academic

I'm currently a writing-up PhD student at the University of Strathclyde, in the Department of Geography and Sociology. I'm partly funded by the Overseas Research Student Award Scheme and a University Scholarship.

Project: No Such Thing As Society?
            Social Conscience and the Marketisation of Scottish Universities.
Supervisors: Colin Clark and Patricia McCafferty
Expected submission date: Spring 2010

Interview-based case study of six universities in Scotland: in a country that never voted for Thatcher, and with a tradition of "democratic intellectualism," neoliberal pressures threaten the social values of higher education. To examine this phenomenon, I look to sociology, a discipline focused on contemporary social change. Alongside classic and recent scholarship, the experiences of 35 academic sociologists at six Scottish universities shed light on the changing structures of higher education, and the threats carried by those changes.

Full (working) abstract of PhD

qualifications

PhD Sociology, expected 2010
University of Strathclyde
Glasgow, Scotland

MSc Human Ecology, 2006
(with Distinction)
Centre for Human Ecology
Edinburgh, Scotland

BA Cultural Anthropology, 2003
(Cum Laude)
University of Southern California
Los Angeles, California

research interests

Current research interests: Higher education (all aspects), social conscience, neoliberalism, vocational motivation/identity/socialisation, Scottish history/culture/politics, social justice.

Other research interests: Feminism, contemporary mythologies, class/race/gender issues, globalisation, ecological/social sustainability, media, popular music fandom.

honours & awards

  • Overseas Research Student Award, 2007-09.
  • University Scholarship, 2007-09.
  • A&R Union Scholarship, 2007.
  • USC Dean's Scholarship, 1998-2002.
  • Rotary Club International Scholarship, 1998-2000.
  • Resident Honors (early-entrance) Program, 1998-99.

leadership & administration

  • Human Ecology Management Committee, Department of Geography & Sociology, July 2008-09.
  • Centre for Human Ecology Board of Directors, August 2006-present (also webmaster and newsletter editor).
  • Vice-President, New Scotland Country Dance Society, 2006-07 (also committee member, 2000-01 & 2004-06)
  • Centre for Human Ecology Academic Board (Student Representative), 2004-05.
  • Founder & Leader, Goo Goo Dolls Fans For Peace, 2002-04.
  • Founding Member, USC Interfaith Coalition for Peace & Understanding, 2001-02.
  • Founder & President, USC Students of Ancient Religions, 1999-2002.

other coursework & training

  • Permaculture Consultant Certification: January 2004, Cadzadero, CA.
  • Service Employees' International Union WAVE (organizer) training: July 2003, Washington, DC.
  • Multimedia coursework, Middlesex Community College: 2002-03, Middletown, CT.
  • Year abroad, University of Edinburgh: 2000-01.

other relevant experience

Editing & Proofreading: Since April 2007, I have been editor of the Centre for Human Ecology's e-newsletter (soliciting and editing submissions, designing layout, and maintaining e-mail list of over 900 people). In March 2008, I proofread the manuscript for Alastair McIntosh's book, Hell and High Water: Climate Change, Hope, and the Human Condition (2008, Birlinn). In the summer of 2006, I proofread the manuscript for an academic book on the history of women in Scottish education (book still forthcoming).

Museum Research: Deaf Education
From 1996-2000, I worked at the Old State House museum in Hartford, Connecticut. For the post, I conducted in-depth historical research, particularly 19th-century deaf education in America and Britain. Based on my research, I wrote historic interpretation scripts, two short plays (which I also performed), pamphlets, and other materials for museum visitors.

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popular publications

Please see my writing page for my work published in newspapers and magazines.

peer-reviewed publications

2009: Social Conscience in The Handbook of Sustainability Literacy, ed. by Arran Stibbe. Devon: Green Books.

presentations & teaching

The Ponzi Scheme of Higher Education in the UK. (forthcoming) Staff-Student Seminar Series, University of Strathclyde Department of Geography & Sociology, 31 March 2010.

Social Conscience and Scotland's Universities: Past, Present and Future. (forthcoming) World Universities Congress, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey, 20-24 October 2010.

A Changing Landscape: Teaching, Learning, and the Human Element in Higher Education in Scotland. Moving Forward Conference, University of Aberdeen, 22 July 2009.

Poster Presentation: Can Sociology Teach Global Citizenship? Preliminary survey results, presented at the Moving Forward Conference, University of Aberdeen, 21-22 July 2009.

Masters Tutoring: Member of the Human Ecology MSc teaching team, and personal tutor for five masters students, academic year 2008-09.

Telling Mythologies: Pasts and Possible Futures in Activist Literature. Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment (UK) Conference, Edinburgh, 11 July 2008.

Poster Presentation: Can Sociology Teach Global Citizenship? Preliminary survey results, presented at University of Stathclyde Research Day, 10 June 2008.

Undergraduate Tutoring. Two groups of first-year sociology students (approximately 45 students in total), academic year 2007-08.

Public Sociology Roundtable discussion. Presented the "anti public sociology" stance to second-year sociology students, 3 April 2008.

GOALS programme, Campus Day. Designed and facilitated a sociology "taster" workshop for 45 secondary school pupils, 14 November 2007.

Social Conscience: a New Model for Understanding Public Sociology and Political Engagement. European Sociological Association Conference, Glasgow, 6 September 2007.

Goo Goo Dolls Fan Culture: A Case Study. Annual guest lecture, Fan Culture course. Media Department, University of Chester, 24 October 2005; 23 October 2006; 13 December 2007; January 2009.

Stories, Motivation, and Radical Vision: A Participatory talk. Centre for Human Ecology lecture series, University of Strathclyde, 8 May 2006.

previous thesis projects

MSc Thesis: December 2005
Telling Mythologies: Pasts and Possible Futures in Activist Literature

Analysis of the implicit stories that drive activist literature, and the kinds of futures they foretell. Eventually I'll create an overview page. For now:

Abstract (PDF)
Full Text (PDF)

Undergraduate Thesis: May 2002
It Will Always Be There: Ethnography of an Imagined Community

Ethnography of my early-entrance class, the community we built, and its metamorphoses over our four years of university.

Selected text, by chapter

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