Julie B. Wiest, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology
Faculty Senate Executive Committee member (past president) | APSCUF-WCU State Delegate and Meet & Discuss Team member
Series Co-Editor, Interpretive Lenses in Sociology (Bristol University Press) | Senior Crime and Media Editor, Emerald Studies in Media and Communications
juliebwiest.com | Google Scholar | ResearchGate
Student consultation hours Fall 2026 (AND 447 or virtual office):
Tues 12:30-1pm (in person or Zoom) | Wed 1-4pm (Zoom only) | Thurs 8-9am & 12:30-1pm (in person or Zoom)
Appointments generally preferred but required for Zoom meetings; email to request other days/times by appointment
A sociologist of culture and media, I apply mainly symbolic interactionist and social constructionist perspectives to studies in three primary areas: the sociocultural context of violence, mass media effects, and the relationship between new/digital media technologies and sociocultural change. I earned my Ph.D. in sociology at the University of Tennessee and M.A. in journalism and mass communication at the University of Georgia's Grady College. Before academia, I worked as a print and online journalist for nearly a decade.
WCU Courses
- SOC 100: Introduction to Sociology (F2F, 50% online, & 100% online)
- SOC 225: Digital Social Research (50% online)
- SOC 333: Self & Society
- SOC 346: Sociology of Gender
- SOC 360: Sociology of Culture
- SOC 383: The Digital Self (100% online)
- SOC 525: Digital Analytics (100% online; part of Graduate Certificate in Digital Media Marketing)
Areas of Specialization
- Sociology of culture
- Symbolic interactionism
- New/digital media technologies
- Mass media representation & effects
- Deviance & crime (especially violence & extreme offending)
Recent Scholarly Work
- My books
- My articles & book chapters
- Media interviews & op-eds
- See current CV on juliebwiest.com