2026, at 4:00 PM.

Rojas is widely recognized for his writings on social movements, political change, and economic sociology. He is the co-editor of Contexts: Sociology for the Public, the official magazine of the American Sociological Association. His books include From Black Power to Black Studies: How a Radical Social Movement Became an Academic Discipline, Party in the Street: The Antiwar Movement and the Democratic Party after 9/11, and Theory for the Working Sociologist. His work has appeared in the American Journal of Sociology, Social Forces, and the Academy of Management Journal and he has written for The Washington Post, USA Today, and The Hill. 

Sociology, and many other social sciences, are often informed by a concern with "social problems." This focus has an unfortunate result: social scientists disproportionately look at what is wrong with society rather than what works well. In his lecture, Rojas will discuss this general problem and then outline what a good society science might look like.

A cornerstone of the Center for Ethics' programming, the Public Lecture series invites leading academics to share their current research with the Tulane community and the wider public. Since 2001, the Center has hosted over 200 influential guest speakers, fostering critical engagement with ethical issues across various disciplines. 

The Center for Ethics' Spring 2026 Public Lecture with Fabio Rojas is co-sponsored by Tulane's School of Liberal Arts Department of Sociology, and 89.9 WWNO. All members of the Tulane community and the general public are warmly invited to attend this free and thought-provoking event.

Event Details:

Spring 2026 Center for Ethics Public Lecture

Fabio Rojas - "A Plea for Good Society Science"

Date: Wednesday, March 11, 2026

Time: 4:00 PM

Location: Diboll Gallery, Room 300, Malkin Sacks Commons, Tulane University

The Diboll Gallery is located on the third floor of the Malkin Sacks Commons (aka The Commons), Building #28 on the Tulane Campus Map. The Diboll Gallery entrance of The Commons is located at 43 Newcomb Place, between the Howard-Tilton Memorial Library and Jones Hall.

Admission: Free and open to the public

For more information, email murphy@tulane.edu.