Dr Sarah Becker

I am a sociologist, criminologist, and ethnographer whose work focuses on community-based processes that address or exacerbate social challenges. I use qualitative and quantitative methodologies to study sexual violence, collective reactions to crime, formal/informal policing strategies, and approaches to community engagement. I currently serve as Director of LSU’s Center for Community Engagement, Learning, and Leadership (CCELL) in addition to my position as an Associate Professor in the Department of African and African American Studies with a joint appointment in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies.

My approach to scholarship involves the tight integration of research, teaching, and community-based collaborations. This is reflected in my current primary research agenda: a multi-site collaborative ethnography of community gardens in the Southern United States. I am also involved in a collaborative peer interview-based study of young people’s understandings of barroom aggression. I regularly involve students in my ongoing research agenda by providing opportunities to collect and analyze data. Mentoring is a priority for me. I work and co-author with my graduate students in Sociology and other departments on campus; supervise a wide variety of independent student research projects; and volunteer as a mentor for undergraduate research programs at LSU in addition to engaging in a host of informal mentoring activities. My scholarship appears in journals such as The Journal of Contemporary Ethnography; Sociology of Race and Ethnicity; Race and Justice; Social Currents; Sex Roles; Women’s Studies International Forum, and the Journal of Interpersonal Violence.