Maggie Nelan
MA Program
Thesis Advisor: Dr. Sara Grineski
Thesis: Health and Risk Behaviors of Disaster Volunteers in Haiti
Post MA in Sociology
PhD Program: From August 2011-May 2016 I attended the University of Delaware where I earned my Ph.D. in Sociology. I was fully funded and during my time there was a research assistant at the Disaster Research Center, a teaching assistant in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice, and a teaching fellow in the same department where I independently taught an undergraduate course for 3 semesters. I conducted research on convergence in disasters. My dissertation focused on how individuals involved in the disaster donation supply chain socially constructed material and monetary donations following a disaster. I conducted fieldwork following Hurricane Sandy in 2012 and the May 2013 Oklahoma tornadoes.
Publications:
Nelan, Mary M. and Sara Grineski (2013) Responding to Haiti’s Earthquake: International Volunteers’ and Community Relationships. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters 31(2):293-314
Wachtendorf, Tricia, Samantha Penta, and Mary M. Nelan (2015) “When Push Comes to Shove: The Framing of Need in Disaster Relief Efforts.” Pp. 235-252 in Learning and Calamities: Practices, Interpretations, Patterns, edited by Heike Egner, Maren Schorch, and Martin Voss. New York: Routledge
Wachtendorf, Tricia, Mary M. Nelan, and Blinn-Pike, Lynn (2013) “Households and Families.” Pp. 281-310 in Social Vulnerability to Disasters, edited by Deborah S.K. Thomas, Brenda D. Phillips, William E. Lovekamp, and Alice Fothergill. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press."
Jobs: I am currently an Assistant Professor at the University of North Texas, in the Department of Emergency Management and Disaster Science.
How has the MA in Sociology program prepared you? My MA introduced me to sociology, teaching in a university setting, and research, all of which I fell in love with. It also prepared me for my Ph.D. program, which has led me to my position as an assistant professor now.
Future Goals: I will continue to teach and work on my research, and my goal for the moment is to achieve tenure.
Education
BA- English minor in Religious Studies, ÀÇÓÑÊÓƵ, 2005
MA- Sociology, ÀÇÓÑÊÓƵ, 2011
PhD- Sociology, University of Delaware, 2016
Email: mary.nelan@unt.edu
Favorite Memory
Our made up sociology club "Unofficial Graduate Student Sociological Association", we decided we has a Marxist structure and each member was a president.