Sociologists Making Change

Dale W. Wimberley is Associate Professor of Sociology at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, USA.Jon Shefner is Professor of Sociology at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, USA, and Director of the Community University Research Collaboration Initiative.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: How Can Sociologists Contribute to Political and Social Change? by Dale W. Wimberley and Jon ShefnerPart 1: Working Within the University for ChangeChapter 1: When Activism Gets Undermined by the Unexpected: The Science and Politics of Microaggressions at a Southern University by Kirk A. JohnsonChapter 2: Making Change through the Everyday Life of a Faculty Member in the Deep South: Studying Abortion and Leading a Gender Studies Program in Mississippi by Kimberly KellyChapter 3: The Ethics of Social Change: Navigating Community-Engaged Research at University-Based Research Centers by Carrie Lee SmithChapter 4: Teaching During a Storm: The Killing of Sam Dubose by Earl Wright IIPart 2: Pressing for Change Through Electoral PoliticsChapter 5: Challenging Civil War Memorialization: Renaming “Robert E. Lee High School” in Staunton, Virginia by Stephen C. PoulsonChapter 6: Practicing Politics, Practicing Sociology: Applying Sociology as an Elected Official in Local Government by Anna M. SorensenChapter 7: Progressive Political Activism in Southwest Virginia: A Local Indivisible Group Protecting Democracy by Dale W. WimberleyPart 3: Movements For Rights, Recognition, And EqualityChapter 8: We Say No to Moss 3 Landfill! Using Sociology to Fight for Environmental Justice in Appalachian Virginia by Shannon E. Bell, Amy Branson, and Amanda BurroughsChapter 9: Building and Sustaining a Movement for Immigrant Rights in Knoxville, Tennessee by Meghan ConleyChapter 10: Activist Public Sociology Informing the Rental Housing Crisis in Jacksonville Florida by David JaffeeChapter 11: Sociology in the Borderlands: Bridging Global Human Rights and Local Advocacy in U.S. Cities by Jackie SmithPart 4: Scholar Activists Over the Life CourseChapter 12: Curating the Outfit: My Pathway toward Integrating Sociology and Organizing through Institution Building by Lisa EastChapter 13: A Life Worth Living: My Sociologically Engaged Path toward LGBQTI+ Justice by Christine M. RobinsonChapter 14: A Social Movement Career as a Sociologist: Confronting the Dilemma Of Expertise by Jon ShefnerEpilogue by Jon Shefner and Dale WimberleyIndexAbout the EditorsAbout the Contributors

'…a wonderfully rich and inspiring collection of first-hand accounts of ‘doing’ community engaged sociology. This book is a must read for all those aspiring to understand how academic-based sociologist can make a difference in the broader world.’