Criminology

This program includes criminology, the sociology of law, the criminal justice system, and the sociology of deviant behavior. We emphasize strong theoretical and methodological training in our program. Research interests of the faculty include prosecutorial and judicial decision making in felony adjudication, the development of case law in federal sentencing, patterns of suicide, criminological theory, delinquency research, homicide studies, gender and violence, race and crime, and criminal punishment.

Faculty

Mark Berg
Mark Berg
Title/Position
Professor and Collegiate Scholar
Director, Center for Social Science Innovation
Stephanie DiPietro
Stephanie DiPietro, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor
Director of Graduate Studies
Karen Heimer
Karen Heimer, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Professor
Collegiate Fellow
Kate K. O'Neill picture
Kate K. O'Neill, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Assistant Professor
Amber Powell picture
Amber Powell, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Assistant Professor
Meghan Rogers
Meghan Rogers, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Assistant Professor
Michaela Ruppert
Michaela Ruppert, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor of Instruction
Director of Undergraduate Studies - Criminology
James Wo
James Wo, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor

Gender and Family

Reflecting recent growth and development in the field, the Iowa program includes changes in marriage and fertility patterns, work and family issues, and cross-cultural family patterns. Current faculty research includes the effects of public and private family support systems, gender and deviance, gender and emotion, gender patterns in interaction, and the role of motherhood in limiting women's labor market success.

Faculty

Andrea Bianci
Alison Bianchi , Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor
Director of the Center for the Study of Group Processes
Sarah Harkness
Sarah Harkness, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor
Jennifer Haylett
Jennifer Haylett, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor of Instruction
Director of Undergraduate Studies - Sociology
Karen Heimer
Karen Heimer, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Professor
Collegiate Fellow
Steve Hitlin
Steve Hitlin, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Professor
Mary Noonan
Mary Noonan, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor

Social and Political Organization

Stratification

Faculty research in this area includes: comparative analyses of stratification systems; race, class, and gender; inequality in educational outcomes; status and power; labor markets; the social welfare state; and the transformation of the American economy. Faculty members in this area are affiliated with the interdisciplinary Iowa Institute for Inequality Studies, which facilitates research on the causes and consequences of social inequality by gender, race, class, sexual orientation, age, family structure, citizenship, and disability.

Faculty

Freda Lynn picture
Freda B. Lynn, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Professor
Mary Noonan
Mary Noonan, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor

Complex Organizations

The program emphasizes an interdisciplinary approach to internal organizational structure and processes, social networks, organizational effectiveness, organization-environment relationships, and the sociology of work and occupations. The interests and research of faculty include: promotion and recruitment; organizational commitment; turnover; race, class and gender within organizations; power and influence; interest groups and bargaining; and status attainment within organizations.

Faculty

Michael Sauder
Michael Sauder, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Department Chair
Professor
Victor Ray
Victor Ray, Ph.D.
Title/Position
F. Wendell Miller Associate Professor
Yongren Shi
Yongren Shi, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Assistant Professor
Bodi Vasi
Ion "Bodi" Vasi, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor

Political Sociology

This program emphasizes the study of state structures and political processes. It uses both quantitative and qualitative, comparative-historical methods to focus on the political-economy of the welfare state in advanced capitalist democracies, the state, social movements, and social change in developed and developing societies. The program also emphasizes the study of individual political attitudes and behaviors.

Faculty

Michael Sauder
Michael Sauder, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Department Chair
Professor
Bodi Vasi
Ion "Bodi" Vasi, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor
Marina Zaloznaya
Marina Zaloznaya, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor
Director of the European Studies Group

Social Psychology

The program has faculty with research interests in group and interpersonal dynamics, including, social exchange, leadership and diversity, identity, morality, social networks, social influence, and virtual and computer-mediated interaction. A facility operated by the Center for the Study of Group Processes includes three state-of-the-art laboratories: The Social Interaction & Networks (SIN) Laboratory, the Socio-Physiological Instrumentation Technologies (SPIT) Laboratory, and the Virtual Immersive Social Environments (VISE) Laboratory. These facilities, created and supported through internal and external grants, are the site of team projects involving collaborations between social psychology faculty, graduate and undergraduate students within the Department of Sociology and Criminology and from other departments across the University.

Faculty

Andrea Bianci
Alison Bianchi , Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor
Director of the Center for the Study of Group Processes
Sarah Harkness
Sarah Harkness, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Associate Professor
Steve Hitlin
Steve Hitlin, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Professor
Ethan Rogers Picture
Ethan Rogers, Ph.D.
Title/Position
Adjunct Assistant Professor
Research and Operations Manager, Center for Social Science Innovation