Degrees

Ph.D., M.A., Boston College
B.A., Clark University

Research Interests

My research interests focus on understanding and responding to inequality.  I am currently exploring how families at-risk of losing their homes to foreclosure redefine the meaning of home and strategize to protect themselves and their families from the negative impact of home loss. I am particularly interested in the policy implications of this work, which point to the need for: fairer and more equitable financing; more information and bilingual communication; and more and better rental options.

Teaching Interests

I regularly teach several core courses in sociology (Self & Society, Research Methods, Sociological Theory) as well as specialized courses in race and ethnicity (Race & Ethnicity, Race Gender & Poverty), media (Media & Society), and sexuality (Sociology of Sexualities).  I also teach an internship-based course (Sociology Practicum) and our senior research seminar.

I am most interested in teaching strategies that that take students out of the classroom and into the community in various ways.  Two recent examples:  My seminar students in Race, Gender, and Poverty are currently working with local area organizations that address poverty-related issues.  In Research Methods, students practice research techniques in the Wheaton Archives, on campus, and in the larger community.

Publications

2011.  New Media Review:  "Sociology in the Blogosphere?: Exploring Sociological Images."  Visual Studies 26(2):169-173.

2009. "The Place of Resistance", in Studies in Law, Politics, and Society.

2006. "Resisting the Welfare Mother" with updated afterward. In Culture, Power, and History: Studies in Critical Sociology, edited by Stephen Pfohl, et. al. Brill Publishing, pages 261-291.

2005. "Stratified Reproduction and Poor Women's Resistance." Gender & Society 19: 660-679.

2004. "Resisting the Welfare Mother: The Power of Welfare Discourse and Tactics of Resistance." Critical Sociology, volume 30(4): 354-383.