Shirley Brown- Biography

Dr. Shirley Rainey-Brown is the Associate Vice Provost of Online Initiatives and Distance Education, Professor of Sociology, Discipline Coordinator, and Director of the Graduate Program in Social Justice.

She enjoys teaching Fisk Sociology students and have taught courses such as Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems, Family Life, Race, Gender and Class, Demography, Environmental Justice, Relations between Men and Women, Urban Sociology, Life Cycle, Adulthood and Aging, Social Movement, Sociology of Sports, Sociological Theory, Racial and Ethnic Relations, Sociology of Religion, Human Sexuality, White Privilege, Research Methods, Introduction to Criminal Justice, Environmental Sociology, and Social Justice Theory.

Her primary areas of research involve examining social issues of environmental injustices in disenfranchised communities of color, race and gender inequalities, social justice, and political economy. She is author of several books that are used in the classrooms by faculty teaching in the field. These books include the following: Local Residents Seeking Environmental Justice: Marginalized, Ostracized and Undervalued; Environmental Sociology: Case Study of an Environmental Distress Community; Enjoying Spiritual Works: A Collection of Sermons for Special Occasions; Environmental Justice Reader II: A Survey and Review of Critical Issues in Disenfranchised and Vulnerable Communities in the 21st Century; Environmental Justice Reader I: Addressing the History, Issues, Policy, and Change. In addition to her textbook publications, Dr. Brown has over 17 scholarly peer-reviewed articles published in sociological journals. She also serves on several editorial boards and attends and present at sociological and online annual conferences.