The Engaged Sociologist: Connecting the Classroom to the Community

This concise text carries the public sociology movement into the classroom and teaches students to think sociologically, to develop a sociological eye, and to use sociological tools to become effective participants in a democratic society. Students gain hands-on training in sociology while experiencing civic engagement within their own communities.

Kathleen Odell Korgen, PhD, is professor of sociology at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey. Her primary areas of specialization are race relations, racial identity, and public sociology.

Professor Korgen’s work on public sociology includes co-editing (with Jonathan White and Shelley White) Sociologists in Action: Sociology, Social Change, and Social Justice (2013) and Sociologists in Action: Race, Class, Gender, and Sexuality (Forthcoming). She has written or edited the following books on race relations and racial identity: Multiracial Americans and Social Class (2010), Crossing the Racial Divide: Close Friendships Between Black and White Americans (2002), and From Black to Biracial: Transforming Racial Identity Among Americans (1999).

Raised in Massachusetts, Professor Korgen now lives in Montclair, New Jersey, with her husband, Jeff; daughters, Julie and Jessica; and mother, Patricia.

Jonathan M. White, PhD, is director of the Bentley Service Learning Center and Associate Professor of Global Studies and Sociology at Bentley University in Massachusetts. His primary areas of specialization are inequality, poverty, globalization, human rights, and public sociology. Dr. White has received numerous teaching and humanitarian awards. He is the founding director of Sports for Hunger, the Hunger Resource Center, and the Halloween for Hunger, We are Silent, and Pass-the-Fast campaigns. He serves on the board of directors for Free the Children, Peace Through Youth, Me to We, and the Graduation Pledge Alliance. Dr. White has authored several articles in the fields of inequality and globalization. His work on public sociology includes co-editing (with Kathleen Korgen and Shelley White) Sociologists in Action: Sociology, Social Change, and Social Justice (2013) and Sociologists in Action: Race, Class, and Gender (Forthcoming). He is also currently writing a book titled Hungry to Be Heard: Voices From a Malnourished America.

Dr. White lives in Waltham, Massachusetts, with his wife, Shelley, and is the very proud uncle of his 13 nieces and nephews, Jarred, Kyle, Tyler, Arielle, Cameron, Brianna, Mikayla, Joshua, Jack, Logan, Tyler, Joey, and Brookelyn.