Education
Ph.D. Sociology, UC Irvine, 2013
M.A. Social Science, UC Irvine, 2007
M.Phil Sociology, University of Cambridge, UK, 2005
B.A. Global Studies, UC Santa Barbara, 2003
Biography
Elizabeth Sowers is an Assistant Professor in the Sociology Program at CSU Channel Islands. Prior to coming to CI, Elizabeth earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from UC Irvine (2013); a M.A. in Social Sciences from UC Irvine (2007); a M.Phil in Sociology from the University of Cambridge, UK (2005); and a B.A. in Global Studies from UC Santa Barbara (2003). Elizabeth's research interests are in the areas of work, globalization, and economic sociology, with a specific focus on investigating working conditions within the logistics, or goods movement, industry. Generous support for Elizabeth's research has been provided by the John Randolph Haynes Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Recently, Elizabeth published articles and book chapters on critical nodes in capitalist commodity chains, intimacy & economy (forthcoming), globalization & development (forthcoming), global economic networks (forthcoming), and work & neoliberal globalization, as well as a book, Economy and State: A Sociological Perspective (with Nina Bandelj).
Representative Courses Taught
- SOC 100 Introduction to Sociology
- SOC 331 Narratives of the Working Class
- SOC 420 Classical Sociological Theory
- SOC 421 Contemporary Sociological Theory
- SOC 448 Globalization & Development
- SOC 499 Capstone
Scholarship
Keywords
Globalization, Economic Sociology, Work, Labor Movements, Social Inequality, Logistics Industry
Additional Teaching and Research Information
- "Economy and State: A Sociological Perspective" (2010; Bandelj & Sowers)
- "Comparing Critical Capitalist Commodity Chains in the Early Twenty-first Century: Opportunities for and Constraints on Labor and Political Movements" (2014; Sowers, Ciccantell, and Smith)
- "Work and Neoliberal Globalization: A Polanyian Synthesis" (2011; Bandelj, Shorette, and Sowers)