Professor Jennifer F. Hamer, Ph.D.
International & Interdisciplinary Studies - American Studies, African/African American Studies, College of Liberal Arts & SciencesRoom 211
Holding a joint appointment with the Department of African and African-American Studies, Jennifer Hamer's general area of study is the sociological and interdisciplinary qualitative study of families, especially those within the United States. Within this broad field, her primary research interests are African American fathers, mothers, and families, especially those that are working class.
She has published in varying journals such as the Journal of Marriage and the Family and Journal of Black Studies. In addition, she is the author of What it Means to Be Daddy: Fatherhood for Black Men Living Away from Their Children (Columbia University Press, 2001, http://cup.columbia.edu/book/978-0-231-11555-1/). Her most recent book, Abandoned in the Heartland: Work, Family, and Living in East St. Louis (University of California Press, 2011, http://www.ucpress.edu/book.php?isbn=9780520269323), is an analysis of how working class African American men and women negotiate work, kin care, and family in a poor suburb.
She is former Editor of Race and Society, the past official journal of the Association of Black Sociologists; founder and former Editor of Black Women, Gender, and Family; and founding Editor of Women, Gender, and Families of Color a multidisciplinary journal published biannually by the University of Illinois Press, that centers the study of women, gender, families, and communities of color.
She was recently selected to serve as a 2014-2015 Senior Administrative Fellow at the University of Kansas.
Education
Ph.D., Sociology, University of Texas
M.S., Sociology, Texas A&M University
B.A., Sociology, The University of Texas
Teaching
Professor Hamer teaches courses on African American families, working class places, and qualitative methodologies. This semester she is teaching the following:
AMS 804
American Studies (AMS) - Research Seminar ( 3 ) Fall 2014
An intensive application of theoretical and methodological issues to the development of specific substantive research problems. Students will be expected to design and implement a study that will be critically assessed in the seminar.
AAAS 803
African & African-American St - Research Methods Africana Stds ( 3 ) Fall 2014
A multidisciplinary introduction to the range of research methods employed to examine African and African-American history, cultures, and societies. Additional advanced-level coursework is required for students in this course beyond lower-level courses of the same name and/or description.
Teaching Interests
- African American families, community, and qualitative methodologies
Research Interests
- Black Studies
- African American families
- African American Communities
- Qualitative methodologies
- Suburbs
- Working class