Christopher Morrissey, Sociologist |

Welcome
Welcome!I am a cultural sociologist interested in the politics of war, peace and religion and the importance of significant social encounters contributing to social commitments and understandings. Both of these interests inform both my teaching and scholarship.Please explore the site and contact me if you wish.best,Chris.
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Research
DissertationMy dissertation, War, Peace, and Religious Advocacy: the Debate Over the Iraq War, is funded in part by a National Science Foundation Grant. The work analyzes religious actors debating the decision to go to war in Iraq in 2003, as well as the religious cultural dimensions of the larger public discussion. I argue that one cannot adequately explain the country’s entry into the war without understanding the role of public Christianity in the argument for it. Other ResearchMy research has focused on the sociological study of the politics of state-sponsored peace and violence and religion’s role in this in the American context. Prior to my dissertation work, I conducted two congregational studies of the challenges faced by Mennonites and Quakers in their struggles to maintain effective peace witnesses and manage deviance within their own congregations.
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Curriculum Vitae CHRISTOPHER A. MORRISSEY Department of Sociology Home:810 Flanner Hall 1120 West Jefferson Blvd.Notre Dame, IN 46556 South Bend, IN 46601 cmorris1_nd.edu 574-289-8060www.nd.edu/~cmorris1EDUCATION________________________________________PhD Candidate, University of Notre Dame Sociology Department, South Bend, IN Degree expected Fall 2011 Dissertation: War, Peace, and Religious Advocacy: the Debate Over the Iraq War. A cultural analysis of the politics of war and peace. Analyzes elite religious actors advocating both for and against the war. Considers theoretical importance of religion in American politics, war versus peacemaking potential of religion, and social experiences that contribute to either position. Funded in part by the National Science Foundation. Committee: Mary Ellen Konieczny and Christian Smith (co-chairs), Robert Fishman, Lyn Spillman.Master of Arts, Religion and Sociology, 2005 Jesuit School of Theology andThe Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA Master of Education, Urban Education, 2000 California Clear and Professional Teaching Credential, 1999 University of California, Los Angeles Bachelor of Arts, Philosophy and Psychology, 1995 University of Delaware, Newark RESEARCH AND TEACHING INTERESTSPolitics of War and Peace, Service-Learning, Peace Studies, Cultural Sociology, Qualitative Methods, Social Theory, Religion and PoliticsSCHOLARSHIPS, AWARDS, AND HONORS ________________________________________The Tocqueville Program, University of Notre Dame, Fall 2010 Dissertation Fellowship $8,500 supportNSF Dissertation Improvement Grant, 2010 “War, Peace, and Religious Advocacy: the Debate over the Iraq War.” $9,962 for research costs for dissertationResearch Grant, 2009Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, University of Notre Dame$1992 for research costs for dissertationRunner Up, 2009 Graduate Student Union Poster Competition $100 Research Grant, 2008Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, University of Notre Dame$1750 for preliminary research for dissertation Research Grant, 2007The Center for the Study of Religion and Society, University of Notre Dame$1300 for transcription for Mennonite Congregation Study Quechua Language Fellow, Summer 2006University of Notre Dame and Colegio Andino, Cusco, PeruTravel, accommodations, and tuition for Quechua language study. Lilly Presidential Fellow, 2005-presentUniversity of Notre Dame, Sociology Department$22,000 per annum support Fullbright-Hays Fellow, South Africa, Summer 2004 Travel and accommodations for study trip on reconciliation and diversity. PUBLICATIONS________________________________________Revise and Resubmit “The Nonpeaceful Quaker: A semi-spoiled identity and its mitigated stigma” Being rewritten for Qualitative Sociology.Book ReviewsReligion and War Resistance in the Plowshares Movement by Sharon Erickson Nepstad. Sociology of Religion (Fall 2010). Religious Interests in Community Conflict: Beyond the Culture Wars edited by Paul A. Djupe and Laura R. Olson. Sociology of Religion (Summer 2009).Works in Progress “Congregational Strategies of Cultural Translation that Bridge Tradition and Public Engagment” In preparation for submission to The Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion“Mennonites and Quakers: Distinct Peace Church Cultures for Witness.” Non-Peer Reviewed Jessica Collett and Chris Morrissey, 2007. “The Social Psychology of Generosity: The State of Current Interdisciplinary Research.” Report for the John Templeton Foundation Generosity Planning Project. Ryan Lincoln, Chris Morrissey, and Peter Mundey, 2008. “Religious Giving: A Comprehensive Review of the Literature. Report for the John Templeton Foundation Generosity Planning Project. TEACHING________________________________________Calvin College, Grand Rapids, MI Sociological Principles and Perspectives, Fall 2011 Taught student-centered introductory class. University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN Social Problems—A Community-Based Learning ApproachTaught social problems process class with students volunteering with social service agencies throughout the semester. Indiana University South Bend, South Bend, IN Principles of Sociology, Fall 2008, 2009, Summer 2010Taught writing intensive course with many nontraditional students and first- generation college students. Morningside High School, Inglewood, CA 1999-2003 Taught psychology, AP psychology, world history, and mathin low-performing, multicultural high school.Mentored peer counseling program, advised Academic Decathlon Team and member, data analysis team. Striving for Excellence in Teaching Certificate Kaneb Center for Teaching and Learning, University of Notre Dame Design Your Own Social Movement Activity and Lecture ASA TRAILS (Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology) submission RESEARCH EXPERIENCE ________________________________________Graduate Research Assistant, Christian Smith, University of Notre Dame 2006-2008: Conducted interviews and analysis for Smith’s Passing the Plate: Why American Christians Don’t Give Away More Money (Oxford University Press 2008)Graduate Research Assistant, Jerome Baggett, Jesuit School of Theology2004. Conducted interviews of Spanish speaking congregation members for Baggett’s Sense of the Faithful: How American Catholics Live Their Faith (Oxford University Press 2008) Principle Investigator, Master’s Thesis, Jesuit School of Theology 2004-2005. Conducted surveys, interviews, and observations for my own “The Quaker Peace Testimony: An Investigation of the Dynamics of Private Religiosity” Principle Investigator, Michiana Mennonite Congregation Study 2006-2007. Ethnography and interviews for congregational study of Mennonites’ balancing of tradition and political engagement. CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS________________________________________ Association for the Sociology of Religion “Religion and the Iraq War: Distinct Moral Orders” Atlanta, GA August 2010 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion “Explaining Variation in Religious Advocacy on the Iraq War” Denver, CO October, 2009 Society for the Scientific Study of Religion“Creative Mennonite Engagement of (both) Tradition and Politics” Tampa, Florida, November 2007American Sociological AssociationPeace, War and Social Conflict Section's panel: "Is a Nonviolent World Possible?" “The History of Friends’ Peace Testimony, Changing Understandings and Strategies of Action: towards possible lessons for a religious culture of peace.” New York, NY, August 2007 First Annual North American Conference on Radicalism “Mennonites and Quakers: Cultural Opportunities and Dilemmas for Peacebuilding”Michigan State University, January 2007 PEACE AND JUSTICE WORK ________________________________________Agape-Satyagraha, September 2010-present, South Bend, IN Mentor On Earth Peace’s (an agency of the Church of the Brethren) pilot program training young people in Christian nonviolence. The Center for Peace and Nonviolence, 2007-present, South Bend, IN Treasurer, Board Member. Promoted and organized nonviolence training, witness, and advocacy in the community. Promoted practical nonviolence training and did newsletter layout. Fair Trade Notre Dame, 2006-2007, South Bend, IN CoFounder Advocated and organized to increase fair trade products on campus, particularly coffee. Coordinated with Oxfam on international campaign to have Starbucks honor Ethiopian coffee trademarks Peer Mediation Program, 2000-2003, Morningside High School, Inglewood, CA Faculty Coordinator Taught, promoted, and coordinated nonviolent conflict resolution in a conflict ridden school. Alternatives to Violence Program, Summer and Fall 2002, Tijuana, Mexico.Faciliator Lead weekend nonviolent conflict resolution programs with mixed group of evangelical domestic abuse survivors and lesbian rights organizers. Quaker Voluntary Action, Summer 2001, Belfast, Northern Ireland. Volunteer Coordinator Coordinated volunteers for mixed, Protestant and Catholic day camp. Quaker Voluntary Action, Summer 2000, Harrogate, England.VolunteerWorked at equestrian summer camp for disabled children. PROFESSIONAL AFFILIATIONS________________________________________American Sociological AssociationSociety for the Scientific Study of Religion Association for the Sociology of ReligionREFERENCES________________________________________Mary Ellen Konieczny Dissertation Committee Co-chairAdvisor Assistant Professor of Sociology Department of Sociology University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 46556 574-631-2781MaryEllen.Konieczny.1_nd.eduChristian Smith Dissertation Committee Co-Chair Professor of Sociology Department of Sociology University of Notre Dame Notre Dame, IN 46556 574-631-4531chris.smith_nd.eduGail McGuire Teaching Supervisor Chair and Associate Professor Department of Sociology & Anthropology Indiana University South Bend 2289 Wiekamp Hall 1700 Mishawaka Avenue South Bend, Indiana 46634-7111 574-520-4572 gmcguire_iusb.eduAs you add text longer than the box size the scrollbar will appear.Double click here to edit and add your own text.

CAM_fall_2011_cv (4).pdf

Teaching
Teaching as a vocation.As a teacher I aim to create synthesis between teaching and learning in the work of peace, justice, and empowerment. I help students realize the relevance of sociololgical ideas to their lives and consider the ways that their better understanding of culture and the social world can help them improve both their own lives and the world at large. Having studied and worked in many different contexts, I am comfortable with and thrive on engaging a wide variety of cultural and intellectual diversity.I am particularly excited about teaching service-learning courses that get students into the real world and incorporates their experiences into learning.
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Christopher A. Morrissey, Ph.D.SOCIOLOGIST

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