Dr. Todd Schoepflin, Chairperson

tas@niagara.edu

Dr. Schoepflin grew up in Niagara Falls and graduated from Niagara Falls High School in 1990.  He received his B.A. in Psychology from SUNY Fredonia in 1994 and attended graduate school at Stony Brook University.  In 2004 he completed his dissertation at Stony Brook, entitled “A Sociological Analysis of Interracial Interaction at a Predominantly White University.”  He has taught at Niagara University since January 1999. 

Curriculum Vitae - PDF        Curriculum Vitae - Word

Dr. Ken Culton

kculton@niagara.edu

Dr. Culton joined the Sociology department in 2006.  He earned his Ph.D. from Stony Brook University in 2006.  His dissertation is entitled "DIY Punk on Long Island: On the Development of Activist Identities."  In Fall 2008 he is teaching Introduction to Sociology, Women in Society, and Social Theories.

Professor Mary Altair

Professor Altair has been teaching in the Sociology department at Niagara University for several years.  She teaches Cultural Anthropology and Native American Cultures.  She earned Bachelor degrees in Psychology and Anthropology from Michigan State Honors College, and a Masters degree in Anthropology from California State University, Hayward.  She has conducted research in Peshawar, Pakistan, and San Francisco, California.  She specializes in Medical and Visual Anthropology.

Dr. Clark Sykes

Dr. Sykes joined the Sociology department in the Fall 2007 semester.  He received his B.A. in Anthropology from Florida State University, and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Anthropology from University of Toronto.  He previously taught at Emory & Henry College and Boston University.  His specialties are Native American ethnology and archaeology, and he has carried out research in Florida, New York, Ontario, the Yukon, and Europe. 

Dr. Tara Jabbaar-Gyambrah

Dr. Tara Jabbaar-Gyambrah joined the Sociology department in Fall 2007. She received her B.A. in African American Studies with a minor in Sociology, M.A. in Humanities concentrating in Sociology and African American Studies and Ph.D. in American Studies specializing in Women Studies from the University at Buffalo, State University of New York at Buffalo.  In 2007, she completed her dissertation “Hip-Hop, Hip-Life: Global Sistahs” which argued that Black women in hip-hop in the U.S. and hip-life in Ghana have been able to carve out their own space in a male dominated industry using their music as a form of resistance against multiple oppressions.  Her research area of specialization focuses on understanding the socio-cultural representations of African women in popular culture across multiple disciplines through the intersections of race, class, ethnicity, and sexuality. 

Dr. Jennifer Lester

Jennifer Lester received her B.A. in Social Science from San Diego State University, M.A. in Sociology from the University at Buffalo, and Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.  Her specializations are in social, political, and literary theory. Her current research interest is in the study of literary texts from social and political theoretical perspectives; a critical essay, "Reading For Whom the Bell Tolls: With Barthes, Bakhtin, and Shapiro," was published in The Hemingway Review, Spring 2007.

Barb King

Barb is the secretary for the Sociology department.  Her number is (716) 286-8080.