Rochester Institute of Technology-USA
Education
Ph.D. Sociology, University of South Carolina, Columbia M.B.A. Business Administration, Saint Martin’s College, Washington State B.A. Russian Studies, Dartmouth College
Research
Building on my earlier interests in economic sociology and developing entrepreneurship in disenfranchised communities, I have turned to examining resettlement processes among refugees from war zones now living in the United States.
My current research focuses on the effects of global violence and the resulting displacements of people. My fieldwork among Liberian refugees in Rochester, NY, examines survival strategies adopted by the refugees throughout camps in West African countries. My study follows the refugees after resettlement and explores the complex processes of healing and readjustment as refugees are resettled in the U.S. and other western nations. I documents the continuing traumatization of refugees who have escaped the violence of war, but find themselves resettled in decaying and violent urban centers that lack the basic infrastructures to enable refugees and long-term city residents to become economically self-sufficient. I have published articles in anthologies, edited volumes, and a range of scholarly journals such as Race, Gender, and Class, Journal of Global Awareness, Journal of Black Studies, Economic Development Quarterly, Development and Society, Journal of Health and Social Policy. I am currently working on a book manuscript on the psychological, social and economic obstacles that refugees encounter as they attempt to construct new lives in the urban United States.
Publications
Book
2009 Cultures of Fear: A Critical Reader (coedited). London: Pluto Press.
Chapters/Articles
2017 Diaspora, citizenship and post-conflict economic reconstruction: Examining the dual citizenship debate in Liberia. Liberian Studies Journal, 38(2): 93-126.
2015 (with V. Jappah). Global governmentality: Biosecurity in the era of infectious diseases. Global Public Health, 10(10):1139-1156 (lead article).
2015 (with M. Omori). The impact of socioeconomic status and metropolitan area racial composition on visible consumption among racial/ethnic minorities and whites. Race and SocialProblems, 7(3):169-180.
2013 (with V. Jappah). Transitional justice: Prioritizing truth commissions or international tribunals to ensure healing and reconciliation. Journal of International and Global Studies.5(1): 1-15.
2013 Loss. Poem published by The Children's Society, London, UK. Included in educational package with suggested activities and resources for teachers who teach about refugee issues. Available at: http://www.childrenssociety.org.uk
2013 African American Social Networking Online: Applying a Digital Practice Approach to Understanding Digital Inequalities. Sociation Today, 11(1), Spring/Summer: http://www.ncsociology.org/sociationtoday/v71/outline13.htm
2013 African Americans and Network Disadvantage: Enhancing Social Capital through Participation on Social Networking Sites. Future Internet (Special issue: Inequality in the digital environment), 5(1): 56-66.
2012 (with V. Jappah). 'State Sponsored Famine': Conceptualizing Politically Induced Famine as a Crime against Humanity. Journal of International and Global Studies, 4(1): 17-31.
2012 (with R. Graham). Household Expenditures on ICTs: A Proposal for a Digital Practice Model. Race, Gender and Class, 19(3-4): 161-178.
2011 (with R. Graham). Internet as Digital Practice: Examining Differences in African American Internet Usage, Future Internet, 3(3): 185-203.
2010 (with R. Graham). Dividing Lines: An Empirical Examination of Technology Use and Internet Activity among African Americans, Information, Communication and Society, 13(6): 892-908.
2010 (with M. Omori). Working and Living: The Effects of Family Responsibilities and Characteristics on Married Women's Work Hours, Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 41(1): 43-55.
2009 (with Uli Linke) Fear: A Conceptual Framework. In Cultures of Fear: A Critical Reader. U. Linke and D. T. Smith, eds. Pp. 1-17. London: Pluto Press.
2009 In Educating All Our Children: The Case Against Yolanda Hill. In A New Age: Readings and Studies on Race, Gender and Class: Using the Sociological Imagination. DeLois Kijana Crawford, ed. Kendall Hunt Publishing.
2009 (with A. O. Miller and M. Corra) Generic Processes in the Production of Relations among Incarcerated Juvenile African American Males and Female Correctional Officers. Sociation Today 7 (2): http://www.ncsociology.org/sociationtoday/v71/outline13.htm.
2009 (with M. Omori) The Impact of Occupational Status on Household Chores among Dual Earner Couples. Sociation Today 7 (1): http://www.ncsociology.org/sociationtoday/v71/outline13.htm,
2009 (with U. Linke) War and Terror: The Global Displacement of Populations. In Peace, Justice, and Security Studies: A Curriculum Guide. 7th Edition. Garber, Julie, B. Welling Hall, Joseph Liechty, Timothy McElwee, eds. Boulder, CO: Lynne Reiner Publishers.
2009 African American Entrepreneurship. In Encyclopedia of African American History, 1896-Present: From the Age of Segregation to the Twenty-first Century. Paul Finkelman, ed. Oxford University Press.
2008 (with Megumi Omori) Bring Home the Bacon and Fry It Up in a Pan: The Effects of Married Couples’ Occupational Status on Their Time Spent Doing Housework. Paper presented at the American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Boston, MA. Online: http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p239212_index.html.
2008 Literary and Artistic Reflections on War, Terror and Violence. In Sociology through Active Learning. 2nd Edition. Kathleen McKinney and Barbara Heyl, eds. SAGE/Pine Forge.
2008 Family Reunification. In Encyclopedia of Social Problems. Vincent N. Parillo, ed. Sage Publications.
2008 (with Mavis C. Santiago) Lift Every Voice and Speak: Focus Group Discussions among Urban Women in the City of Rochester, New York. In 2008 College of Liberal Arts Forum on Faculty-Student Research. Rochester: Rochester Institute of Technology.
2007 Affirmative Action. In Battleground: Women, Gender and Sexuality. Amy Lind and Stephanie Brzuzy, eds. Greenwood Press.
2007 (with Uli Linke) Curricular Strategies: Teaching about War and Terror. In Teaching the Sociology of Peace, War, and Military Institutions: A Curriculum Guide.4th Edition. Morton G. Ender et al., eds. Teaching Resource Center: American Sociological Association.
2007 (with Kijana Crawford) Climbing the Ivory Tower: Recommendations for Mentoring African American Women in Higher Education. Race, Gender and Class 14 (1-2): 253-265.
2007 (with Vincent F. A. Golphin) Livin’ for the City: An Interdisciplinary Course. In Council on Undergraduate Research volume: How to Design, Implement, and Sustain a Research-Supportive Undergraduate Curriculum: A Compendium of Successful Curricular Practices from Faculty and Institutions Engaged in Undergraduate Research.
2006 An Ethnographic Study of Liberian Refugees in Rochester, New York: Linking Critical Pedagogy and Community Involvement.Critical Pedagogy in the Sociology Classroom. 2nd ed. Peter Kaufman, ed. American Sociological Association.
2006 The Brain Drain Phenomenon and the Technology Divide: An Application in Liberia, West Africa. Journal of Global Awareness 7 (4): 39-46.
2006 Living and Working in the City: The Effect of Central City Residence on African AmericanSelf-Employment. Journal of Black Studies 36 (4): 585-596.
2005 Developing Self-Employment among African Americans: The Impact of Household Resources on African American Entrepreneurship. Economic Development Quarterly 19 (4): 346-355.
2005 (with Kijana Crawford) The We and the Us: Mentoring African American Women. Journal of Black Studies 36 (1): 52-67.
2005 Developing Entrepreneurship among African Americans: The Effects of Urban Residence. Race, Gender and Class 12 (1): 152-168.
2004 Developing Self-Employment among African Americans: An Examination of Human Capital and Demographic Resources. Development and Society 33 (1): 81-92.
2004 (with Sudha Xirasagar, Michael E. Samuels, Carleen H. Stopskopf, William R. Shrader, James R. Hussey, and Ruth P. Saunders) “Small Group Health Insurance: Ranking the States on the Depth of Reform. Journal of Health and Social Policy 19 (1): 1-35.
Presentations
2015 Socratic Forum: Syria’s refugees: A European crisis? Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, November.
2015 (with V. Jappah) The emergence of Ebola in Liberia and neighboring West African nations: Public health, nation building and the role of the Diaspora.Liberian Studies Association Annual Meeting, Chicago, IL, May.
2015 (Panel presentation: co-organizer with Dr. Kijana Crawford). Islam: Local and global dimensions. Conable Conference in International Studies and Conable African Studies Symposium, Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York, April.
2015 The impact of the built environment on the health and well-being of refugee populations. Eastern Sociological Society, New York, NY, February.
2015 Narratives of refugees: categorizations and expectations. University of Rochester/Mount Hope Family Center Developmental Psychopathology, Rochester, New York, February.
2015 The immigrant experience. State University of New York, Genesee Community College, Batavia, New York, February.
2014 Urban environments, sustainability and health equity: Impact of the built environment on refugee health. Malmö University/Rochester Institute of Technology Symposium. Malmö, Sweden, October.
2014 Beasts of burden: Societal consent to child domestic servitude in Liberia. Eastern Sociological Society, Baltimore, MD, February.
2014 The rights of the child: Child labor and exploitation in Liberia. American Association of Behavioral and Social Science, Las Vegas, NV, February.
2010 Exiles: How they survived the war. Journeys and Justice: Forced migration, seeking asylum, and human rights. University of Leeds, UK.
2009 Survivors: Liberian Refugee Women, Memory and Meaning. Remembering War, Genocide and Other Human Rights Abuses. Histoire de vie Montreal / Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, Concordia University, Montreal, Canada.
2009 Pray the Devil Back to Hell. (Film of the Liberian Women’s Peace Initiative during the Liberian Civil War). The United Nations Association of Rochester and the Little Theater, Rochester, New York. Panel Discussant.
2009 Disinheritance: Remembrances of African Voice, Migration and Identity. New York African Studies Association, Syracuse, New York.
2009 Panel Chair: Ties That (un)Bind: Challenges and Opportunities in Diaspora Homeland Relations. New York African Studies Association, Syracuse, New York.
2008 (with M. Omori) The Effects of Married Couples’ Occupational Status on Their Time Spent Doing Housework. American Sociological Association, Boston, MA.
2008 Project Liberia: Documenting Trauma of Liberian Refugees during Civil Conflict. Liberian Archives Symposium: Liberian National Identity: Rebuilding the National Archives, National Library and National Museum. Permanent Mission of the Republic of Liberia to the United Nations in New York and the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture.
2008 (with V.F.A. Golphin and V. Jappah) A Long Road Home: Liberians and the Refugee Experience, Liberian Studies Association, Toledo, Ohio. Panel Discussant with Vincent F.A. Golphin and Jlateh Vincent Jappah.
2008 Out of Africa: Representations of the Suffering Other, Eastern Sociological Society, New York, New York.
2007 (with U. Linke) Curricular Strategies: Teaching about War and Terror at the American Sociological Association meetings, New York. Teaching Workshop on the Sociology of Peace, War, Military Institutions, and Social Conflict, organized by Morten G. Enders. Other participants include Randall Collins, Aleksandra Milicevic, and David R. Segal and Mady Wechsler Segal.
2007 Conference Organizer, World Refugee Day: A New Home, A New Life. Monroe Community College, Rochester, New York. Sponsored by Rochester Committee on Refugee Resettlement in cooperation with Monroe Community College Holocaust Genocide Studies Project and the United Nations High Committee on Refugees.
2007 Poster Presentation, The Refugee Experience and Community Violence: A Case Study of Young Liberian Refugee Males in Rochester, New York. 2nd Annual Conference: The Health of the African Diaspora: The Health of Men. New York University School of Medicine, New York, New York.
2007 Panelist, Mental Health of Refugee Children and Families: Challenges to Service Providers in the Rochester Community. Department of Psychiatry, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, New York.
2006 (with M. Omori) Eye of the Beholder: The Impact of Self-claimed Housework Hours and Spousal Perceptions of Housework Hours on the Risk of Divorce. Southern Demographic Association, Durham, North Carolina.
2006 The Brain Drain Phenomenon and the Technology Divide: An Application in Liberia, West Africa. The Fifteenth Annual Global Awareness Society International Conference, Chicago, Illinois.
2006 Discussant, Demographic Impact of the Global HIV/AIDS Pandemic. Speaker: Dr. Michael Keefer, Lead Investigator, University of Rochester Medical Center, HIV Vaccine Trials.
2005 Moderator, In the Wake of Katrina: A Response to Devastation of Community, Place and Identity, Panel and Discussion. Rochester Institute of Technology, Rochester, New York.
2005 The Impact of Established Immigrant Communities on Successful Refugee Resettlement: An Ethnographic Study of the Liberian Immigrant Community in Rochester, New York, the Fourteenth Annual Global Awareness Society International Conference, Rome, Italy.
2004 (with V. F. A. Golphin) Sociology and Literature in the Teaching of Urban Studies, the NYCEA Conference on Interdisciplinary Studies in Writing and Literature, RIT, Rochester, New York.
2004 (with K. N’Da) An Empirical Study of Web-based Systems Adoption by Minority Companies, Rochester Institute of Technology, College of Business, 3rd Annual Research Conference.
2002 African American and Ethnic Immigrant Entrepreneurship: Re-examining Human Capital and Social Capital Factors, Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting, Baltimore, Maryland.
2002 Self-Employment: A Focus on Economic Development for African American Women,University of South Carolina: 15th Annual Women’s Conference, Columbia, South Carolina.
2001 Developing Entrepreneurship in African American Communities: A Means of Social and Economic Development, Southern Demographic Association Annual Meeting, Miami Beach, Florida.
Courses
Foundations of Sociology (in various formats: lecture; online; and blended)
Honors First Year Seminar: Conceptualizing human rights through scholarship and citizenship
Honors Colloquium: Service, Citizenship and Community
Disaster! Assessing Vulnerabilities and Responses to Global States of Emergency
Diversity in the City
Gender, Sexuality and Health
Global Exiles of War and Terror
Global Slavery and Human Trafficking
Globalization and Security
Independent Studies
Population and Society