Teaching
Teaching
Teaching
Learn more about my teaching endeavors, including information about my recent presentations at teaching and learning conferences.
Research
Teaching
Teaching
Learn more about my research endeavors, including my book,
Redefining Murder, Transforming Emotion, and other projects, including
"B.R.I.D.G.E.S.: Building Respect, Inclusivity, Diversity, Generosity, and Empathy among Students" and "Exploring Identity, Emotion, and Social Support after Traumatic Loss."
Service
Teaching
Service
Learn more about my service endeavors, including various service projects within the community, the discipline, CalStateLA, and the Sociology Department.
Newsworthy
“Forgiveness After Murder, with Dr. Kristen Discola": Just Justice, 2024
“Forgiveness After Murder, with Dr. Kristen Discola": Just Justice, 2024
Join me in this important conversation on the new podcast 'Just Justice.' In it, we discuss the science of forgiveness in the context of murder, including what role, if any, forgiveness can play in the pursuit of second chances for incarcerated people.
“Is There a Right Way to Forgive?” Lessons From One Prison Classroom: Slate, 2024
“Forgiveness After Murder, with Dr. Kristen Discola": Just Justice, 2024
Read the August 2024 article in Slate about my Sociology of Forgiveness course within the Prison Graduation Initiative Program at the California Institution for Women, entitled “Is There a Right Way to Forgive?” Lessons From One Prison Classroom."
Girls ‘Try’ and Boys ‘Aim High’: Forbes, 2021
Read the March 2021 article in Forbes about my 2020 publication entitled “Girls 'Try,' Boys 'Aim High': Exposing Difference in Implied Ability, Activity, and Agency of Girls Versus Boys in Language on McDonald's Happy Meal Boxes."
This Week in Sociological Perspective: Interview, 2020
Listen to the podcast. This Week in Sociological Perspective, during which Professor Roundfield Lucas interviews me about my publication: “Girls Try, Boys Aim High: Exposing Difference in Implied Ability, Activity, and Agency of Girls Versus Boys in Language on McDonald's Happy Meal Boxes."
The Humanist Sociologist: Newsletter, 2013
The Humanist Sociologist: Newsletter, 2013
Learn more about my Criminal Victimology class in the Humanist Sociologist newsletter.
About Me
I joined the faculty at California State University, Los Angeles in 2017 after completing my doctoral degree in the Sociology Department at the State University of New York, Albany. My areas of specialization are social psychology, with a focus on the transformation of identity and emotion, and crime and deviance, with a focus on individuals' experiences of traumatic loss and criminal victimization. My research is largely qualitative in nature, often including phenomenological explorations using intensive interviewing and participant observation. My passion for understanding and explaining social experiences has led to the research, teaching, service, and honors included in these pages.
Here you will find information related to my research, teaching, and service endeavors, including my ongoing research projects:
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- B.R.I.D.G.E.S: Building Respect, Inclusivity, Diversity, Generosity, and Empathy among Students"
- Emotions on Campus
- Exploring Identity, Emotion and Social Support after Traumatic Loss
- Redefining Murder: A Qualitative Exploration of Emotion, Identity, and Social Support Following Loss of a Loved One to Homicide
I encourage you to reach out to me with questions or comments!
