Faculty

Joshua Gamson received his BA from Swarthmore College, and his MA and PhD from the University of California at Berkeley, and previously taught at Yale University. He currently teaches Sociology of Popular Culture, Sex and Sexualities, Introduction to Sociology, and Fieldwork in Sociology. His research and teaching focus on the sociology of culture, with an emphasis on contemporary Western commercial culture and mass media; social movements, especially on cultural aspects of contemporary...

Noriko Milman received her BA in women's studies and sociology, and her MA and PhD in sociology, all from UCLA. She was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst before joining the faculty at USF in 2012. She currently teaches several courses, including Introduction to Sociology, Research Methods, Sociology of Education, and Urban Education. Prior to pursuing a doctoral degree, Noriko was a first-grade teacher in an urban school, where she was named Educator of...

Nikki has a longstanding passion for sociology, social justice, independent films, traveling, dancing, and spending time with family and friends. She has a teenage son who makes her laugh and think every day, and they have two miniature wiener dogs named Jennifer and Madeline (a.k.a. Big J in the House and Mad Dog). Nikki earned her PhD in sociology from Ohio State University. Her research has mostly focused on the mobilization and outcomes of the workplace movement for lesbian, gay, and...

Kimberly Richman received a BA at Pitzer College in Claremont, California, and an MA and a PhD in the Department of Criminology, Law, and Society at UC Irvine, where she also completed a graduate emphasis in women's studies. She currently teaches Criminology; Sociology of Law; Deviance and Social Control; Senior Thesis Workshop; and Capstone in Sociology.  Professor Richman's primary areas of research interest are law and society, criminology, and the effects of legal rights (or their lack) on...

Sadia Saeed is a historical sociologist with substantive interests in religion and politics, international human rights, and global inequalities. Her first book Politics of Desecularization: Law and the Minority Question in Pakistan (Cambridge University Press, 2017) examines the contentious relationship between Islam, nationalism, and rights of religious minorities in colonial India and Pakistan. It received the 2016-2017 Book Prize from the American Institute of Pakistan Studies (AIPS). Her...

Cecília Santos received her PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley, and a Master in Law from the University of São Paulo. She joined the University of San Francisco in 2001, and since 2006 she is also a research member of the Center for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra in Portugal. She teaches courses on gender and development, globalization, sociology of law, and Brazilian culture and society. Her research focuses on legal mobilization within and across...

Stephanie Sears received her BA in psychology from Stanford University, and her MA and PhD from Yale University's joint program in African American Studies and Sociology. She teaches several courses, including Introduction to Sociology; Sociology of Gender; African American Culture and Society; Social Problems; Critical Race and Ethnicity; Community Organizing; and the Honors Thesis Seminar. She is a faculty member of the African American Studies and Gender Studies programs, and director of the...

Hwaji Shin joined the Sociology Department at the University of San Francisco as a full-time Assistant Professor in 2007. She completed her PhD in Sociology at SUNY Stony Brook, where she received the President's Award for Excellence in Teaching. Between 2008 and 2010, she was a Visiting Assistant Professor and Japan Fund fellow at Freeman Spogli Institute of International Studies at Stanford University where she researched and lectured on race and ethnic relations in modern Japan. Her research...

Jennifer Turpin joined USF's faculty in 1991 after receiving a doctorate in sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. She has received USF's Distinguished Teaching Award and the College Service Award, as well as an honorary doctorate from USF in 2015. She founded USF's Women's Studies program and served as chair of the sociology department before spending 17 years in the university administration, as provost (2010-2015); dean (2003-2010); and associate dean (1997-2003). Her research...

Mike Webber is a Professor in the Department of Sociology. He received his MA and PhD in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and also received an MSc(Econ) in Industrial Relations from Cardiff University and a BSc(Econ) in Politics and History from Aberystwyth University. He is a political sociologist whose research focuses on the power structure of the United States, particularly the relationship between business and politics during the New Deal era. He teaches courses in...