Faculty Books
Susan Thistle
Associate Chair
Senior Lecturer
1808 Chicago Avenue
Room 110
Phone: (847) 491-3358
s-thistle@northwestern.edu
Office Hours: Wednesday 3:30 - 5:00 pm
or By Appointment
Curriculum Vitae
Areas of Interest
Environment
Gender
Historical and Comparative
Relevant Link
Environmental Policy and Culture
Institute for Policy Research
Biography
Susan Thistle's main area of interest is sociology of the environment, and how different groups are reshaping our relationships to the environment, both in the United States and elsewhere, in the 21st century. She has also started a new program, Field Studies in Environmental Issues, at the Friday Harbor Marine Laboratories on San Juan Island in the Pacific Northwest, about 90 miles north of Seattle, Washington. Students can spend Fall quarters at the Labs taking a variety of courses for credit at Northwestern, and carrying out independent research on environmental issues. In her earlier work, Susan looked at how different groups shaped the interaction between families and an expanding market economy.
Her book From Marriage to the Market: The Transformation of Women's Lives in the Late 20th Century United States, addresses the relationship between gender and economic and political development, providing an understanding of the deeper structural alterations underlying women's movement into the labor force in the years after World War II, and the profound changes in family structure, women's lives, and social policy which have accompanied this transition. Thistle has taught and developed such courses as "Food, Politics, and Society" and "Social Change and the Environment."
Courses Taught
SOCIOL 226: Sociological Analysis
SOCIOL 312: Social Basis of Environmental Change
SOCIOL 376: Topics in Sociological Analysis: Preserving the Wild
SOCIOL 376: Topics: Social Change and the Environment
Books
From Marriage to the Market: The Transformation of Women’s Lives and Work
University of California Press, 2006
William Henry Exum Award
The intent of this prize is to honor the memory of William Henry Exum, a member of the Department of Sociology and the African American Studies Department, who died in 1986 at the age of 37. Exum was concerned with the quality of writing and research analysis in student papers. He was also interested in racial problems facing minority youths in higher education. This award was established as a means of continuing his goals of breaking barriers for all minorities.
The award submission deadline is April 27, 2012. All interested students should submit a 15-20 page paper, typed and double-spaced, on a topic dealing with race and ethnicity. Students are not limited to a sociological approach in preparing their submissions, nor is the award limited to sociology or social science majors.
The paper should include a cover sheet with the student's name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, year in school, and major.
Three copies of the essay must be submitted by the announced deadline to the Exum Award - Department of Sociology, 1810 Chicago Ave., Evanston Campus or one copy by email to sociol@northwestern.edu.
This award is open to all undergraduate students from all disciplines.
Upcoming Events
COLLOQUIUM: Myra Marx Ferree, Sociology, University of WI-Madison
May 17, 2012 • 12:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Culture and Society Workshop
May 17, 2012 • 3:30 PM - 5:30 PM
