Expertise
I have examined the intersections of political sociology and environmental sociology, asking questions about the character of state building and the need of the state to impose an infrastructure on the landscape.
I am interested in what the classical theorists can tell us about the relationship between nature, society, and history, as well as what we can learn from postmodern or poststructuralist insights. I am particularly excited by developments in other fields such as environmental history, geography, and cultural studies. I also plan to expand this research to examine cross-national development schemas in a traditional comparative-historical framework. I have also done ethnographic/participant observation work on the culture of bicycle messengers, and remain engaged with criminology and deviance.
My most recent work is on the installation of water meters in the Sacramento area.
My teaching interests are diverse: from my main research speciality in environmental sociology to culture, criminology, and theory. My interests extend to social movements, political sociology, theory, and culture.