Princeton Sociology Ph.D.s on the Market for 2007-2008

Sada Aksartova, Ph.D

Education:
PhD in Sociology (2005), MA in Sociology (2001), Princeton University, United States.
MA with Distinction in International Relations (1996), University of Sussex, United Kingdom.
BA in English Language and Literature (1991), Moscow State University, Russia.

Areas of specialization
Cultural, organizational and comparative sociology; globalization; international development; foreign aid and foundation philanthropy; nongovernmental organizations; postsocialism.

Dissertation Title and one-paragraph summary
"Civil Society from Abroad: US Donors in the Former Soviet Union."

I argue that civil society assistance, provided by American public and private donor organizations, is a mechanism for diffusing the organizational and cultural form of the professional nongovernmental organization (NGO) to post-Soviet Russia and Kyrgyzstan and, more generally, that donors are important, but under-appreciated, agents behind the worldwide diffusion of Western organizational and cultural models. The donor-driven diffusion aims at imposing a familiar conceptual order on an unfamiliar institutional and cultural terrain. When US donors first set foot in the former Soviet Union, the organization of post-Soviet society was illegible to them. Populating the post-Soviet terrain with familiar organizational forms has made it more legible and created clients for donors' funds. Although NGOs appear natural to US donors, they represent an institutional form unfamiliar to post-Soviet society. Post-Soviet NGOs derive their legitimacy from Western donors' financial and moral support; when the former seek to influence the post-Soviet state, they do so by appealing to donors. As the earliest, largest, and most vocal promoters of NGOs, US donors in particular act as mediators between post-Soviet NGOs and the post-Soviet state. US civil society assistance makes up about 10 percent of foreign aid. Since the early 1990s, Kyrgyzstan has become heavily dependent on foreign aid, while Russia has not. In Russia, NGOs live off foreign assistance; in Kyrgyzstan, both NGOs and the state do. Therefore, in Kyrgyzstan, unlike Russia, foreign aid itself structures the context in which donor-supported NGOs operate, and the latter have to confront both the illiberal post-Soviet state and the multiple flows of foreign aid.

Selected publications
"Why NGOs? How American Donors Embraced Civil Society after the Cold War." 2006. The International Journal of Not-for-Profit Law 8 (3): 16-21.
"In Search of Legitimacy: Peace Grantmaking of US Philanthropic Foundations, 1988-1996." 2003. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 32 (1): 25-46. Refereed.
"Ordinary Cosmopolitanisms: Strategies for Bridging Racial Boundaries among Working-Class Men" (with Michèle Lamont). 2002. Theory, Culture & Society 19 (4): 1-25. Refereed.
"The Foundations of Democracy? US Foundation Support for Civil Society in South Africa" (with Simon Stacey). 2001. Voluntas 12 (4): 373-397. Refereed.

Selected Honors and Awards
Japan Society for the Promotion of Science Postdoctoral Fellowship (2005-2007); Kennan Institute Short-term Grant, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Washington, DC (2005); American Dissertation Fellowship, American Association of University Women (2003-2004); Dissertation Research Fellowship, Program on Philanthropy and the Nonprofit Sector, Social Science Research Council (2002-2003); Individual Advanced Research Opportunities Fellowship, International Research and Exchanges Board (September 2002-March 2003); Russian Studies Fellowship, Princeton University (1998-2002).

Teaching Experience
Teaching assistant for the courses "The Western Way of War" (200-level, fall 2000) and "American Society and Politics" (200-level, spring 2000), Department of Sociology, Princeton University.

Teaching Interests
Sociology of culture, sociology of organizations, comparative international research, gender, the American nonprofit sector, the nonprofit sector in international perspective, civil society, globalization, the sociology of international development, postsocialism.

For More Information
Please see a more detailed Curriculum Vitae or e-mail aksartova@gmail.com

Laura Clawson

Education
Princeton University, PhD, Sociology, 2007
Princeton University, MA, Sociology, 2002
Wesleyan University, BA, American Studies and English, 1998

Areas of Specialization
Culture, Community, Religion, Gender, Family, Qualitative Methods

Dissertation title and one-paragraph summary
I Belong to this Band, Hallelujah: Community, Spirituality, and Tradition among Sacred Harp Singers

Red states versus blue states, culture wars, conservative versus liberal base are terms that have been central to recent national discourse, widely used to evoke cultural, political,  and social divisions portrayed as not only stable but unbridgeable.  My dissertation challenges such characterizations by examining a musical tradition, called Sacred Harp or shape-note singing, and the cross-regional communities that have formed around it.  What are the musical and social practices that bring together people from the most stereotyped cultural extremes--counter-cultural post-graduates from Hyde Park and working-class Baptists from Alabama--and bring them together not just into the same rooms but into enduring communities and close personal relationships?  Addressing questions central to the sociology of culture--how people and groups create meaning, how groups navigate different meanings of the same object or activity--and, using not just sociology of culture but of religion, of community, of social movements, and of music, I consider how these processes play out among Sacred Harp singers, as community is first created within each local area, and then must be re-created at national events that bring together people from North and South. 

Selected Publications
2005. "Cowboys and Schoolteachers: Gender in Romance Novels, Christian and Secular."  Sociological Perspectives, Volume 48, Issue 4, pages 459-477.

2005. "Everybody Knows Him : Social Networks in the Life of a Small Contractor in Alabama." Ethnography 6:2, 237-264.

2004. "Blest Be the Tie that Binds : Community and Spirituality Among Sacred Harp Singers." Poetics: Journal of Empirical Research on Literature, the Media and the Arts, Volume 32, Issues 3-4, Special Issue: Music in Society: The Sociological Agenda, 311-324.

Selected honors and awards
Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, Dartmouth College, 2006-2008.
Louisville Institute Dissertation Fellowship, 2004-2005.
Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies Project Grant, Princeton University, 2004.
American Studies Program Summer Grant, Princeton University, 2004.
Center for the Study of Religion Graduate Student Fellow, Princeton Univ., 2002-2003.

Teaching experience
"Sociology of the Family," Dartmouth College, Winter 2007 and Spring 2008.
"Religion and Public Engagement," Dartmouth College, Fall 2006.
"Churches and Public Engagement," Princeton Theological Sem., Spring 2006.
"Religion and Gender," Princeton Theological Seminary, Spring 2005.

Courses precepted:
Claims and Evidence; Sex, Sexuality, and Gender; Family and Kinship; Social Basis of Individual Behavior; Princeton University, 2001-2003.

Teaching interests
Sociology of Culture (broadly and specific topics within the field), Sociology of the Family, Gender, Qualitative Methods, various topics in the Sociology of Religion

For More Information
Please see a more detailed Curriculum Vitae

Grégoire Mallard

Education:
PhD in Sociology: Princeton University, Expected in May 2008
MA in Sociology: Princeton University, January 2005, with distinction
MA in Social Sciences: Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan, June 2003, with distinction
« Agrégation de sciences économiques et sociales », July 2001
Dual BA in Economics and in Sociology : Ecole Normale Supérieure de Cachan and Université de Nanterre, June 1999, with distinction

Areas of specialization
Sociology of science and sociology of knowledge; Historical and political sociology; Liberalism, pluralism, cosmopolitanism, and theories of justice; European law, international law, and transnational legal activism; Theories and traditions in international security studies; Globalization, international security and economic development; Economic sociology and social studies of rationality; Social theory.

Dissertation Title and one-paragraph summary
"Sovereignty by Design: International Security Experts, Supranational Institution Building, and Nuclear Nonproliferation Initiatives"

Historical and political sociologists have explained how the nation-state emerged as the dominant form of government in the modern world. However, the globalization of modern science and technology has challenged its power and legitimacy. Sociologists have yet to study the dynamics which lead post-national sovereign communities to substitute their authority to the one of the nation-state. Taking the history of postwar nuclear science as a case in point, this dissertation examines a series of constitutional moments when nuclear scientists have marshaled transnational networks of collaboration to claim constituent powers and supranational sovereignty over their activities. In particular, it focuses on two series of plans for supranational nuclear communities promoted from 1940 to 1970: the former proposed the formation of supranational communities of global reach (e.g. world atomic authorities); the latter of regional reach (e.g. European, and in particular the Euratom Community). This dissertation asks: Why have some supranational communities succeeded to substitute their authority for that of the nation-state while others failed? To answer this question, it draws on archival materials from private and public sources in the United States and in Europe, and focuses on three factors: 1) the ideological and philosophical justifications for supranational communities; 2) the social strategies used to give supranational communities some credibility within the fields of strategy, international security studies and international law; 3) the linguistic strategies of enunciation followed by experts and diplomats as they negotiate treaties instituting supranational communities. In doing so, this dissertation goes beyond traditional diplomatic history and field theory and shifts toward a comprehensive sociology of repertoires of diplomatic action. Its broader goal is to move normative theories of post-nationalism, cosmopolitanism and pluralism into empirically-based social theory.

Selected publications
Volumes:
Grégoire Mallard, Catherine Paradeise and Ashveen Peerbaye. (ed.) Forthcoming in December 2007. Global Science and National Sovereignty: Studies in Historical Sociology of Science. Routledge, "Studies in the History of Science, Technology and Medicine."
In French: Grégoire Mallard, Catherine Paradeise and Ashveen Peerbaye. (ed.) 2006. « Sciences et souverainetés: Les sciences au cæur du projet national? »Special Issue of Sociologie du Travail. 48(3): 279-454.

Selection of Peer-Reviewed Articles :
Grégoire Mallard. 2006. "Quand l'expertise se heurte au pouvoir souverain : La nation américaine face à la prolifération nucléaire, 1945-1953." Sociologie du Travail. 48(3):367-389.
Grégoire Mallard. 2005. "Interpreters of the Literary Canon and Their Technical Instruments: The Case of Balzac Criticism." American Sociological Review. 70:992-1010.
Joshua Guetzkow, Michèle Lamont and Grégoire Mallard. 2004. "What is Originality in the Social Sciences and the Humanities?" American Sociological Review. 69:190-212.

Selection of Book Chapters:
Grégoire Mallard and Andrew Lakoff. Forthcoming. "Projecting Tomorrow's World: National and International Security Experts at Work." In Making, Evaluating, and Using Social Scientific Knowledge : The Underground of Practice, edited by Charles Camic, Michèle Lamont and Neil Gross. Russell Sage
Grégoire Mallard with Michèle Lamont Marcel Fournier, Joshua Guetzkow and Roxane Bernier. 2007. "Evaluating creative minds: the assessment of originality in peer review" Pp. 166-181 in Knowledge, Communication and Creativity, edited by Arnaud Sales and Marcel Fournier. Russell Sage.

Selected Honors and Awards
Charlotte Elizabeth Procter Honorific Fellowship (Princeton University), 2007-2008
Fellowship of the Society of Woodrow Wilson Scholars (Princeton University), 2006-2008
Global Network on Inequality, (Princeton University), Summer 2006
George Lurcy Educational Trust Fellowship, 2001-2002
Best Graduate Paper Award of the Section of the Sociology of Culture of the American Sociological Association, for "Interpreters of the Literary Canon and Their Technical Instruments." 2005.

Teaching Experience
SOC 317: The Globalization of Culture, Spring 2005 (Princeton U, Sociology). TA for Laura Adams.
SOC 210: Inequality, Class, Race and Gender, Spring 2004 (Princeton U, Sociology). TA for Mario Small.
SOC 101: Introduction to Sociology, Fall 2003 (Princeton U, Sociology). TA for Patricia Fernandez-Kelly.
POL 201: Contemporary History of Economic Policies. Year 2002- 2003 (Paris Dauphine, France, Politics)

Teaching Interests
Any of my areas of specialization.

For More Information
Please see Grégoire Mallard's web site.

Christine Percheski

Education:
Princeton University, Ph.D. Candidate, Sociology, 2008 (expected)
Princeton University, M.A., Sociology, 2006
Dartmouth College, B.A., Sociology, 2001

Areas of specialization
Stratification and Inequality, Family Demography, Work and Occupations, Gender.

Dissertation Title and one-paragraph summary
"Women's Employment, Family Structure and Social Inequality"

Committee: Sara McLanahan (chair), Bruce Western, Douglas Massey, Joshua Goldstein

The last four decades have witnessed a diversification of American families, a rapid climb in women's employment, and growing income inequality among American families. However, the origins of these trends and relationships between them are still not well understood. Moreover, little previous research has considered how women have uniquely experienced these changes or how these patterns vary by race and social class. I analyze the evolving connection between family structure and women's employment and consider how stratifying categories like class and race condition this relationship. I break down this analysis into three empirical chapters. The first describes the aggregate-level relationships between employment, family structure and income inequality among all American women from 1975- 2005 by birth cohort. Preliminary findings suggest that the association between family structure and income inequality varies widely across race and social class. The remaining two chapters examine employment and family structure for population subgroups defined by social class and education. In a cohort analysis of employment patterns of professional and managerial women with at least a college degree, I find that the influence of family structure on employment has decreased across cohorts and there is no evidence of the so-called "opt-out revolution." The final chapter maps the employment trajectories of new mothers with less than a college education in the five years following a birth. A comparison of married, cohabiting and single mothers shows that married mothers work more hours and weeks per year than unmarried mothers but this can be entirely explained by human capital differences. All else equal, unmarried mothers work more, with no difference between unmarried single and cohabiting mothers. This dissertation aims to sharpen our understanding of how changes in gender roles have affected other stratification processes and will address both substantive and methodological questions in stratification research and family demography.

Selected publications & Working Papers
Percheski, Christine. "Opting Out? Cohort Differences in Professional Women's Employment Rates from 1960 to 2000." 2nd Revise and resubmit, American Sociological Review.
Percheski, Christine and Christopher Wildeman. "Becoming a Dad: Employment Trajectories of Married, Cohabiting, and Non-resident Fathers." Forthcoming, Social Science Quarterly.
Western, Bruce, Deirdre Bloome, and Christine Percheski. "Inequality among American Families with Children: 1975-2005." Revise and Resubmit at American Sociological Review.
McLanahan, Sara and Christine Percheski. "Family Structure and Social Inequality." In preparation for submission to Annual Review of Sociology.

Teaching Experience
Teaching Assistant for Bruce Western, Social Statistics, Fall 2005
Teaching Assistant for Paul Starr, American Society and Politics, Fall 2005
Teaching Assistant for Marta Tienda, Claims and Evidence in Sociology, Fall 2004

Teaching Interests
Stratification and Inequality, Family Sociology and Demography, Work and Gender, Research Methods, Undergraduate Statistics.

For More Information
Please see Christine's web site: http://www.princeton.edu/~cperches/

Craig Barton Upright

Education:
Princeton University, M.A. May 2000, Sociology, ABD
Saint Olaf College, Northfield, MN, B.A. May 1988, Mathematics, English Literature

Areas of specialization
Culture, Organizations, and Politics

Dissertation Title and one-paragraph summary
"Organic Transitions: The Creation and Transformation of the Organic Food Industry, 1965-2002"

My dissertation explores the development of the organic-food industry in the United States culminating in the adoption of the first U.S. National Organic Standards, and focuses on the formal organizations that have promoted the research, distribution, and consumption of organic food products. I examine the growth of the organic-food industry through the theoretical lenses of institutionalism, social movement, and political sociology. I am particularly interested in the contested meanings applied to the concept of "organic" in economic, legislative, and popular arenas. My long-term research agenda includes further studies of the politics and organizations involved with national food distribution systems, paying close attention to how individuals create and interpret the cultural meanings of food systems within their communities.

Selected publications
"Consumer Co-operatives" in Dictionary Of Philanthropy, edited by Dwight Burlingame, New York: ABC-Clio Press, pp. 98-100. 2004.
"Social Capital and Cultural Participation: Spousal Influences on Attendance at Arts Events" Poetics. 32 (2): 129-143. 2004.

Selected Honors and Awards
Dissertation Support Grant, American Studies, Princeton University
Graduate Fellowship, Princeton University
National Merit Scholarship
Regent's Scholarship, full tuition, University of Nebraska

Teaching Experience
Instructor, The University of St. Thomas, Department of Sociology, 2005 - present
Sociology 100: Introduction to Sociology
Sociology 210: Research Methods in Sociology
Sociology 220: Sociological Analysis
Teaching Assistant, Princeton University, Professor Paul Starr, 1999
Sociology 201: American Society and Politics

Teaching Interests
Cultural, Organizational, Political Sociology; Research Methods; Social Statistics

For More Information
Please see a Craig Barton Upright's web site.