Patricia Anne Masters
Curriculum Vita
Office Address: Home Address:
Department of Sociology and Anthropology 1509 Hiddenbrook Drive
George Mason University Herndon, Virginia 20170
4400 University Drive (703) 4715691/(703) 4719830
Fairfax, Virginia 22030
(703) 9931432
email:
Education
19931998: American University, Washington, D.C.
Ph.D. in Sociology awarded December 1998
Dissertation title: "The Philadelphia Mummers Parade: A Sociological Study of Play and
Community"
This dissertation explored the broad question of how communities form and
persist, examining the ways in which humans define and engage in play, the many
ways in which play enriches the lives of individuals and communities, the
processes by which competitive play generates normative and symbolic culture,
and the outcomes of play for the community writ large. The Mummers Parade is a
100yearold folk parade, sociologically significant because of its effect on the
ethnic neighborhoods where it was born and is based. Multiple methods were
used in the research, including extended life history interviews, participant
observation, historical research, and content analysis, producing a 400page
ethnographic case study focusing of the three themes of family, tradition, and
play.
19901993: American University, Washington, D. C.
M.A., Sociology, awarded December 1993
Areas of specialization: Gender and Family (with Distinction), Stratificationand
Social Inequality, Sociological Methods, and Theory
19841990: George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
B.A., Sociology (with High Distinction)
19741980: Northern Virginia Community College, Sterling, Virginia (Loudoun Campus)
A.A.S., General Studies, Magna cum laude
Teaching Experience
Term Associate Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology
and Anthropology, George Mason University, Fairfax Virginia, 1993 to present
(Note: Initially this appointment was as a Lecturer, then became Assistant Visiting Professor, and presently is Term Associate Professor)
Courses Taught:
Introduction to Sociology (SOCI 101)
Sociology of Delinquency (SOCI 302)
Marriage, Families and Intimate Life (SOCI 309)
Sociology of Deviance (SOCI 310)
Classical Sociological Theory (SOCI 311)
Youth Culture and Society (SOCI 360)
Graduate Seminar on Criminology (SOCI 607)
Graduate Seminar on Juvenile Delinquency (SOCI 608)
Graduate Seminar on Qualitative Methodology (SOCI 634)
The Socially Constructed World (NCLC 130)
Courses Developed:
Qualitative Methods (Undergraduate)
Previous Teaching:
Academic Year 1991. and 1992: American University, Department of Sociology, Instructor
Academic Year 1990: American University, Department of Sociology, Graduate Teaching
Assistant to Ken Kusturer, Ph.D.
Administrative Experience
Director of the Sociology Undergraduate Program, AY 2006-present
Internship Coordinator, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, AY 2004, 2005. 2006, 2007, 2008 (This is part of SOCI 416 and SOCI 516)
Undergraduate Coordinator, Conflict Analysis and Resolution, a program based in the Sociology and Anthropology Department, AY 2004, 2005, 2006.
Professional Meeting Presentations
“Something Old, Something New: Play Theories in Sociology,” Paper presented to the session on Bringing intro Dialogue Divergent Perspectives about Culture, Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Boston, August 2008.
“The Importance of Play for Communities and Individuals,” Paper presented to the 61st Annual Conference of the Virginia Social Science Association, at Virginia Military Institute, April 5, 2008.
“From Play to Play Community: The Emergence of the Philadelphia Mummers in the Nineteenth Century.” Presented to the 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, New York, August 14, 2007.
“A White Ethnic Parade? The Philadelphia Mummers and the Challenge of Diversity.” Presented to the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 16, 2007.
“The Philadelphia Mummers: Forms of Play.” Presented to the International Play Association-USA/Canada and The Association for the Study of Play, 2007 Annual Conference. Rochester, New York, April 27, 2007.
"Qualitative Research and Its Application to Studying the Play Community." Invited
Lecture presented to the American University Sociology Department's Annual
Lecture Series, Washington, D.C., October 19, 1998
"Coming Together to Play: The Philadelphia Mummers Parade and Multiculturalism."
Paper presented to the Annul Meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society,
Philadelphia, March 25, 1998
"The Philadelphia Mummers: Playing on Broad Street." Paper presented to the 1995
Annual Meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,
April 1, 1995
"Gender Differences in Constructing Moral Judgments: Views on Homosexuality." Paper
presented at the 1993 Annual Meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society, Boston
Massachusetts, March 26, 1993.
"The Alcoholism Movement and the Redefinition of Alcoholism from Criminal
Prohibition to Public Health Paradigm." Paper presented at the International
Conference on Academic Knowledge and Political Power, University of Maryland,
College Park, November 22, 1992.
ReconceptuaIizing Alcoholism: The Emergence of the Disease Paradigm." Paper
presented at the Graduate Study Research Conference, American University,
Publications
“Harriett Martineau,” Wiley Encyclopedia of Race,Ethnicity, and Nationalism, John Stone, Rutledge Dennis, Polly Rizova, Anthony Smith, and Xioshuo Hou, eds. New York: Blackwell 2015.
“Eliott Liebow,” Wiley Encyclopedia of Race,Ethnicity, and Nationalism, John Stone, Rutledge Dennis, Polly Rizova, Anthony Smith, and Xioshuo Hou, eds. (New York: Blackwell 2015)
The Philadelphia Mummers: Building Community through Play. Temple University Press, Philadelphia, published May 2007. “
Play Theory, Playing and Culture,” Sociology Compass 2 (2008).
"Humanizing Language," The American Biology Teacher, May 1976.
Interviews and Appearances
Interview with the Northeast Times, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. August 19, 2007
Interview with Ken Hilicher, “Book Chat,” UMGA-TV, Upper Merion, Pennsylvania, August 8, 2007.
Presentation at Philadelphia Free Library on The Philadelphia Mummers: Building Community through Play,” Wednesday, February 20, 2008.
Awards and Honors
Recipient of the Irene B. Trauber Graduate Student Paper Award, presented by the
District of Columbia Sociological Society, for "Rituals in the Play Community, May
1999.
Alternate for the 1996 Dissertation Fellowship, Department of Sociology,
American University, Washington, D.C.
Graduate Assistantship for Academic Years 1990, 1991, and 1992,
Department of Sociology, American University, Washington, D. C.
Outstanding Sociology Graduate for Academic Year 198990, George Mason University,
Fairfax, Virginia
Consulting Experience
19961998, Consultant to the Mummers Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Oral
History Project, underwritten by a grant from the State of Pennsylvania.
Freelance publications consultant to clients in the Washington Metropolitan Area,
including the Overseas Development Council, the Urban Institute, the Woodrow
Wilson International Center for Scholars of the Smithsonian Institution,
Computer Science Press, the Institute for International Economics, the National
Association of Sales Training Executives, InterAmerican Research
Associates/Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition.
Other Work Experience
19781984: Editing and Publications work with trade and professional associations in
Northern Virginia
Professional Memberships
Eastern Sociological Society
American Sociological Association
The Association for the Study of Play
References available on request
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