About the Author
I am an assistant professor of sociology at Rhode Island College. I research the social implications of the various information and communication technologies (ICTs) including the Internet and mobile phones. I am especially interested in how these technologies increase or decrease inequality between classes, racial groups, and nations. Thus, my work often touches on issues of the digital divide, digital inequality, and cyberbullying. I teach sociology classes at Rhode Island College.
Contact Information
Phone: 401-456-8727
Email:rgraham[at]ric.edu
Education
City University of New York Graduate Center, New York, NY
PhD, Sociology (2009)
City University of New York Graduate Center, New York, NY
Certificate, Advanced Social Research (2009)
(Basic Statistics, Factor Analysis, Psychometrics, Structural Equation Modeling, Statistical Consulting)
University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
M.A., Sociology (2003)
South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, SC
B.S., Biology Education (1998)
Areas of Specialization
New Media Studies, Race and Ethnicity, Cultural Consumption
Peer Reviewed Publications
Graham, Roderick and Danielle T. Smith. 2011. “Internet as Digital Practice: Differences in African American Internet Activity” Future Internet 3(3): 185-203.
Graham, Roderick. 2011. “African Americans and Jazz Consumption from 1982 to 2008” Journal of Black Studies 42(6): 993 – 1018.
Graham, Roderick. 2010. “ICT as Cultural Practice: Group Differences in Attitudes towards Technology among Americans” New Media and Society 12(6): 985 – 1003.
Graham, Roderick and Danielle T. Smith. 2010. “Dividing Lines: An Empirical Examination of Technology Use and Internet Activity among African Americans” Information, Communication, and Society 13(6): 892 – 908.
Graham, Roderick. 2009. “The Effect of Music Education in the Move from Snob to Omnivore in the United States” Music Education Research 11(3): 283 – 302.
Graham, Roderick. 2009. “The Battle for the Eye: Imagery and Politics in Harlem”, Socialism and Democracy 23(1): 129 – 142.
Graham, Roderick. 2008. “The Stylization of Internet Life?: Predictors of Internet Leisure Patterns Using Digital Inequality and Status Group Perspectives”, Sociological Research Online 13(5). [http://www.socresonline.org.uk/13/5/5.html]
Other Publications
Graham, Roderick. 2009. “The Arts of Democracy: Art, Public Culture, and the State” Socialism and Democracy 23(1). [Book Review]
Graham, Roderick. 2007. “John C. Calhoun”, The Encyclopedia of Race and Racism, 1st Ed. Macmillan Publishers. [Encyclopedia Entry]
Graham, Roderick. 2006. “The Business of Bodies: The Embodiment of Consumerism.” Clamor Magazine, Issue 38. [http://clamormagazine.org/issues/38/]
Papers Under Review
Graham, Roderick. “Family Structure and Cell Phone Usage: Mobile Technology as Digital Practice” (under review)
Graham, Roderick and Danielle T. Smith. “African American Social Networking Online: An Application of the ‘Digital Practice’ Approach to Understanding Digital Inequalities” (under review)
Highlighted Courses Taught
(accompanying course material at http://internetandsociety.wikispaces.com/)
Internet and Society (Fall 2011)
There are three main goals for this course. First, students explore the relationship between the Internet and the social phenomena that sociologists traditionally explore. These “social phenomena” include the development of communities, political participation, deviance, and the reproduction of social inequality. Second, students explore the social implications of the Internet on a personal level. We will work directly with Internet applications and reflect upon how these application alter or modify our everyday activities. Third, students explore how social scientists conduct research on the Internet, reading literature on the Internet, developing a research question, gathering data from the Internet, and drawing conclusions based upon this data.
Race and Cyberspace (Spring 2012)
This course explores how race and ethnicity structures online behavior. Three major questions form the foundation of this course: (1) How can differences in how whites and minorities use the Internet lead to differences in economic opportunities? (2) What are some ways in which ethnoracial identity is constructed online? (3) Does the Internet provide a space that is “post-racial”, or does the Internet magnify ethnic and racial differences between people? These questions will be addressed through readings, class discussions, and a semester long project in which students develop a research project and actively participate in online communities.
