Research
Theory Camp
The pandemic lockdown let me review thirty years of work on centrism. The first fruit of this examination, "Heroic Centrism in a Time of Polarization," was published by the Niskanen Center.
To find out why some people want to live in dense, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, while others prefer the car-based suburbs, I studied Louisville, KY. The result: Between Bohemia and Suburbia: Boburbia in the USA, (Routledge).
I study happiness and community life. I am particularly interested in how volunteering for community organizations both produces a happier society and produces happiness in those who volunteer. I am member of the Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity section of the American Sociological Association, for which I edited the newsletter.
Starting with my dissertation I have done a number of studies of the Presbyterian Church. I am a member of the Religion section of the ASA.
Before coming to Centre I worked in the U.S. Department of Education, in the Office of Research. There I worked primarily on the educational role of families. I am a member of the Family section of the ASA.
I have been active recently in studying Critical Realism. I was co-moderator of the Human Flourishing, Social Solidarity, and Critical Realism working group. This work resulted in an article, "Are Neighbourhoods Real?" in the Journal of Critical Realism.
In addition, I have a long-running interest in how social class affects how people actually live. My approach owes the most to Pierre Bourdieu's Distinction: The Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste.
I run a Theory Camp each summer, in which a small group of students studies a hard text with me. Here is the most recent story.
To find out why some people want to live in dense, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods, while others prefer the car-based suburbs, I studied Louisville, KY. The result: Between Bohemia and Suburbia: Boburbia in the USA, (Routledge).
I study happiness and community life. I am particularly interested in how volunteering for community organizations both produces a happier society and produces happiness in those who volunteer. I am member of the Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity section of the American Sociological Association, for which I edited the newsletter.
Starting with my dissertation I have done a number of studies of the Presbyterian Church. I am a member of the Religion section of the ASA.
Before coming to Centre I worked in the U.S. Department of Education, in the Office of Research. There I worked primarily on the educational role of families. I am a member of the Family section of the ASA.
I have been active recently in studying Critical Realism. I was co-moderator of the Human Flourishing, Social Solidarity, and Critical Realism working group. This work resulted in an article, "Are Neighbourhoods Real?" in the Journal of Critical Realism.
In addition, I have a long-running interest in how social class affects how people actually live. My approach owes the most to Pierre Bourdieu's Distinction: The Social Critique of the Judgment of Taste.
I run a Theory Camp each summer, in which a small group of students studies a hard text with me. Here is the most recent story.
Happiness and Morality
"Happy, Busy Calvinists", Society, 2015 (Vol. 52, no. 6).
"A Deeper Durkheimian Society for Haidt's Righteous Minds", Society, 2014 (Vol. 51, no. 4) Ask me for a copy.
Invited Lectures:
"How to Have a Happy Life" Richland College, 2016.
“Happiness and Vocation” Hendrix College, 2014.
“The Center of the Happy Society.” Keynote address, Happiness and the Virtues Conference, Viterbo University, 2014.
“Acting Happy Makes the World Better” Reinhart Institute for Leadership in Ethics, Viterbo University, 2013.
“Acting Happy Makes the World Better.” Servant Leadership graduate program, Viterbo University, 2012.
“Faith and Happiness.” Faith and Higher Education symposium, Georgetown College, 2012.
"Happy, Busy Calvinists", Society, 2015 (Vol. 52, no. 6).
"A Deeper Durkheimian Society for Haidt's Righteous Minds", Society, 2014 (Vol. 51, no. 4) Ask me for a copy.
Invited Lectures:
"How to Have a Happy Life" Richland College, 2016.
“Happiness and Vocation” Hendrix College, 2014.
“The Center of the Happy Society.” Keynote address, Happiness and the Virtues Conference, Viterbo University, 2014.
“Acting Happy Makes the World Better” Reinhart Institute for Leadership in Ethics, Viterbo University, 2013.
“Acting Happy Makes the World Better.” Servant Leadership graduate program, Viterbo University, 2012.
“Faith and Happiness.” Faith and Higher Education symposium, Georgetown College, 2012.
Religion, especially Presbyterians
I have studied religious competition, especially in the Presbyterian Church (USA), since the 1980s.
My revised dissertation was published as Presbyterian Pluralism: Competition in a Protestant House (1997, University of Tennessee Press).
In 2003 I published two books with Geneva Press, Called to Teach: The Vocation of the Presbyterian Educator, an edited volume with Duncan Ferguson based on a 2000 conference at Centre, and Leading From the Center: Strengthening the Pillars of the Church.
I also wrote a widely distributed (and somewhat controversial) pamphlet, Rebuilding the Presbyterian Establishment (2008).
I was ask to give the Willson-Gross Lectures at Union College (KY) on "The Clash of Civilizations and the Next Christendom" in 2004.
I have studied religious competition, especially in the Presbyterian Church (USA), since the 1980s.
My revised dissertation was published as Presbyterian Pluralism: Competition in a Protestant House (1997, University of Tennessee Press).
In 2003 I published two books with Geneva Press, Called to Teach: The Vocation of the Presbyterian Educator, an edited volume with Duncan Ferguson based on a 2000 conference at Centre, and Leading From the Center: Strengthening the Pillars of the Church.
I also wrote a widely distributed (and somewhat controversial) pamphlet, Rebuilding the Presbyterian Establishment (2008).
I was ask to give the Willson-Gross Lectures at Union College (KY) on "The Clash of Civilizations and the Next Christendom" in 2004.
Family
Education and the American Family: A Research Synthesis (1991, New York University Press; editor).
Education and the American Family: A Research Synthesis (1991, New York University Press; editor).
Social Class
“Social Science and a Responsible Establishment.” Society, Vol. 56, no. 3 (June 2019).
“The College Class at Work and at Home.” Society. Vol. 48, no. 3 (April 2011).
“The Power Elite and the Philadelphia Gentlemen: Arguing with Mills and Baltzell about How the Nation Is Led.” Society, Vol. 47, no. 2 (March/April 2010).
"The Hidden Class Struggle in American Class and Family Research." Sociological Imagination. Vol. 34 no. 1 (1997).
“Social Science and a Responsible Establishment.” Society, Vol. 56, no. 3 (June 2019).
“The College Class at Work and at Home.” Society. Vol. 48, no. 3 (April 2011).
“The Power Elite and the Philadelphia Gentlemen: Arguing with Mills and Baltzell about How the Nation Is Led.” Society, Vol. 47, no. 2 (March/April 2010).
"The Hidden Class Struggle in American Class and Family Research." Sociological Imagination. Vol. 34 no. 1 (1997).