Michael
Reay
Visiting Assistant Professor of SociologyOffice: Palmer Hall 131D
Phone: 719-389-6735
Email: mreay@ColoradoCollege.edu
B.A., Social and Political Sciences, Churchill College, Cambridge University
M.A., Sociology, University of Chicago
Ph.D., Sociology, University of Chicago
Research and Teaching Interests
I'm interested in how knowledge works in society, especially how it is distributed unevenly, embodied in unconscious routines, and misunderstood by people in different social settings. My research and teaching explores these phenomena in a number of areas;
o The authority of scientific experts, especially economists
o The effects of technological innovation
o The development of work-based identities
o The group-specific valuation of different consumer goods
o The nature of deviant subcultures
o The causes and social functions of laughter
o The implications for general social theory
My approach to all of these is eclectic, using ideas from sociology, economics, anthropology, social psychology, and linguistics. It also tries to draw out the implications for class, race, and gender inequalities in the contemporary world of global marketization and computer-based connectivity.
Recent Syllabi (samples from CC and Reed College)
SO290 -- Sociology of Economic Life (CC syllabus)
Sample Papers
Academic Knowledge and Expert Authority in American Economists
(Sociological Perspectives 50:101-129)
Using Autobiographical Statements to Investigate the Identity of American Economists
(Forthcoming in History of Political Economy Annual Supplement)
The Uses of Economics (Under revision)
The Dynamic Social Structuring of Knowledge (In preparation)
Interpreting Spontaneous Laughter During Interviews (In preparation)