I am fascinated by most things and have far, far more questions than answers. I am a bit restless intellectually and resent being backed into any disciplinary corner where thinking is confined to narrow perspectives. Thus, I take an interdisciplinary approach to my academic work, though I am primarily a sociologist.
The interdisciplinary nature of my scholarship is evident in my research profile, which features articles published in community development, conservation, higher education, marketing, and sociology journals, alongside co-authors who span this same wide swath of disciplines.
Strong interdisciplinary scholars are driven by a focal question or concern that ultimately weaves their work together into a coherent tapestry. My focal point is community innovation and consumption. Woven throughout my research are guiding questions that explore how community innovation can lead to more sustainable, just, and culturally authentic placemaking, especially in rural locales that are increasingly vulnerable to economic decline and the agendas of outside developers. I am especially compelled by the intersection of consumption and place, particularly how rural communities become commodified as playgrounds for tourists and outside investors, thereby neglecting the cultural roots and lived realities of dwellers.
I am also captivated by the structure and function of strategic storytelling. I am particularly drawn to how strategic storytelling is used to transform grandiose ideas into actionable strategies that bring people together to engage in meaningful change. Entrepreneurship is a domain in which strategic storytelling is especially prevalent and known to be an effective approach to garnering investments for disruptive ideas. How can this entrepreneurial practice that is aimed at profit-making be redeployed to mobilize people to lead sustainable, just, and authentic community transformation? One answer is to democratize entrepreneurial storytelling to make transformative plots more understandable and accessible to relevant constituent groups. To this end, I have interrogated how seemingly mundane communication devices, such as clever metaphors and visual icons and symbols, can be used to engage broader audiences in movements for change and community transformation.
Included here are the titles, abstracts, and links to the main papers that represent my work in the areas of community innovation, consumption, and entrepreneurial storytelling. If you’d like to know more about any of these papers or my scholarship more generally, please reach out to me at [email protected].