Sociology
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On the Job Market
PhD Candidates
Becka Alper- PhD expected Spring 2012
Research Interests: Sociology of Religion: Religious Contexts/Geography of Religion, Religious Assimilation, Jewish Identity, Religious Identity, Religious Practice, Religious Change/Secularization; Social Networks; Race and Ethnicity: Group Relations.
Teaching Interests: Sociology of Religion, Race and Ethnicity, Social Problems, Introductory Sociology
Dissertation Title: “Does Religious Geography Affect Identity? The Impact of Local Size Characteristics on Religious Networks, Behavior, and Salience.”
Committee: Daniel V.A. Olson (Chair), Comittee Members: Fenggang Yang, Andrew Buckser, Rachel Einwohner
Angie Andriot - PhD expected spring 2010
Research Interests: Self & Identity; Sociology of Education; Gender & Science
Teaching Interests: Social Psychology; Sex & Gender; Sociology of Education; Quantitative Methods
Kristen Budd - PhD spring 2011
Research Interests: Public Perceptions of Social Policy and Social Justice Issues, Recidivism, Sex Offenders, Sociolegal Responses to Social Problems
Teaching Interests: Criminology, Criminal Justice, Sociology of Law, Social Control and Deviance, Social Problems
Dissertation Title: “Moral Panics and Changing Sociolegal Responses toward Stigmatized Outsiders: Public Perceptions of Convicted Sex Offenders and Sex Offender Laws.”
Committee: JoAnn Miller (Chair), Sarah Mustillo (Chair), Jack Spencer, Glenn Muschert
Anning Hu - PhD expected spring 2012
Research/Teaching Interests: Substantial Field (Sociology of Religion; Medical Sociology; Chinese Society; Social Stratification and Mobility); Methodology (Longitudinal Data Analysis; Causal Inference in Social Sciences; Structural Equation Modeling; Categorical Data Analysis; Missing Data Manipulation)
Dissertation Title: Folk Religion in Chinese Society: A Survey Based Investigation (Tentative)
Committee: Fenggang Yang (Chair), Dan Olson; Sarah Mustillo; Kevin Stainback
Ryan LeCount - PhD expected spring 2012
Research Interests: Racial Attitudes; Whiteness Studies; Social Construction of Race; Inequality and Social Stratification Beliefs; Social Movements; Inter-Ethnic Violence; Media Framing
Teaching Interests: Race, Inequality & Stratification, Social Theory, Political Sociology, Social Movements,
Media & Society
Dissertation Title: “Displaced Anxiety: Economic Insecurity As a Predictor of Prejudicial Attitudes Among Whites.”
Committee: Kevin Stainback (Chair), Rachel Einwohner, Jacob Hibel, Bob Perrucci
Micheala Null - PhD expected spring 2012
Research/Teaching Interests: Body & Embodiment; Masculinities; Qualitative Methods; Race & Ethnicity; Sex & Gender; Sexualities; Social Psychology.
Dissertation Title: "From Fat Stigma to Fat Acceptance: Fat Women's Size Acceptance as an Embodied Process."
Committee: Eugene Jackson (Chair), Cheryl Cooky, Carolyn Perucci, Dr. Jack Spencer
Shilpi Sarkar - PhD expected spring 2012
Research Interests: Importance of social, cultural and personal values within and across societies as they interact, affect and shape human behavior, personal identity and values, interaction among values, beliefs, moral codes, and human action, socio-cultural and personal values, relationship between individual and society
Teaching Interests: Introductory Sociology, social problems, the individual and society, social psychology sociological theory, values and societies
Dissertation Title: “The invisible ‘movers and shakers’: Individual teachers as creative deviants, innovators, and harbingers of social change.” A comparative case-study of three Indian teachers from the contemporary age, modern age, and the ancient age.
Committee: Eugene C. Jackson (Chair), Harry Potter, Myrdene Anderson, Floyd Merrell
J. David Thomas - PhD expected spring 2011
Research Interests: Race and Ethnicity; Whiteness Studies; Social Problems Theory; Culture and Identity; Social Theory
Teaching Interests: Race and Ethnicity; Social Problems; Social Theory; Qualitative Methods; Culture and Identity; Introduction to Sociology
Jeremy Thomas - PhD expected spring 2012
Research interests: religion and sexuality, congregational and denominational growth and decline, religious economies, secularization and modernization, deviance, mental illness, addiction
Teaching interests: sociology of religion, sexuality and gender, race and ethnicity, deviance, social problems, qualitative methods
Dissertation title: “Sexual Moral Reasoning in American Evangelicalism”
Committee: Daniel Olson (chair), Scott Feld, Gene Jackson, Jack Spencer
Dan Weiss - PhD received Spring 2010
Research Interests: Gender Roles; Socialization; Adolescent Health; Human Sexuality; Sexual Orientation
Teaching Interests: Statistics (undergraduate); Research Methods; Gender; Medical; Social Problems; Introductory Sociology
