Meet Dr. Jacob Lederman, Assistant Professor of Sociology

Name: Jacob Lederman    
Title: Assistant Professor of Sociology
Department: Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice

Classes I teach:
Urban Sociology, Introduction to Sociology, Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory

Publications:
2015: “Urban Fads and Consensual Fictions: Creative, Sustainable, and Competitive City Policies in Buenos Aires.” City and Community, Vol. 14, no. 1, pp. 47-67
2013: “‘But this is a park!’ The Paradox of Public Space in a Buenos Aires ‘No-Man’s’ Land”, Citizenship Studies, Vol. 17, no. 1, pp. 16-30

Research or Specific Areas of Interest:
Urban sociology, development and globalization, political economy

Degree(s)/Education:
BA, NYU, 2004
PhD City University of New York, Graduate Center, 2015

Memberships:
American Sociology Association (ASA)
Latin America Studies Association (LASA)

How I fell in love with my field:
As an undergraduate, I took a number of Latin American literature courses. After graduating, I decided to take a year off to teach English in Buenos Aires, Argentina. I soon realized that teaching English wasn’t for me, but I became fascinated by the politics, economics, and social conflicts that were visible each day in the city. I came to recognize that sociology as a field offered some of the most useful tools for answering questions about the urban transformations taking place both in Buenos Aires and around the world.

What I hope for my time at UM-Flint:
As an urban sociologist, cities like Flint and Detroit offer some of the richest sites for research on post-industrial and deindustrializing cities in North America. I hope to have the opportunity to explore the rich history of social and urban change that characterizes the region and engage students in thinking through these topics through empirical examination and theoretical exploration.

What I hope for students in my field:
I hope for students to be able to place their personal trajectories within broader institutions and histories, to be able to use their so-called sociological imagination, and to critically assess the social world around them. Specific to Flint, I hope to collaborate with students in studying the urban changes taking place just outside the classroom.

Three things you should know about me:
I’m a cyclist
I speak Spanish well and Portuguese poorly
I lived in NYC for 14 years