I am a cultural and economic sociologist and an Assistant Professor of Sociology and Cognitive Science at Lehigh University.
My research primarily focuses on cultural change and persistence and the relationship between stratification (wealth, education, occupations, affiliations, social networks, status) and thought (evaluations, ideas, wants, tastes, cognition, imagination). In terms of methods, I develop and use computational approaches, as well as interviews and qualitative content analysis. Language is central to all of this, so I spend a lot of time reading and thinking about it.
My current book project is Mapping Texts: Computational Text Analysis for the Social Sciences, with Marshall A. Taylor (Oxford University Press), is now available from:
If you find the book useful, we’d appreciate you leaving a review! Also checkout the companion website with code from the book and other resources: textmapping.com
Born and raised in Montana, I attended Montana State University’s sociology program (as a first-generation college student). While there, I served in AmeriCorps, followed by the US Peace Corps in the Republic of Azerbaijan. Through Peace Corps’ Master’s International program, I completed a master’s in sociology and community and economic development at Illinois State’s Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development. After working in the banking industry in Japan and traveling throughout Asia, I completed my PhD in Sociology at the University of Notre Dame.
