Julie B. Wiest, Ph.D.

Professor of Sociology | Faculty Senate Past-President

Series Co-Editor, Interpretive Lenses in Sociology (Bristol University Press) | Senior Crime and Media Editor, Emerald Studies in Media and Communications

juliebwiest.com | @jbwiest | Google Scholar

Student consultation hours Fall 2024: (virtual office):
Tues/Thurs 11am-noon (in person or Zoom) & Wed 9am-noon (Zoom only)
Appointments generally preferred but required for Zoom meetings

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Julie B. Wiest, Ph.D.

A sociologist of culture and media, I apply mainly symbolic interactionist and social constructionist perspectives to studies in three primary areas: (1) the sociocultural context of violence, (2) mass media effects, and (3) the relationship between new 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
  • SOC 225: Digital Social Research (DE: 50% online)
  • SOC 333: Self & Society
  • SOC 346: Sociology of Gender
  • SOC 360: Sociology of Culture
  • SOC 383: The Digital Self (DE: 100% online)
  • SOC 525: Digital Analytics (DE: 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


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