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 Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é 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 Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é 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, The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso, 2005
MA- Sociology, The Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é of Texas at El Paso, 2011
PhD- Sociology, Ãå±±ÂÖ¼é 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.