CHARLES M. BROWN



Professional Address:
Department of Sociology
Albright College
Reading, PA  19612
(610) 921-7865
E-mail: cbrown@alb.edu

 

EDUCATION:

Ph.D. (Sociology), Southern Illinois University. Carbondale, Illinois (2002).
Dissertation: "The Culture of Culture Industries: Art, Commerce, and Faith In The Christian Retailing and Entertainment Industry."
Committee Members: Joel Best, Chair; Rhys Williams; Mark Schneider; Linda Andes & William McKinney


M.A. (Sociology), University of South Florida. Tampa Florida (1993).
Thesis: "Apocalyptic Unbound: An Interpretation of Christian Speed/Thrash Metal Music."
Committee Members: Marco Orru, Chair; Laurel Graham; & Stephen Turner

B.S. (Sociology), Oregon State University. Corvallis Oregon (1990). Graduated with high honors.



TEACHING AND RESEARCH INTERESTS:

Research
Culture
Religion
Popular Culture
Organizations, Work, and Occupations

Teaching
(In addition to those areas listed above)
Introduction to Sociology
Social Problems
Social Theory
Social Movements
Research Methods
Social Stratification



PUBLICATIONS:

Forthcoming, 2004. “Apocalyptic Unbound: An Interpretation of Christian Speed/Thrash Music." In Remaking God in our Own Image: Contemporary Religious Movements, George Lundskow, ed.  Asheville , NC : McFarland Publishing. 

Forthcoming 2004.  Popular Culture and Society: A Reader.  Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.

"Musical Responses to Oppression and Alienation: Blues, Spirituals, Secular Thrash, and Christian Thrash Metal Music."  International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society. 1995. 8(3): 439-452).

 

BOOK REVIEWS:

Forthcoming 2004/5.  "A Consumer's Republic."  Contemporary Sociology.  

"Apostles of Rock: The Splintered World of Contemporary Christian Music." Sociological Focus. 2000. 33(2): 239-240.

"Baring our Souls: TV Talk Shows and the Religion of Recovery."  Symbolic Interaction.  2002.  25(2): 263-265.

 

PAPERS IN PROGRESS AND UNDER REVIEW:

"Blinded By The "Light"?: Claims and Counterclaims of Protestant Evangelical Popular Culture As A Social Problem." In Progress.

"Decision Making And The Will of God: The Production of Christian Popular Culture." In Progress.

"God In The Marketplace: Structure and Ideology in Christian Retailing." In Progress.

"The Moderating Influences of Community and School on the Religiosity/Delinquency Relationship" with Michael O. Maume and Ryan Long.

"Which Way Should I Go?: How Industry Members Address The Tension Between Artistic Expression and Traditional Ministry in the Christian Retailing and Entertainment Industry.  In Progress.

 

PROFESSIONAL PRESENTATIONS:

“Christian Faith as a Cultural Resource: Working in the Christian Popular Culture Industry.”
With James Park (The Eastern Sociological Society, New York , NY .  February 2004).

 “Enemy at the Gate: Gatekeeping and Censorship in the Christian Popular Culture Industry.”  
(The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Norfolk , VA.   November 2003)

Working For God: How Christian Faith Influences Work in the Christian Popular Culture Industry.”  
(To Be Presented At The Midwest Sociological Society, Chicago, Illinois.  April 2003)

“Selling Faith: Marketing Christian Popular Culture to Christian and Non-Christian Audiences.”  
(The Eastern Sociological Society, Philadelphia, PA.  February/March 2003)

“Faithful Evangelist or Cultural Conformer?: The Problem of Producing Christian Popular Culture.”  
(The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Salt Lake City, UT.  November 2002).

“Which Way Should I Go?: How Industry Members Address The Tension Between Artistic Expression And Traditional Ministry In The Christian Retailing And Entertainment Industry.”  
(The Midwest Sociological Society, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  April 2002).

"The Moderating Influences of Community and School on the Religiosity/Delinquency Relationship" with Michael O. Maume and Ryan Long. 
(The Midwest Sociological Society, St. Louis, Missouri. April 2001).

"God in the Marketplace: Structure and Ideology in Christian Retailing". 
(The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Houston, Texas. October 2000).

"Decision-Making And the Will of God: The Production of Christian Popular Culture." 
(The Midwest Sociological Society, Chicago, Illinois. April 2000).

"A Precarious Balance: The Creation and Production of Evangelical Popular Culture."  
(The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Boston, Massachusetts. November 1999).

Blinded By The "Light"?: Claims and Counterclaims of Evangelical Popular Culture as a
Social Problem.

(The Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Nashville, Tennessee. November 1996).

The Genesis and Stabilization of a Musical Form: Actor Networks and Christian
Speed/Thrash Metal Music.

(The Midwest Sociological Society, Chicago, Illinois. April 1996).

Apocalyptic Unbound: An Interpretation of Christian Speed/Thrash Metal Music.
(The Society For the Scientific Study of Religion, St. Louis, Missouri. October 1995).

Musical Responses to Oppression and Alienation: Blues, Spirituals, Secular Thrash, and
Christian Thrash Metal Music.
(The Midwest Sociological Society, Chicago, Illinois. April 1995).

The Interpretation of Christian Speed Metal Through The Utilization of Elective Affinities
And Functional Analysis
.
(Oregon Academy of Sciences, Corvallis, Oregon. April 1994).

The Compatibility of Weber's Concept of Elective Affinities and the Actor Network
Model in the Explanation of Christian Speed/Thrash Metal Music.
(Society for the Social Studies Of Science, West Lafayette, Indiana. November 1993).


TEACHING EXPERIENCE:

        Assistant Professor of Sociology – Albright College (2001 – Present)
           
Soc 105: Introduction to Sociology (12 sections)

           
Soc 201: Social Problems (1 section)
           
Soc 231: Cults and New Religious Movements (3 sections)
           
Soc 331: Mass Media & Popular Culture (2 section)
           
Soc 411: Social Theory (3 sections)
           
Soc J-14: Sport & Leisure (1 sections)
         
  Gateway: (Required course for all incoming freshman – 2 section)

       Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology – Ohio University (1999 – 2001)
           
Soc 101: Introduction to Sociology (6 sections)

           
Soc 351: Research Methods (2 sections)
           
Soc 403/503: Development of Sociological Thought (1 section)
           
Soc 413/513: Mass Communication (1 section)
           
Soc 428: Sociology of Religion (1 section)
           
Soc 298T: Honors Tutorial in Popular Culture & Mass Media (1 section)

       Graduate Student Instructor – Southern Illinois University- Carbondale (1995 – 1999)
           
Soc 306I: Popular Culture in Society (6 sections)
           
Soc 262: Marriage & the Family (2 sections)

       Adjunct Instructor of Sociology – John A. Logan Community College (1995, 1996)
           
Soc 133: Principles of Sociology (2 sections)

       Graduate Student Instructor – University of South Florida- Tampa (1993)
           
SYA 3010: Contemporary Social Problems (1 section)

 

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE:

Contributor To The "Intersections" Electronic Database
Pearson Custom Publishing (A division of Simon & Schuster).  160 Gould St., Needham Heights, MA.
 
May 1999 – January 2000
Duties: I was responsible for putting together the "religion" section of the Pearson database of readings (tentatively entitled "Intersections") for introductory sociology courses.  Specifically, I am responsible for writing up the introductory information for this part of the database, choosing relevant articles, annotating the articles, and writing headnotes and the questions for each of the selections.

Editorial Assistant
Social Problems. Southern Illinois University, Department of Sociology, Carbondale, IL.
May 1996 - August 1996
Duties: I was responsible for keeping track of submissions and correspondence with those
who submitted papers and reviews. I was also responsible for the database that
contained records of all submissions and reviews.

Managing Editor
Visual Sociology. University of South Florida, Department of Sociology, Tampa, FL.
August 1991 - December 1992
Duties: Proof-reading and editing, correspondence with those who submitted papers and
reviews, helped with text layout and format.

Research Assistant
Richard Mitchell, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR.
October 1989 - June 1990
Duties: Collected, measured, and recorded data for research from various sources
including newspapers, magazines, and microfiche. Analyzed data using statistical
analysis including the creation of system files, defining and assigning
variable labels, computing and recoding variables, and running correlation,
scatter gram, and frequency distributions.

Section Chair Assistant For The Oregon Academy Of Sciences
Richard Mitchell, Oregon State University, Corvallis, OR
July 1993 - April 1994
Duties: Attended meetings, acted as a liaison between the sociology section advisor and
the steering committee, helped organize the sociology section for the annual
meeting, kept track of incoming members for the sociology section and recorded
necessary data.



RELATED EXPERIENCE:

Supervision and Management
Oregon Community Support, Corvallis, OR.
Housing for the Handicapped, Corvallis, OR.
1989 - 1991
Duties: Supervised clients in an intensive training home for mentally challenged adults.
Responsibilities included administering drugs, filing progress reports, utilizing motivational
techniques for training, and light counseling.

Supervision and Management
Open Door Inc., Corvallis, OR.
1993 - 1994
Duties: Worked under the direction of the Rehabilitation Manager to provide selective
placement services to clients whose physical, mental, or emotional impairments limited
their access to competitive employment and who required situational work evaluation as
part of their vocational rehabilitation planning. Developed job placement
opportunities for selected clients. Disseminated information about work activities to
Open Door staff and rehabilitation program information to employers. Created and
maintained individual service plans and client files. Completed and maintained
various client reports for County Mental Health, Vocational Rehabilitation
Division, and relevant others.



MEMBERSHIPS:

American Sociological Association
American Sociological Association Culture Section
American Sociological Association Religion Section
Association for the Sociology of Religion
Midwest Sociological Society
Eastern Sociological Society
Pennsylvania Sociological Society
Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
Alpha Kappa Delta




Please direct all suggestions and/or comments about this site to Charles M. Brown, Department of Sociology, Albright College, Reading, PA  19612-5234.

***Last Update 05/01/04 cmb3***
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