Department of Sociology

Dr. David Russell is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Appalachian State University. He earned his PhD in sociology from Florida State University and completed a National Institute of Mental Health Postdoctoral Fellowship in Mental Health Services and Systems at the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research at Rutgers University. His teaching and research interests include medical sociology, aging and the life-course, stress and mental health. Some of the courses he has recently taught include Senior Capstone, Social Statistics & Data Analysis, and Medical Sociology. His current research cuts across these areas and explores several topics, including factors impacting family caregiving for older adults with needs for functional assistance, the role of state capacity in shaping vaccination uptake across distinct phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, and identification of social and cultural forces underlying rampage school shootings.

Courses Taught

SOC 1000: The Sociological Perspective
SOC 2600: Medical Sociology
SOC 3100: Gerontology
SOC 3895: Social Statistics and Data Analysis
SOC 4450: Senior Capstone

Research Interests

Medical Sociology
Aging & the Life Course
Sociology of Stress and Mental Health
Quantitative and Qualitative Research Methods

Recent Publications

Russell, D., Gordon, J., & Thames, K. M. (2025). The New Social Roots of School Shootings: A Refined Constellation Theory of Rampage Attacks. Socius.

Prigerson, H. G., Russell, D., & Maciejewski, P. K. (2025). Associations between positive and negative social experiences and epigenetic aging. Scientific Reports, 15(1).

Russell, D., Miyawaki, C. E., Reckrey, J. M., & Bouldin, E. D. (2025). Unmet Needs and Factors Impacting Home-and Community-Based Service Use Among Rural Appalachian Caregivers of People With Alzheimer’s and Dementia. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 44(4), 628-637.

Spence, N. J., Russell, D., Bouldin, E. D., Tumminello, C. M., & Schwartz, T. (2023). Getting back to normal? Identity and role disruptions among adults with Long COVID. Sociology of Health & Illness, 45(4), 914-934.

Dr. Kelly Thames is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Appalachian State University in Boone, NC. She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from North Carolina State University and holds an M.S. in Sociology and a B.A. in Criminology from North Carolina State University. Guided by her passion for criminological theory construction and theory testing and her commitment to issues of social justice, her current research primarily explores the effects of global neoliberalization on cross-national rates of violent crime.  More specifically, Dr. Thames is interested in investigating the relationship between neoliberal shifts in social welfare policy and rates of criminal behavior in a variety of political contexts, including western democratic and post-communist countries.  Dr. Thames is also interested in the relationship between crime and public perceptions of social justice in the wake of welfare retrenchment.  

 Courses Taught

• Criminology
• Social Deviance
• Juvenile Delinquency
• Corrections
• Communities and Crime
• Punishment and Social Control
• Propaganda, Media, and Society
• The Sociological Perspective
• Sociology of Law
• Crime, Law and Deviance in the European Union

Research Interests

• Criminological Theory
• Cross-National Crime
• Mass Violence
• Social Control 
• Theory Construction
• Inequality (Race, Class, and Gender)
• Sociological Theory
• Quantitative Research Methods (Big Data Analysis, Decomposition/”Hybrid” Panel Analysis, Hierarchical Linear Modeling)

Recent Publications

Russell, David, Kelly M. Thames, Naomi J. Spence, and Callie Koeval. 2020. “Where the Fault Lies: Representations of Addiction in Audience Reactions to Media Coverage of the Opioid Epidemic.” Contemporary Drug Problems. 47:83-102. DOI: 10.1177/0091450920929102

Russell, David, Naomi J. Spence, and Kelly M. Thames. 2019. “’It's So Scary How Common This is Now:’ Frames in Media Coverage of the Opioid Epidemic by Ohio Newspapers and Themes in Facebook User Reactions.” Information, Communication,
and Society. DOI: 10.1080/1369118X.2019.1566393.

Perdue, Robert Todd, James Hawdon, and Kelly M. Thames. 2018. “Can Big Data Predict the Rise of Novel Drug Abuse?” The Journal of Drug Issues. DOI: 10.1177/0022042618772294.

Thames, Kelly M. and Patricia L. McCall. 2014. “A Longitudinal Examination of the Effects of Social Support on Homicide Across European Regions.” International Journal of Conflict and Violence 8:234-261.

Ray, Bradley, Cindy B. Dollar, and Kelly M. Thames. 2011. “Observations of Reintegrative Shaming in a Mental Health Court.” International Journal of Law and Psychiatry 34:49-55.  

Dr. Ellen Lamont is a professor in the Department of Sociology. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from New York University, an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research examines how gender and sexuality shape intimate relationships in a variety of contexts. She is the author of The Mating Game: How Gender Still Shapes How We Date with University of California Press. Her work has been published in Gender & Society, Men & Masculinities, and Sociological Forum and covered by news outlets such as The Atlantic, BBC, Cosmopolitan, and The New York Times. She is currently working on a project on gender, work, and family in Appalachia funded by grants from the American Sociological Association and the University Research Council, as well as conducting an ethnography on gender and parenthood in family court. Ellen teaches courses on gender, family, and intimate relationships, as well as interdisciplinary seminars in the Honors College. She was inducted into the College of Arts and Sciences Academy of Outstanding Teachers in 2018 and awarded Teacher of the Year in 2019. In 2024, she won the Board of Governors Appalachian State University Excellence in Teaching Award.

Courses Taught

• SOC 1110: Sociology of Intimate Relationships
• SOC 2850: Constructions of Gender
• SOC 4800: Sociology of Families
• SOC 4650: Women, Crime, and the Justice System

Research Interests

• Gender, Sexuality, and Intimate Relationships
• Dating and Courtship
• LGBTQ Hookup Culture
• Gendered Parenthood

Recent Publications

Lamont, Ellen, and Teresa Roach. 2025. "Coming Out Queer: Sexual and Romantic Exploration and Identity Development of LGBQ+ College Students." Social Currents 12(1):60-79.

Lamont, Ellen. 2021. "The Persistence of Gendered Dating." Sociology Compass, 15(11), e12933. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12933

Lamont, Ellen.  2020. The Mating Game: How Gender Still Shapes How We Date. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.

Lamont, Ellen, Teresa Roach, and Sope Kahn. 2018. "Navigating Campus Hookup Culture: LGBTQ Students and College Hookups".  Sociological Forum 33(4): 1000-1022.

Lamont, Ellen. 2017. "'We Can Write the Script Ourselves':  Queer Challenges to Heteronormative Dating and Courtship Practices."  Gender & Society 31(5): 624-646.

 Lamont, Ellen. 2015. “The Limited Construction of an Egalitarian Masculinity: College- Educated Men’s Dating and Relationship Narratives.”Men & Masculinities 18(3): 271-292.  

Lamont, Ellen.  2014. "Negotiating Courtship: Reconciling Egalitarian Ideals with Traditional Gender Norms".  Gender & Society 28(2): 189-211.

Kristin S. Ivey joined the faculty of Appalachian State University in 2010 and currently serves as a Senior Lecturer at App State Hickory Campus. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology and Social Control. She completed her Master of Arts in Higher Education with a concentration in Teaching Sociology and began teaching at Caldwell Community College and knew she wanted to invest more in her career! Kristin’s thirst for learning continued and while teaching part-time, she went back to Appalachian and completed her Education Specialist Degree in Higher Education with a concentration in Adult Learning. Kristin’s uses a variety of pedagogical practices to help students understand the relevance of Sociology in their lives and encourage them to be agents of social change. In addition to being a Senior Lecturer, Kristin serves as the Chapter Representative for AKD, The International Sociology Honor Society and Faculty Advisor of the Community Service Club.

Courses Taught

• SOC 1000: The Sociological Perspective
• SOC 1100: Social Problems in American Society
• SOC 1110: The Sociology of Intimate Relationships
• SOC 2020: Social Deviance

Research Interests

• Intimate Relationships
• Diversities in Families
• Gender
• Social Deviance
• Criminology

Joyce Hill-Powers, M.A., and Senior Lecturer joined the faculty in the Department of Sociology at Appalachian State University in May 2000, right after completing her degree at Appalachian State University in the MASS Program: Master of Arts in Social Science Education. Joyce earned her master's degree in Sociology and History Education to teach at the post-secondary level. She also worked in College Awareness Programs, Conferences and Institutes, and Ashe County Middle and High schools while remaining a teacher in the department, which enabled Joyce to connect college students with the community and support first-generation college students through federal education grants. Joyce is excited to be a part of the Pathways to Resilience App State’s current Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP). This five-year university effort seeks to grow students’ climate literacy and agency and build confidence in our capacity to respond to climate disruption in ways that reduce harm and improve local and global communities' well-being. She is also a Quality Matters Certified SOC 2020 web-based course instructor.

Courses Taught

• SOC 1100: Social Problems in American Society
• SOC 1110: Social Deviance
• SOC 2020: Social Deviance
• SOC 3340: Criminology
• SOC 3360: Juvenile Delinquency
• SOC 3549: Climate Responses

 Research Interests

• Deviance and Social Control
• The Stigmatization Process
• Social Integration
• Socialization
• Rural Communities
• Culture and Identity

Dr. Matthew Wright joined the faculty of Appalachian State University in 2020 and is currently Assistant Chair and Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology. He earned his Ph.D in Sociology in 2017 from Bowling Green State University. His teaching interests center on families and intimate relationships, aging, demography, and statistics. Dr. Wright’s research, which has appeared in Journal of Marriage and Family, Journals of Gerontology, Demography, and Journal of Health and Social Behavior examines the implications of family change in later life, with an emphasis on marriage, divorce, and cohabitation. His current projects examine the relationship quality, well-being, and social relationships of cohabitors, with particular attention to those aged 50 and older. Another line of research investigates family attitudes among older adults, both in the U.S. and internationally, and how they have changed over time.

Courses Taught

• SOC 1110: Sociology of Intimate Relationships
• SOC 3100: Gerontology
• SOC 3895: Social Statistics and Data Analysis
• SOC 4800: Sociology of Families

Research Interests

• Marriage, Cohabitation, and Divorce in Later Life
• Nonmarital Relationships
• Family Attitudes
• Family change

Recent Publications

Wright, Matthew R., Tatum A. Schwartz, Susan L. Brown, and Wendy D. Manning. 2023. “Income Pooling in Midlife: A Comparison of Remarried and Cohabiting Relationships.” Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 78: 1402-1411.

Wright, Matthew R., Susan L. Brown, and Wendy D. Manning. 2023. “A Cohort Comparison of Midlife Marital Quality: A Quarter Century of Change.” Journal of Family Issues 44: 538-559.

Wright, Matthew R. 2021. “Cohabitation.” Encyclopedia of Gerontology and Population Aging. Edited by Danan Gu and Matthew R. Dupre. Springer.

Wright, Matthew R. 2020. “Relationship Quality among Older Cohabitors: A Comparison to Remarrieds.” Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences 75: 1808-1817.

Natalie Sheets is a Sociology Lecturer with over 11 years of experience teaching in higher education. She has taught both sociology and psychology courses and is currently serving as the Western Sociological Representative for the North Carolina Community College Sociology and Psychology Association (NCCCSPA).
Natalie earned her Master’s degree in Sociology from East Tennessee State University, where her thesis examined the experiences of single mothers and religiosity. Her research interests continue to center on the topics and intersections of religion and social stratification. She is deeply passionate about higher education and about equipping students with the tools to think critically about social issues, inequality, and community life.   Outside of her professional work, Natalie enjoys spending time with her two sons, who inspire much of her commitment to education and student success.

Courses Taught

• SOC 1100: Social Problems in American Society
• SOC 2050: Social Diversity and Inequalities

Dr. Bradley Nash Jr. joined the faculty at Appalachian State University in 2002. Currently a full Professor in the Department of Sociology, he served as Undergraduate Sociology Director from 2005 to 2010 and Graduate Sociology Director from 2017 to 2020. Teaching interests include sociological theory, environmental sociology, and social problems. One of his long-standing areas of research has been the historical-comparative analysis of labor law policy and its impact on trade unions and related labor organizations. More recently, he has also begun research in the area of the sociology of science, specifically looking at the social construction of, and public attitudes toward, scientific knowledge.

 Courses Taught

• SOC 1100: Social Problems in American Society
• SOC 3150: Environmental Sociology 
• SOC 3710: Sociology of Appalachian Communities 
• SOC 3950: Classical Sociological Theory

Research Interests

• Comparative Labor Law Policies 
• Sociology of Science 
• Sociology and Anthropocene

Recent Publications

Nash, Bradley Jr.  “Labor Law Reform and Organized Labor: A Comparative-Historical Sociology of Unanticipated Outcomes”.  Humanity and Society.  Volume 43, Number 2.  2019. 

 Kleitsch, David, Ed Rosenberg and Bradley Nash, Jr.  “Community in a Virtual Environment: Can YouTube Build Community for LGBT Youth?”  Sociation Today.  Volume 13, Number 2.  2015.

Dr. Amy Dellinger Page joined the faculty of Appalachian State in 2004. During her tenure, she has served as Undergraduate Programs Director, Internship Supervisor, and Department Chair. She was a member of the inaugural Interpersonal Violence Task Force, and later served as a member and co-chair of the Interpersonal Violence Council. Her research interests involve attitudes about women and rape, pornography and its role in promoting rape culture, prevention programming related to interpersonal violence, sex offender policy, and toxic masculinity and its relationship to violence. For the past five years, she expanded her research interests by studying end-of-life doulas (EOLDs). She has been an invited speaker for Chalk Talks, the NC Governor’s Advisory Council on Aging, and the End-of-Life Doula International Research Group Symposium. She is currently conducting research assessing the experiences of dying persons and their circles of care with utilizing EOLDs.

In March 2020, she became Executive Director of Appalachian Senior Programs, which houses two federally-funded AmeriCorps Seniors programs that assist children and the local senior population; the Foster Grandparent and the Senior Companion programs. The goal of these programs is to enhance the social-emotional and academic skills of children who need one-on-one assistance, and provide companionship and assistance for older adults who do not qualify for other services and wish to remain independent in their homes. Appalachian Senior Programs serves five rural counties (Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Watauga, and Wilkes) in the mountains of western North Carolina.

Dr. Page works with OASIS, the local domestic violence and sexual assault crisis center on sexual assault prevention programming with alcohol-serving establishments and faith-based communities as well as with the Office of Access and Equity at Appalachian State on Title IX and sex-based misconduct cases. She serves as Vice Chair of the Board of the Women’s Fund of the Blue Ridge and serves on the Grants Committee for the organization as well.

She is a recipient of the College of Arts and Sciences Jimmy Smith Outstanding Service Award (2013), the W.H. Plemmons Leadership Medallion (2015-2016), and the College of Arts and Sciences Excellence in Engagement Award (2021).

Courses Taught

• SOC 1000: The Sociological Perspective 
• SOC 1100: Social Problems in American Society
• SOC 2001: Sociological Pathways
• SOC 2020: Social Deviance
• SOC 3370: Sexual Violence
• SOC 3530  Death and Dying
• SOC 4250: Constructing Bodies and Sexualities

Research Interests

• Interpersonal Violence
• End-of-Life Doulas
• Sexual Violence Policy
• Pornography

Recent Publications

Page, Amy Dellinger, Jonelle H. Husain, and Jack H. Glascock. 2024. “Demystifying Death: Reflections on End-of-Life Doula Work.” OMEGA: Journal of Death and Dying.  https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228241305479.

 Galphin, Elisabeth Grace, Adam Hege, and Amy Dellinger Page.  2024. “Impacts of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Intimate Partner Violence and Child Maltreatment Services in Rural Northwest North Carolina.”  Journal of Appalachian Health 6 (3), 87-92.

Schwartz, Tatum A. and Amy Dellinger Page. 2023. “The Body in Space: Trauma-Informed Frameworks for Dance in Non-Clinical Settings.” Journal of Dance Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/15290824.2023.2183503.

Page, Amy Dellinger and Jonelle H. Husain. 2023. “End-of-Life Doulas: Documenting their Backgrounds and Services.” Omega: Journal of Death and Dying 88(2), 505-524. Published online 2021.

Page, Amy Dellinger, Jonelle H. Husain, and Ashely M. Kvanvig. 2022. “Dying a ‘Good’ Death: The Work, Care, and Support of End-of-Life Doulas.” Omega: Journal of Death and Dying. (https://doi.org/10.1177/00302228221145798).

Media Appearances

Invited Featured Guest with Jonelle Husain for AppTV’s Religion in Life.  Season 13, Episode 7. April 29, 2021. https://youtu.be/q59WJdqNLPA

Invited Featured Guest with Jonelle Husain for AppTV’s Religion in Life. Season 13, Episode 6.  April 9, 2021. https://youtu.be/5Z52BCmpeZQ

Invited Featured Panelist for National Public Radio’s 1A.  “Boys to Men: Masculinity and the Next Mass Shooting”.  February 28, 2018. https://the1a.org/audio/#/shows/2018-02-28/boys-to-men-how-masculinity-is-made/113680/@00:00

Dr. Pavel Osinsky joined the faculty of the Appalachian State University in 2008 and serves currently as Professor of the Department of Sociology. Dr. Osinsky specializes in social theory, sociology of globalization, political sociology, and comparative-historical sociology. He is a coauthor of War: Contemporary Perspectives on Military Conflicts Around the World (2018, with Cameron Lippard and Lon Strauss) and an author of articles in The Annual Review of Sociology, Political Power and Social Theory, Sociological Perspectives, Sociological Forum, Sociological Inquiry, Work & Occupations, and other journals. Currently, Dr. Osinsky is working on a monograph-length manuscript “The Pathways to Empire: Spain, Russia, and the Ottomans,” which explores the origins of the large territorial empires in the context of the frontier interactions between the settled agricultural civilizations and the militarized nomadic polities. Pavel Osinsky regularly teaches courses in Sociological Theory, Global Sociology, and Sociology of War. 

Areas of Expertise and Interest

•  Social Theory
• Globalization
• Comparative-Historical Sociology

Education

Ph.D., 2007, Sociology, Northwestern University
M.A., 1999, Sociology, University of Iowa
B.A., 1985, Philosophy, Moscow State University

Courses taught

• The Sociological Perspective (SOC 1000)
• Classical Sociological Theory (SOC 3950)
• Contemporary Sociological Theory (SOC 3960)
• Sociology of War (SOC 3800)
• Political Sociology (SOC 4600)
• Global Sociology (SOC 4850)

Recent Publications

Osinsky, Pavel. 2021. “Charisma, the Order of Succession, and Legitimacy of Authority in Nomadic Empires of Eurasia” // Zhytomyr Ivan Franco State University Journal. Philosophical Sciences 2 (90): 75-86

Osinsky, Pavel. 2020. “The Rise and Fall of the Nomad-Dominated Empires of Eurasia”  Sociological Inquiry 20 (10): 1-25.

Osinsky, Pavel. 2019. “The Nomadic Empires as State Formations.” Eurasia and the World 1: 42-57

Cameron Lippard, Pavel Osinsky and Lon Strauss. 2018. Contemporary Perspectives on Armed Conflicts around the World. New York: Routledge

Pavel Osinsky. 2017. "Democracy, Authoritarianism, and Values in Poland, Ukraine, and Russia".  Vestnik BGU (5): 91-102.

Pavel Osinsky and Jari Eloranta. 2016. "Historicizing Divergence: A Comparative Analysis of the Revolutionary Crises in Russia and Finland." In Economic History of Warfare and State Formation, edited by Jari Eloranta, Eric Golson, Andrei Markevich, and Nikolaus Wolf. London: Springer.

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