Online Bachelor of Arts Sociology Major, Global Studies

Dr. Chris Girard, Associate Professor of Sociology

His interest in race and ethnicity has been expressed in a variety of research projects employing quantitative methods, such as ethnic differences in age and gender patterns of suicide, Cuban-American attitudes toward maintaining the U.S. embargo on trade with Cuba, challenging the hypothesis that the United States is a welfare magnet for immigrants, and shifts in the party affiliation of Cuban-Americans. He teaches undergraduate courses in Race and Ethnicity, Introduction to Sociology, and Marriage and the Family.

Dr. Guillermo Grenier, Professor of Sociology

He is an expert in labor studies, Latino/a immigration, ethic identity politics, and the Cuban Diaspora in Miami. His research examines the interplay of culture, institutions and ideology, asking how power operates in specific social environments—how people use it and how it shapes social life and individual behavior. His recent work is on the dynamic of ideology and identity in the Cuban-American (and Latino) populations of the United States. He teaches undergraduate courses in Globalization and Society and the Individual in Society. 

Dr. Qing Lai, Associate Professor of Sociology

His research interests include Chinese Muslims, development, demography, and social stratification. His current work focuses on the Muslim population in China, analyzing census and survey data to examine Chinese Muslims’ population heterogeneity and their relations with the Han majority, the Chinese State, and the Islamic world. He is director of the department’s Certificate Program in Applied Social Science Research Methods, an excellent vehicle for gaining career-building skills. His undergraduate courses include Quantitative Social Research and Introduction to Sociology. 

Dr. Katherine Lineberger, Associate Teaching Professor of Sociology

She is a specialist in online teaching methods. She has long experience in program and population analysis, including needs assessment, program planning and development, evaluation, community identification, and social epidemiology. She has conducted needs assessments, evaluations, and research projects regarding issues related to domestic violence, child protective agency policy, women and substance abuse, and risk in street-level sex work, among others. She teaches undergraduate courses in Sociology of Gender, Medical Sociology, and Societies in the World.

Dr. Vrushali Patil, Associate Professor of Sociology and Chair, Department of Global and Sociocultural Studies

Her research focuses on the intersections of race, sexuality, and gender; transnational and postcolonial gender and sexuality, global and transnational historical sociology, and critical media studies. She is very active in the American Sociological Association and Sociologists for Women in Society. Her undergraduate teaching includes Sociology of Gender, Sociological Theories, and Societies in the World.