 Research and Teaching Interests
Ph.D. Candidate, Sociology, University of Oregon (expected 2010) Graduate Certificate, Women's and Gender Studies, University of Oregon (expected 2010) M.S., Sociology, University of Oregon (2007) M.A., Community Change and Conservation, Future Generations International School for Communities (2005) http://www.future.org/graduate-school M.S.W., Community Organizing & Social Administration, West Virginia University (2004) B.S., Biology; B.A., Religion, Washington & Lee University (2000) summa cum laude, University Scholar, Honors | CONTACT: Shannon Elizabeth Bell Department of Sociology University of Oregon Mailing address: 1291 University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403 Email: sbell@uoregon.edu Phone: (304) 610-8318 Biography: I am a Ph.D. candidate in the Sociology Department at the University of Oregon. My research primarily falls at the intersections of gender, the environment, social inequalities, and social movements, with a particular interest in social justice issues. Understanding the circumstances that lead to social inequality is a primary interest of mine, and discovering how those inequalities can be fought at the grassroots level has been a central motivation for my research. Feminist insights about the gendered nature of social practices, structures, and identities inform my theoretical and methodological approaches. In my dissertation I examine the process of mobilization against environmental injustices through a case study of the southern West Virginia coalfields, where the increasing frequency of coal-mining-related flooding, sickness, and water contamination has led to the emergence of a grassroots environmental justice movement - mainly comprised of women - that is working to confront the coal industry, regulatory agencies, and local, state, and national governments, demanding protection from and accountability for the destruction and pollution. Relatively few of the individuals affected by irresponsible mining practices have chosen to participate in the environmental justice movement, however, despite activists' efforts at outreach. I examine the barriers to mobilization and the processes of overcoming these barriers within this context. Data for my dissertation come primarily from 13 months of field research conducted between July 2006 and April 2009. Methods of data collection included in-depth interviews, questionnaires, participant observation, content analysis, and the feminist participatory action research method of "Photovoice," which involves the uses of participant-produced photography and narratives, coupled with regular group reflection meetings, to identify community concerns and promote group action. As a part of my field research, I initiated a Photovoice project with 40 women living in five coal-mining communities in southern West Virginia in order to study possible mechanisms for (and the process of) overcoming the challenges to grassroots mobilization in Central Appalachia. In this eight-month project, I gave participants digital cameras and asked them to take pictures to "tell the story" of their communities, including both positive and negative aspects of life in the region. The five groups met monthly to discuss the photographs, identify common community concerns, and communicate those concerns to legislators and the public through local and regional exhibits. The 400 photostories created by the women who participated in my dissertation research can be viewed in our on-line gallery at www.WVPhotovoice.org. |