|
Home
|
|
|
|
|
|
Kevin Wehr Assistant Professor of Sociology at California State University, Sacramento 453d Amador Hall office 916.278.4277 office hours: 3-5 Tues and Wed, or by appointment email: kwehr*at*csus*dot*edu My first book, America's Fight Over Water, (Routledge, 2004) is based on my dissertation (2002) at the University of Wisconsin in the Department of Sociology. In this work I have examined the intersections of political sociology and environmental sociology, asking questions about the character of state building and the need of the state to impose an infrastructure on the landscape. This brings up problems of social theory that range from a feminist analysis of nature and society, to problems with the valuation of natural resources, to the classic problem of agency. I am interested in what the classical theorists can tell us about the relationship between nature, society, and history, as well as what we can learn from postmodern or poststructuralist insights. I have tried to build upon developments in other fields such as environmental history, geography, and cultural studies. My second book, Hermes on Two Wheels (UPA, 2009) is an ethnographic study of the culture, organization of work, and social psychology of bicycle messengers. Ben Agger offers the following review: "Wehr's Hermes on Two Wheels examines an interesting social phenomenon closely in order to derive insights about the contradictions and challenges of our accelerated era of laptop capitalism. He shows that the Internet-driven post-Fordist era cannot dispense with actual people, who dodge traffic in order to deliver important pulp documents on time. In this, he brilliantly opposes technological optimism, which assumes that utopia is a chatroom. Bicycle messengers, an edgy crew, live on the edges of our fast society and help us see it more clearly. This book is very much in the tradition of Walter Benjamin's study of the Paris Arcades project. Like Benjamin, Wehr examines fragments--tea leaves, as it were--as the resources of a critical social and cultural theory."
Teaching My teaching interests are diverse, ranging from my main speciality in environmental sociology, to culture, theory, political sociology, and criminology. Sociology 1 "Principles of Sociology" is an introduction to the discipline of Sociology. Not currently scheduled. Sociology 130 "Political Sociology" is an in-depth upper division examination of power and social change withint the context of the development of nation-states, social movements and elections, and current political-economic dynamics, including national and international politics of globalization and terrorism. Next taught Fall 2008. Sociology 135 "The Sociology of Popular Culture" is an upper-division General Education c-4 course about popular culture: where it comes from, who makes it, what it’s about, what it means, how we consume it, and why all this matters. Taught each Fall semester (on sabbatical Fall 2010). Sociology 138 "Introduction to Environmental Sociology" is an in depth introductory examination of the relationship(s) between society and the natural and built environment. (Cross-listed with ENVS). Next taught Spring 2010. Sociology 155 "Criminology" is a course on criminological theories and the prison industrial complex. Not currently scheduled. Sociology 192 "Classical and Contemporary Social Theory" is a required course for completion of the major. Taught each semester. Sociology 238 Investigations of Environment and Society. Next taught Spring 2010. Sociology 255 Research in Crime and Deviance. Next taught 2011.
Other Resources For Students: an online writing resource from Princeton These reading lists are for futher study. Free download of Adobe Acrobat to read PDF files
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Institutional Disclaimer: Kevin Wehr takes full credit for the information on this page and it does not reflect the California State University, Sacramento. |
teaching & learning & news links |
|
|