Jeffrey S. Debies-Carl, Ph.D.

Education

Ph.D., Sociology, Ohio State University
M.A., Sociology, Ohio State University
B.A., Sociology/Anthropology, Kent State University

 

About Jeffrey

One foundational lesson of sociology is that context matters. My research builds on that principle by investigating the physical and virtual environments in which social life occurs. Whether they are tangible, digital, or increasingly a bit of both, the places around us are partly the product of social action and partly an influence on those actions. We create these environments based on our needs and desires but, once created, they can exert their own influence back on us. My work examines how they influence our feelings, thoughts, behaviors, social organization, and culture, as well as how these in turn shape the environment itself. To examine these processes, I use diverse methodologies ranging from quantitative applications to ethnographic methods. Substantively, I have examined the role of environmental context across a diverse range of specific topics. For example, my work has addressed many questions like the following:

• How are urban legends, which people traditionally discuss face-to-face, disseminated and transformed in online forums?
• Why do internet conspiracy claims influence real world behaviors?
• Do urban environments nurture inclusive attitudes for the people who live in them?
• Why do microbreweries feature physical environments so prominently on their product packaging compared to larger firms?
• How do subcultural enclaves structure their physical and virtual worlds to accommodate their distinctive norms and values?

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