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About My Scholarship
I am a Ph.d candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of South Florida. I study the Intersections of race, ethnicity, and gender within consumer culture contexts. I am particularly interested in the ways that race, ethnicity, and gender structure consumer markets, and how cultural intermediaries of these markets construct meanings, value, and legitimacy.
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I understand the topics of race, ethnicity, gender, and consumer culture as intersecting categories of analysis, and not as independent or stand alone subject matters. I am fascinated by the ways consumer markets are both structured by race, ethnicity, and gender and how material and ideological inequalities are reproduced through consumer markets. For more, check out my “research statement.”
Research
Research
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Published Work
Withers, Erik T. 2017. “Brewing Boundaries of White/Middle-Class/Maleness: Reflections From Within the Craft Beer Industry.” Pp 236-260 in: Untapped: Exploring the Cultural Dimensions of the Craft Beer Revolution. Edited by: Nathaniel G. Chapman, J. Slade Lellock, and Cameron Lippard. Morgantown, WV: West Virginia University Press.
In this chapter, I used a content analysis of websites, promotional materials, and brand packaging, and drew on my own experiences from within the industry to highlight some of the cultural elements of the craft beer industry that reinforce gendered and racial boundaries.
Withers, Erik T. 2017. “The Impact and Implications of Craft Beer Research: An Interdisciplinary Literature Review.” in: Craft Beverages and Tourism, Volume One: The Rise of Breweries and Distilleries in the United States. Edited by: Carol Kline, Susan L. Slocum and Christina T. Cavaliere. London, UK: Palgrave MacMillan.
In this opening chapter of the volume, I review the body of social science literature dedicated to the subject of craft beer. I argue that there is a dearth of research in the area that critically explores the racialized and gendered aspects of the industry.
In this article, I explore the links between Whiteness and Culture, and argue that throughout the social systems of the U.S. culture has developed as the means through which white racial interests are secured and racial hierarchies are accomplished
Withers, Erik T. 2017. “Whiteness and Culture.” Sociology Compass. 11(4): 1-11.
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Teaching
In the classroom I rely on the pedagogical concept of "shared responsibility”—a technique that views teaching and learning as a collective effort among all in a classroom, rather than solely a role for the instructor. I use four principles to guide the learning goals I have for my students: concepts, critique, choice, and creativity. I employ these principles (which I refer to as the “four Cs”) to both my teaching methods and to the expectations I have of students. Please check out my "Teaching Philosophy" for more on my teaching style, and check out my "List of Courses Taught" below.
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