Aaron Passell
| | | | Title: Assistant Professor
B.S. Sociology & French Literature, Wesleyan University
Ph.D. Sociology, New York University
aaron.passell@furman.edu |
I’ve lived in many cities around the country – Boston, Burlington, San Francisco,New York, Washington, and Philadelphia, to name a few – and briefly in Paris. I’m an avid reader of literary and science fiction and good mystery novels. I like to cook, hike, and play basketball and soccer. I follow the Boston Celtics pretty religiously and cheer for Barcelona when I get the chance. I have two boys (nearly nine and working on one) and a chocolate Lab named Harry.
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Courses
| First Year Seminar: Imagining and Narrating the City 101 Introduction to Sociology 102 Social Problems 223 Urban Sociology
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Research
I’m currently involved in two projects. One examines what historic district designation does to cities. I’m using GIS data to examine demographic change over time in 15 large American cities. I compare the populations in historic districts with the population of the rest of the county in which the city is located to test whether designation has any effect. This is the initial stage of a broader project.
My other current project is just getting off the ground and will explore the Poinsett District and the Poinsett Corridor Revitalization project.
Other recent publications:
Review of Kidder, Jeffrey, Urban Flow: Bike Messengers and the City (2011). International Journal of Urban and Regional Research, Volume 37.2, January 2013.
“Science Fiction Novels and Sociological Experimentation” (forthcoming invited chapter)
Discusses the use of science fiction novels as sociological thought experiments in the classroom.
In, P. L. Thomas, Ed., Challenging Genres: Science Fiction and Speculative Fiction (Sense).