August 2020: Dr. Wilde is interviewed about Birth Control Battles on the “New Books Network” podcast. She and Dr. Diana Dukhanova discuss issues such as religious use and promotion of birth control, biblical arguments that were used in support of eugenics, how the fear of “race suicide” motivated white denominations to limit reproduction among marginalized people, and how certain denominations pushed back against eugenicists.
July 2020: Wilde receives the Distinguished Book Award for Birth Control Battles from the American Sociological Association, Sociology of Religion section.
May 2020: Dr. Wilde is featured on On the Issues podcast. She discusses gender inequality and women’s rights in religion—particularly the issue of birth control and reproductive rights among Christian denominations.
April 2020: Melissa Wilde has been named a Penn Fellow. The Penn Fellows Program provides leadership development to select Penn faculty in mid-career. Begun in 2009, it includes opportunities to build alliances across the university, meet distinguished academic leaders, think strategically about university governance, and consult with Penn’s senior administrators.
January 2020: Call for papers for a special issue on “The Complexity of Religious Inequality” in Religions, an Open Access Journal by MDPI.
December 2019: Birth Control Battles makes it first public appearance at the Suzanne Roberts Theater. Penn Lightbulb Cafe: Melissa Wilde, Associate Professor of Sociology.
April 2019: Wilde received Geoffrey Marshall Mentoring Award from the Northeastern Association of Graduate Schools. This award recognizes distinguished faculty for outstanding performance as a graduate student mentor.
January 2019: Wilde and Michele Margolis have been awarded a grant from the Louisville Institute to explore better ways of identifying evangelical Christians on the General Social Survey.
October 2018: On The Annex, a sociology podcast, Wilde discusses her upcoming book, which explores an early chapter of America’s evolving culture wars and the relationship between race anxiety and the evolution of contraception.
October 2018: On Knowledge@Wharton Dr. Wilde discusses what the Catholic Church can do to deal with the fallout of the child sexual abuse scandal and to bring back faith in their church on Knowledge@Wharton.
October 2018: Dr. Wilde examines how the changes from Vatican II can inform future changes in The Conversation.
May 2018: On the Give Methods a Chance podcast series, Wilde discusses conducting comparative historical research. She reflects on questions of generalizability, the authors responsibility for how and who uses the published research, and how the methodological approach can unsettle many of our preconceived notions of modern culture including religious divides around race, gender, and fertility. The Give Methods a Chance series is published by the Society pages.
June 2017: Wilde is elected to chair to the American Sociological Association’s Section on the Sociology of Religion in 2019.
February 2017: Wilde guest edits an issue of Social Inclusions.
November 2016: Wilde is appointed Associate Director of Survey Research for PRUCCS.
September 16-December 2, 2016: Wilde hosts a series of talks regarding religion within the 2016 Election.
March 2016: Wilde gives a talk for the Outstanding Sociology Opportunity Speaker Series on March 17.
2015: Association for the Sociology of Religion elects Wilde as President.
2015: Wilde’s American Journal of Sociology article “Fewer and Better Children” wins three national awards in one year:
Charles Tilly Best Article Award from the American Sociological Association’s Section on Comparative and Historical Sociology
Distinguished Article Award from the American Sociological Association’s Section on the Sociology of Religion
Distinguished Article Award from the Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
September 2015: Wilde Speaks on the topic of “How Much Does a Pope Matter?” for Penn’s 60-Second lectures series.
September 2015: Dr. Wilde’s 60-second lecture is featured in the Philadelphia Inquire: “Colleges Take Advantage of Francis’ Visit to Teach”.
February 2013: “The 115 Men Who Will Choose the Next Pope” featured in the New York Times.
