EDUCATION
2020 Ph.D., Sociology: In Progress
(Expected) University of Oregon
Dissertation—Contesting the Valley: How Regional Elites Legitimate Claims to Environmental Resources
Committee: Ryan Light (Chair), Michael Dreiling, Matthew Norton, Raoul Liévanos, Peter Walker (Geography)
2014 M.S., Sociology
University of Oregon
2012 M.A., Sociology
California State University, Sacramento
2003 B.S., Criminology
California State University, Fresno
Smittcamp Family Honors College Inaugural Class
RESEARCH AND TEACHING AREAS
Political Sociology; Social Movements; Environmental Sociology; Sociology of Culture; Deviance and Crime; Network Analysis; Quantitative and Qualitative Methods
PUBLICATIONS
JOURNAL
2016 Ryan Light and Jeanine Cunningham. 2016. “Oracles of Peace: Topic Modeling, Cultural Opportunity, and the Nobel Peace Prize, 1902-2012.” Mobilization 21(1):43-64.
BOOK CHAPTERS
Ryan Light and Jeanine Cunningham. “Networks of Culture, Networks of Meaning: Two Approaches to Text Networks.” Oxford Handbook of Social Network Analysis. Forthcoming.
Jeanine Cunningham and Ryan Light. 2016. “Institutional Discrimination.” Wiley Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, 2nd Ed.
PAPERS UNDER REVIEW
“Frames, Character Work, and the Tea Party Movement”
Rural Refractions of Environmental Instability: The Original Redneck Fishin’ Tournament and Ecological Change (second author, with Jordan Fox Besek)
“Empowerment Self-Defense Training in a Community Population.” Revise and Resubmit at Psychology of Women Quarterly (second author, with Jocelyn Hollander)
PAPERS IN-PROGRESS – DRAFTS AVAILABLE
“Narratives of Blame and Distraction: Using Structural Topic Models to Examine How Local Elites Legitimate Resource Access”
“Elite Networks of Environmental Philanthropy: Shaping Environmental Agendas in the Twenty-First Century” (with Michael Dreiling)
TEACHING AND RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
2012-present GRADUATE EMPLOYEE
University of Oregon, Department of Sociology
Sole Instructor:
Sociology 311—Introduction to Social Research (Methods)
Sociology 313—Social Issues and Movements (x2)
Sociology 380—Introduction: Deviance, Control, and Crime (x4)
Sociology 484—Topics in Deviance, Control, and Crime: Power and Domination
Teaching Assistant:
Sociology 204—Introduction to Sociology (with discussion sections)
Sociology 310—Development of Sociology (Theory)
Sociology 311—Introduction to Social Research (with discussion sections)
Sociology 312—Quantitative Methods in Sociology (Statistical Analysis)
Sociology 410—Sociology of Culture
Sociology 480—Crime and Social Control
Sociology 484—Issues in Deviance, Control, and Crime: Punishment and Control
Research Assistant:
For Professor Jocelyn Hollander (Sociology)
For Associate Professor Ryan Light (Sociology)
2009-2011 GRADUATE TEACHING ASSISTANT
California State University, Sacramento, Department of Sociology
Teaching Assistant:
Sociology 155—Criminology
Sociology 158—Sociology of Deviance
2009-2012 GRADUATE RESEARCH ASSISTANT
Institute for Social Research
California State University, Sacramento
CONFERENCE PARTICIPATION
2018 The Second Diversion Meets the Third Dimension of Power: Narratives of Blame and Distraction in California’s Water Wars, Section on Disasters and Climate Change: Local, National, and International Perspectives, Annual Meeting of The Society for the Study of Social Problems, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2017 A Cultural Political Economy of Water Security: Examining Economic Contexts and Agricultural Power Structures, Section on Political Sociology Roundtable Session, Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Montreal, Canada
2017 “You Get It Taken Away, You Strike Back”: Responding to the Presence of Invasive Species, Section on Environment and Technology Roundtable Session, Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Montreal, Canada
2017 Vagueness and Ambiguity: Examining the Development of Collective Identity through Imprecise Discourse, Section on Social Movements and Social Change, Annual Meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association, Portland, Oregon
2016 The Structure and Ideology of Elite Environmental Philanthropy: A Historical Network Analysis of Intra-Elite Efforts to Dominate Environmental Discourse over Climate Change, Section on Climate Change and Environmental Discourse, Annual Meeting of The Society for the Study of Social Problems, Seattle, Washington
2016 Redskins and Red Men: Pseudo-Indian Mascots and the Construction of a Settler Habitus, Section on Race and Politics, Annual Meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association, Oakland, California
2015 Agricultural Identity and Systems of Power: Politics and Environment Construction in California’s San Joaquin Valley, Section on Environment and Technology Roundtable Session, Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Chicago, Illinois
2014 Oracles of Peace: Topic Modeling, Longitudinal Frame Analysis, and the Nobel Prize for Peace, 1902-2012, Section on Peace, War, and Social Conflict Roundtable Session, Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, California
2013 Taking Back America: A Frame Analysis of Participant Mobilization within the Tea Party Movement, Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Roundtable Session, Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, New York, New York
2010 Religious Fundamentalism and Punitive Ideology, Session on Deviance & Social Control, Annual Meeting of the Pacific Sociological Association, Oakland, California