{"id":13,"date":"2023-08-06T16:21:56","date_gmt":"2023-08-06T16:21:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/firstpublics\/?page_id=13"},"modified":"2025-09-15T20:40:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-15T20:40:00","slug":"about","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/firstpublics\/about\/","title":{"rendered":"About First Publics"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

First Publics<\/em> provides a space to explore the politics, pedagogy, and practice of teaching as public sociology<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Publics<\/em> was launched in August 2023 by Sarah Shannon and Diana Graizbord. Sarah has long been inspired by Michael Burawoy\u2019s<\/a> assertion that “as teachers we are all potentially public sociologists\u201d since students are our \u201cfirst and captive public.\u201d In response, she has developed award-winning courses designed to grow and engage students\u2019 sociological imaginations via high impact practices including service-learning and archives-based learning. Diana\u2019s teaching practice also recognizes students as a first and most critical public, and aims to connect sociology to students\u2019 lives and interests. Her award-winning project-based, and applied courses on policy, storytelling, theory, and methods aim to demonstrate to students sociology\u2019s real-world problem solving potential. The impetus for First Publics<\/em> came from Sarah and Diana\u2019s desire to connect with like-minded teachers and build a community of practice around teaching as public sociology. First Publics<\/em> is their attempt to create a space for teacher-scholars to engage in reflection and discussion of teaching as a vital form of public sociology (broadly defined).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Publics<\/em> publishes first-person reflections on the embodied and experiential aspects of teaching as public sociology and curates dialogues on timely topics and long-standing concerns related to teaching as public sociology. First Publics<\/em> also publishes innovative approaches to teaching as class notes, and connects to content on teaching as public sociology from around the web.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Goals & Mission<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The goal of First Publics<\/em> is to provide a platform for an online community of practice centered on teaching as an essential form of public sociology. We hope to be a space for critical reflection and<\/em> a useful resource for those interested in teaching as public sociology in higher educational settings, across institution types (e.g., 2-year, 4-year, private, public, etc.) and teaching roles (e.g., grad student instructors, adjunct, lecturer, teaching professor, tenure-track, etc.) as well as contexts outside of the US.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

First Publics<\/em> does not advocate for a particular set of pedagogical practices or approaches. The editors of First Publics<\/em> are, however, committed to a politics of care and engagement and strive to create an equitable and inclusive space. We acknowledge and hope to interrogate the inequalities that define teaching and shape opportunities for public engagement across the uneven institutional landscape of higher education within and outside the United States. First Publics<\/em> strives to be a collaborative and inclusive space and build a diverse and welcoming community of readers and collaborators.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our Team<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Sarah Shannon<\/strong><\/a>, Co-Editor, is Meigs Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Director of the Criminal Justice Studies Program at the University of Georgia. Her research focuses on systems of criminal punishment and their effects on social life. In the immortal words of Chuck D<\/a>, Sarah hopes to “teach the bourgeois and rock the boulevard<\/a>” in her work as a public sociologist inside and outside the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Diana Graizbord<\/strong><\/a>, Co-Editor, is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Latin American and Caribbean Studies at the University of Georgia. She conducts research on the politics of expertise, mostly in the Mexican context. Diana loves teaching and is committed to public sociology.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stephanie Hanus-Knapp<\/strong><\/a>, Editorial Assistant, is a Doctoral Candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Georgia. Her teaching and research interests are in the areas of family, life course, and aging.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Phattra Marbang<\/strong><\/a>, Board Member, is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Georgia. Her areas of study include sociology of international education, immigration policy, and state power. She has taught classes on Race and Ethnicity in the U.S. and sociological theory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Saifa\u00a0Tazrin<\/strong><\/a>, Board Member, is a Doctoral student at the University of Georgia. Her areas of study include political sociology, feminist methods and gender-based violence. She has a background in law (graduate and undergraduate degrees) and looking forward to researching into the socio-legal perspectives on online platforms as a tool of violence and resistance.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Advisory Board<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Michel Estefan<\/a> <\/strong>is an Associate Professor of Teaching and Director of Undergraduate Studies in the sociology department at the University of California, San Diego. His published work has appeared in Teaching Sociology<\/em>, Sociological Focus<\/em>, TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology<\/em>, First Publics<\/em>, Inside Higher Ed<\/em>, and Teaching\/Learning Matters<\/em>, and has been featured multiple times in The Chronicle of Higher Education<\/em>. His teaching and mentoring have been recognized with awards from the University of California, San Diego, the University of California, Berkeley, SAGE publishing, and the Teaching and Learning Section of the American Sociological Association.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kyle Green<\/a><\/strong> is an Associate Professor of Sociology at SUNY Brockport. Kyle researches storytelling, intimacy, and the body with a particular emphasis on how groups construct meaning through shared physical practice. Kyle produces and hosts the Give Theory a Chance and Give Methods a Chance podcasts. He also co-authored a text of the same name (Give Methods a Chance<\/em>, W.W. Norton, 2018). Kyle is the winner of the 2019 American Sociological Association\u2019s Junior Theorist of the Year Award and is the Book Reviews Editor at Contexts Magazine.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shamus Khan<\/a><\/strong> is the Willard Thorp professor of sociology and American Studies at Princeton University, where he also directs the program in Gender and Sexuality Studies. He is the author of Privilege: The Making of an Adolescent Elite at St. Paul\u2019s School<\/em>, and Sexual Citizens: Sex, Power, and Assault on Campus<\/em> (with Jennifer Hirsch). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Johnnie Lotesta<\/a> <\/strong>is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Appalachian State University. She is a political, comparative-historical, and cultural sociologist specializing in political parties, labor and social movements, and American political development. Her research has appeared in outlets such as Research in Political Sociology, American Journal of Cultural Sociology, <\/em>and Journal of Community Psychology<\/em>. Dr. Lotesta teaches courses in political sociology, social movements, and stratification, as well as introductory sociology. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Myron T. Strong<\/a> <\/strong>is an award-winning sociologist, who is currently an Associate Professor of Sociology at the Community College of Baltimore County in Baltimore, Maryland. His research explores Afrofuturism, race, gender and other social factors in comics and popular culture. He recently co-authored, \u201cHonor Your Contract: Finding Sensibility in Community Colleges\u201d in Teacher College Record; <\/em>also co-authored \u201cWakanda Forever: Afrofuturism, Healing, and Creating a New Diaspora\u201d in Contexts<\/em>; and \u201cUsing Asian Futurism as a Pedagogical Framework: Opportunities with 3 Body Problem\u201d in Sociology of Race and Ethnicity<\/em>. He also recently won the 2025 Doris Wilkinson Faculty Award from the Society for the Study of Social Problems<\/em>. More information can be found at myrontstrong.weebly.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lisa Wade<\/a> <\/strong>is an Associate Professor at Tulane University with appointments in Sociology, the Gender and Sexuality Studies Program, and the Newcomb Institute. She is the author of American Hookup: The New Culture of Sex on Campu<\/em>s; an introduction to sociology titled Terrible Magnificent Sociology<\/em>; a sociology of gender textbook, Gender: Ideas, Interactions, Institutions<\/em>, with Myra Marx Ferree; and numerous other research publications. Her newest project documents undergraduate social life during the pre-vaccine pandemic. As a public-facing scholar, Lisa works to make her and others\u2019 scholarship engaging to a public audience. You can find her online at lisa-wade.com<\/a> and on Threads at @lisawadephd.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

First Publics provides a space to explore the politics, pedagogy, and practice of teaching as public sociology. First Publics was launched in August 2023 by Sarah Shannon and Diana Graizbord. Sarah has long been inspired by Michael Burawoy\u2019s assertion that “as teachers we are all potentially public sociologists\u201d since students are our \u201cfirst and captive […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"series":[],"class_list":["post-13","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/firstpublics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/firstpublics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/firstpublics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/firstpublics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/firstpublics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/firstpublics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":893,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/firstpublics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13\/revisions\/893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/firstpublics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thesocietypages.org\/firstpublics\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}