Faculty

Spring 2023 Office Hours: Monday 12:30pm-1:30pm, Thursday 12:30pm-2:00pm & by appointment. Virtual hours by Collaborate, Zoom, and phone.

Dr. Ferraro’s research and teaching are focused broadly on the ways in which power inequalities produce norm- and law-violations. His teaching approach is highly interactive and collaborative, designed to foster a classroom environment wherein learning is shared among students and instructor. His current research projects investigate the rise and consequences of right-wing state-level policies, including anti-immigrant and pro-gun legislation. Additionally, his research investigates the effects of changes in immigration on county- and city-level rates of crime and immigrant victimization.

Areas of specialization: Crime and deviance; immigration and social dis/organization; hate crimes and ethnic conflict; juvenile delinquency.

Courses regularly taught:

CRIM 121: Sociological Perspectives on Criminology
CRIM 270: Social Deviance
CRIM 301: Criminological Theory
CRIM 240: Drugs, Social Control, and the Law
SOCI 302: Quantitative Research Methods I
SOCI 303: Quantitative Research Methods II
SOCI 288: Immigration in the United States
SOCI 400: Special Topics, Social Conflict in Northern Ireland

Spring 2023 Office Hours: Thursday 12:00-2:00pm; Friday 11:00am-12:00pm [in office or on Zoom]; or by appointment. Zoom link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87361105408

Dr. Kaan Agartan holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from State University of New York at Binghamton. His authored and co-authored articles appeared in New Global Studies, Journal of Balkan and Near Eastern Studies, New Perspectives on Turkey, Global Labour Journal, Sociology Compass, European Journal of Turkish Studies, Journal of International Affairs, and Capital & Class. He is the co-editor of Reading Karl Polanyi for the Twenty-first Century: Market Economy as a Political Project (Palgrave, 2007). His current research focuses on the relationship between social movements and radical democracy.

Areas of specialization: Social movements, sociology of work and labor studies, critical globalization studies, and historical sociology.

Courses regularly taught:

SOCI 101: Introduction to Sociology
SOCI 301: Sociological Theory
SOCI 320: Uncovering Meaning in the Social World
SOCI 340: Sociology of Work
SOCI 357: Sociological Perspectives on Globalization
SOCI 356: Social Movements
SOCI/CRIM 495: Sociology/Criminology Senior Thesis Seminar
CRIM 222: Global Criminology

Spring 2023 Office Hours: Tuesday 10:30am-11:30am; Wednesday 10:30am-12:30pm

Dr. Benjamin Alberti received his PhD from Southampton University in the UK, where he studied gender and the artwork of Bronze Age Knossos from a feminist perspective. He has since gone on to publish widely on this topic as well the ceramics of northwest Argentina and the Archaic rock art of northern New Mexico, where he also co-directs projects. Teaching what he loves, Dr. Alberti incorporates archaeology, anthropology, art, and materiality into many of his classes. In addition, queer theory, feminism, studies of masculinity, and social theory all feature prominently. During the summer, Dr. Alberti teaches on the graduate anthropology program at Universidad Nacional de Cordoba, Argentina.

Areas of specialization: Ceramics; Late pre-Inca Northwest Argentina; Ontological Archaeology; Queer Theory; Feminist Theory; Masculinities, and bodies.

Courses regularly taught:

ANTH 161: Cultural Anthropology (honor and non-honors)
ANTH 172: Interpreting the Past: Archaeological Perspective (honors and non-honors)
ANTH 253: Gender Across Cultures (honors and non-honors)
ANTH 258: Critical Approaches to Men and Masculinities (honors and non-honors)
ANTH 313: Latin American Archaeology
HONS 101: First Year Honors Seminar
SOCI 301: Sociological Theory

Spring 2023 Office Hours: by appointment in-person, or Zoom

Dr. Demetrios Brellas received his Ph.D. in Archaeology from Boston University in 2016.  As primarily a zooarchaeologist, his research relies on the interpretation of animal remains from archaeological sites to understand the complex interactions between humans, animals and their environments in the past. His graduate work focused on the socioeconomic role of wetland environments and their resources in ancient Mesopotamian civilizations. In the past, he has conducted archaeological fieldwork throughout the Mediterranean and Middle East including: Turkey, Syria, Iraq, and Italy. Most recently, his research has taken place in Greece, where he is a part of several ongoing projects, which involve the analysis of animal as well as human remains. He is currently the team zooarchaeologist at the Molyvoti Thrace Archaeological Project and Field School (MTAP) in Greece, where he continues to research animal economies and particularly the role of sustainable wetland and marine ecosystem use in ancient complex societies.

Dr. Brellas also loves teaching, almost as much as archaeology. Before pursuing a graduate level career in archaeology he worked as a K-12 teacher and tutor for many years. Everyone learns differently and educators therefore must not take anything for granted when we speak. Therefore, his teaching philosophy focuses on finding the strategy that works for each student by using various teaching tools. These include hands-on activities, multi-media and online sources, relatable personal stories, field work, discussion, and building on each students individual experiences, which along with traditional instruction methods ensures that learning archaeology is relatable and works for everyone.

Spring 2023 Office Hours: By appointment either in-person or on Zoom

Andrew Franquiz currently works for the Massachusetts State Police Commonwealth Fusion Center as an Intelligence Analyst. In his role, he is responsible for receiving, classifying, and disseminating actionable intelligence on terrorism and public safety concerns. He is an alumnus within the Criminology program here at Framingham State University, and has since completed his M.S. at Northeastern University’s School of Criminology and Criminal Justice. As a Visiting Lecturer, he will be teaching Drugs, Social Control, and the Law.

Spring 2023 Office Hours: Tuesday 1:00pm-2:00pm, Wednesday 10:00am-12:00pm, walk-ins or by appointment through Starfish at O’Connor 328 or in my virtual office 

Zeynep Gönen has received her PhD from Binghamton University Sociology Department in 2011. Her work focuses on the subjects of law, punishment, policing and criminalization from a global and historical comparative perspective. Her first book The Politics of Crime in Turkey  (I.B.Tauris, 2016), explores the new forms of policing and criminalization of the racialized urban poor in contemporary Turkey. Her interests also include political sociology, gender, urban studies, home, and body, both in relation to the her broader research area of penality and outside of it.

Spring 2023 Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday, 12:00pm-1:30pm

Dr. Guadalupe-Diaz’s research and teaching interests lie broadly within the areas of sociological criminology, victimization, and social inequalities. Specifically, his research focuses on intimate partner violence (IPV) within LGBTQ communities. His work has explored sexual violence, help-seeking behaviors, police disclosure, perceptions of domestic violence law, and perpetration. More recently, Dr. Guadalupe-Diaz has focused on transgender survivors of IPV, identity work, and victim identity. Other scholarly areas of interest include: queering criminology, race and the criminal justice system, and gender and sexuality. Dr. Guadalupe-Diaz earned his Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Central Florida and an MS and BS in sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Areas of specialization: Violence in intimate relationships, sociological criminology and victimology, gender and sexuality, applied sociology.

Fall 2022 Office Hours: Before and after class, or as needed via Zoom

Jasmine is currently a Ph.D candidate at Indiana University working on a dissertation that centers around Black teachers in the urban North. Prior to enrolling in a doctoral program, Jasmine taught middle school and high school mathematics in New York City for 5.5 years. While at Indiana University she has taught courses which explore the relationship between society and schools and courses about teachers and school law. Her research interest focuses on the interplay of power, democracy, and class as it relates to race and intersecting identities. She is also deeply interested in the act of teaching and how this practice can be used to transform students’ educational experiences.

Spring 2023 Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday, 4:30pm-6:00pm held on Zoom (email for appointment).

Email for Zoom link or appointment.

Areas of specialization: Political sociology; social theory; political economy; power and inequality; social class; progressive politics; political consciousness; critical pedagogy

Courses regularly taught:

SOCI 130: Social Problems
SOCI 301: Sociological Theory
SOCI 308: Political Sociology
SOCI 495: Internship

Spring 2023 Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday: 11:00am-12:00pm, Tuesday: 12:00pm-1:00pm in-person or via Zoom.

Dr. McQuaid received his Ph.D. from Boston University, where he study the Massachusetts funeral market. His current research draws on his experience with both qualitative and quantitative methods to explore the ways in which cultural action shapes individual economic behavior as well as the broader implications that such individual action has for the functioning of markets as a whole. He is also interested in the possibilities that digital research methods – such as mapping and programming – might present for sociology as a discipline.

Areas of Specialization: Cultural sociology, death and dying, economic sociology, research methods, sociology of the body, and social theory.

Courses regularly taught:

SOCI301: Sociological Theory
SOCI302: Quantitative Research Methods I
SOCI303: Quantitative Research Methods II
SOCI366: Sociology of Death and Dying

Spring 2023 Office Hours: Monday 3:00pm-4:00pm in person and Zoom office hours as needed.

Trinidad Morales III was born and raised in El Paso, Texas, a southwestern city bordering Mexico and New Mexico. Dr. Morales earned his undergraduate and Master of Arts degrees at The University of Texas at El Paso, a Research One Hispanic-Serving Institution with more than 80% Latinx students, many of whom are first-generation students. He later obtained his PhD from Texas A&M University and graduate certificates in Diversity and Inclusion, Foundations of Statistics, and Non-Profit Management from Cornell University and Texas A&M University. He has interned within the Ethnicity and Ancestry Branch at the U.S. Census Bureau, served on research projects examining minority health disparities, and has taught criminology, methods of research, race/ethnicity, and sociology undergraduate courses since 2010 at various academic institutions.

He is currently a Social Science Analyst at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and serves on committees examining elderly care and Hispanic engagement within the scientific workforce. Dr. Morales is completing a Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) program and his work contributes to anti-racism efforts at the NIH. His research interests include aging, DEIA, minority health disparities, program evaluation, and retirement. However, he most enjoys mentoring students as they apply for graduate, law, or medical school.

Dr. Rodgers received his Ph.D. in Sociology with emphases in criminology and race/ethnicity from the University of Oklahoma.  His teaching and research interests focus broadly on BIPOC and LGBTQ crime, victimization, and injustice.  His most recent work explores topics such as hate crime victimization among LGBTQ people of color, and how racism predicts support for the death penalty.  Other topics of interest include college student perspectives on crime and injustice, as well as effective teaching and learning practices. 

Areas of specialization: BIPOC, crime, and injustice; public opinion; the death penalty; race and ethnicity; hate crimes; LGBTQ studies

Fall 2023 Office Hours: Tuesday, 2:30-3:30; and Friday, 11:00-12:00

Spring 2023 Office Hours: Tuesday 2:30pm-3:30pm and Friday 11:00am-12:00pm

Dr. Sánchez-Connally is an alumna of Framingham State University. She holds a Master’s in Applied Sociology from UMass-Boston and a Ph.D. from UMass-Amherst. Her interests are: Race and Ethnicity, Latinx Studies, Higher Education Attainment, and Immigration. She is a former Mary Miles Bibb Fellow and the recipient of the 2020 Distinguished Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching. Her research examines how communities of color create and transmit different forms of capital to underrepresented high achieving students. Her current project is a collaboration that looks at issues of legality and access among immigrant college students.

Areas of specialization: Race and ethnicity; qualitative methods; sociology of education; Latino/a studies

Courses regularly taught:

SOCI 101: Introduction to Sociology
SOCI 210: Latinxs in the U.S.
SOCI 203: Introduction to Critical Race Theory
SOCI 288: Immigration in the United States
SOCI 302 & 303: Quantitative Research Methods I & II
SOCI 495: Internship
CRIM 121: Sociological Perspectives on Criminology
CRIM 224: Juvenile Delinquency

Spring 2023 Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday 10:30am-12:30pm or by appointment

Ira Silver has taught at Framingham State since 2002. He graduated summa cum laude from Amherst College and received his Masters and Ph.D. from Northwestern University. He has authored and edited four books and is currently working on a new one about social problems in American society.

Areas of specialization: Social inequality; charitable giving; community activism; social problem framing; technology and social change; death and dying

Course regularly taught:

SOCI 130: Social Problems
SOCI 263: Social Inequality 
SOCI 283: Society, Technology & the Future
SOCI 300: Animals and Us
SOCI 306: Nonprofit Giving
SOCI 366: Death and Dying

Spring 2023 Office Hours: Monday & Wednesday 9:30am–10:30am, Thursday 2:30pm–3:30pm, & by appointment (Zoom office hour appointments available upon request).

Dr. Whalley’s research and teaching interests include sexual and gender violence, criminal-legal systems, critical criminology, the sociology of prison, and incarcerated populations. She uses ethnographic, community-based, transnational, feminist, and mixed methods in her work. She has published research on incarcerated women’s mental health and sexual trauma, prison abolition, rape crisis centers, and institutional sexual assault response. Dr. Whalley is also interested in gender and sexuality, incarcerated parenting, and postcolonial criminology.

Areas of specialization: Sexual violence, institutional responses to sexual and gender violence, rape culture, incarceration, critical criminology, transnational research, feminist criminology.