Southern Studies Professor Named Russell Sage Fellow

The Russell Sage Foundation named Parsons, assistant professor of sociology and Southern studies, as a visiting scholar for 2026-27. He plans to examine the growing role of disability benefit programs within the social safety net, particularly in rural regions.

"I had previously received a research grant from the foundation to do field work for this project, so doing this fellowship as a way to work on developing that project into a book was a great opportunity," Parsons said.

The programs – Supplemental Security Income, known as SSI, and Social Security Disability Insurance – started to address health-related work limitations but evolved into the largest source of cash assistance for low-income Americans.

"During my dissertation research, which was more focused on education, I met a lot of families who relied on SSDI and/or SSI to make ends meet," Parsons said. "The reality is that disability programs are really the only way to get cash assistance from the federal government in most states.

"In places like the Mississippi Delta, disability programs are having to fill in a lot of gaps created by shifts in social welfare policy, especially in rural areas that are losing population and jobs."

Parsons will spend the coming academic year in residence in New York City with the program's other scholars, analyzing his field work from the Mississippi Delta, Louisiana, Arkansas and Kentucky.

Drawing on nearly 200 in-depth interviews across six high-poverty counties in the Deep South and Appalachia, Parsons will investigate how structural disadvantages, attachment to place and limited labor market opportunities shape access to and experiences with disability benefits.

"Long term, my goal is a book that would be published through the Russell Sage Foundation that explores what the changing role of disability programs tells us about places that have been neglected or abandoned by our economy and political structures," Parsons said.

Several Ole Miss students have worked on the project. Former graduate students Neen Talbot, Jai Williams, Julia Krause and Garrett Fuller, all of whom earned master's degrees in Southern studies, helped with fieldwork in 2024. Samson Oklobia, a second-year Southern studies master's student from Nigeria, and Jalon Young, who completed a master's degree in the field in 2024, helped with fieldwork and filming in 2025.

Ellie Crane, who graduated in May with a degree in public policy leadership and minors in Southern studies and creative writing, helped with data analysis. Crane, from Huntsville, Alabama, and Parsons co-authored an article, "'On Our Own' or 'Together': Disability, Race and Local Food Access in Appalachia and the Mississippi Delta," due for publication later this year in the Journal of Rural Social Sciences.

Oklobia filmed while Parsons conducted oral history interviews in Helena, Arkansas. He used the footage for a documentary film for his Southern studies master's thesis.

"Working with Dr. Parsons on that project expanded my horizons as to what research methodology one can adopt in humanities scholarship," Oklobia said. "The project was interesting to me, and Dr. Parsons's leadership was truly exceptional."

Getting out of Oxford and the Mississippi Delta for a year offers Parsons a fresh perspective through which to analyze and write.

"Being in New York with new colleagues for the year will be a special opportunity to connect with others who are interested in these topics," he said. "Everyone will be working on their own projects, and I'm excited for a space to share works in progress, test out concepts, pitch new ideas and so on." 

Top: Ryan Parsons, assistant professor of sociology and Southern studies, leads a session of his Poverty and Society class. Parsons is spending the coming academic year researching and writing in New York on a Russell Sage Fellowship. Photo by Kevin Bain/Ole Miss Digital Imaging Services