Jennifer A. Johnson (Ph.D., University of Virginia, 2004)

Bird House, room 208
Tel.: (804) 828-6826
Fax: (804) 828-1027
E-mail: jajohnson3@vcu.edu

Specialty Areas

Gender, Gender Rituals, Family, Social Stratification, Poverty and Social Networks

Biographical Sketch

I received my PhD in Sociology from the University of Virginia in 2004. My dissertation work focused on the role of gender in the everyday lives of men and women. My research looked at how men and women use gender in their daily lives to make sense of themselves as masculine or feminine. Through this work, I operationalized the term 'gender ritual' and illustrated how gender rituals function as a process of 'doing' gender.

During my studies at UVA, I took a position at the Department of Defense as a Social Science Analyst. My work at the DOD included methodology development in the area of Social Network Analysis. Social Network Analysis is a sociological methodology designed to analyze the social structure of human networks.

For 10 years prior to my work at the DOD, I taught sociology at various community colleges in both Virginia and North Carolina, including 7 years as a full-time professor at Germanna Community College in Fredericksburg, VA. My teaching focused on areas of gender and sexuality, family and poverty/social stratification. Through three state grants, I developed several online courses including an Introduction to Sociology course that won a state-wide award for technology in education.

In the Fall of 2005, I joined the Department of Sociology as an Assistant Faculty member. My courses include undergraduate/graduate Family, Gender, Social Stratification and undergraduate Minority Groups and Social Problems. I am working with the L. Wilder School of Government in the Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness Program as well as the Public Safety Institute. My research is focused on mapping the structure of gang networks using Social Network Analysis. Specifically, I am interested in working with law enforcement agencies to develop interdiction strategies for local gang networks.

My overall interests are focused on the institution of family as an arena of social processes and change. My research agenda focuses on developing the concept of a 'gender ritual' as a behavioral process of gender production within the institution of family. I am also interested in the dynamic nature of the family form and how it copes with structural issues such as race, class and gender diversity. Specifically, I am interested in unpacking the relationship between family form, poverty and children's life chances via a growing group of women calling themselves 'Single Mothers By Choice'. Lastly, I am interested in the notion of social networks as a family strategy for coping with differential access to structural resources and violence.