Deborah Gambs

Associate Professor
Social Sciences, Human Services and Criminal Justice

Office: N-651T

Office Hours:

Phone: +1 (212) 776-6943

I began as an Assistant Professor at BMCC in 2008. My PhD in Sociology is from The Graduate Center at the City University of New York.

My current research project is a visual sociology/ sociology of art study on modern and contemporary sculpture by women artists. Using psychoanalytic theory and feminist philosophy, I am looking at sculptures that explore women’s bodies and the relationship between inside and outside the body. This project follows up on my dissertation research that analyzed how contemporary visual art illustrates the impact of technological change on society.

I have co-edited a volume of essays with Rose M. Kim, Women on the Role of Public Higher Education: Personal Reflections from CUNY’s Graduate Center (Palgrave 2015). The essays in this book were written by women social scientists on their experiences at the CUNY Graduate Center, with a particular focus on the importance of public higher education.

I have also published articles in the journals Socialism & Democracy, Cultural StudiesCritical Methodologies, and Qualitative Inquiry. Some of my photography is included in the journals Women Studies Quarterly and Socialism & Democracy.

Expertise

Sociology of Art • Feminist Theories • Psychoanalytic Theories • Public Higher Education

Degrees

B.A. North Park University, Sociology & Human Diversity,1996

Ph.D. The CUNY Graduate Center, Sociology,2008

Courses Taught

3 CRS.3 HRS.NULL LAB HRS. SOC 100 SOC 100 (Introduction to Sociology): This course studies the social world and how it has evolved over time, as well as how individuals are influenced and structured by social interactions in small groups and by larger social forces. The course covers major sociological theories and research methods, and key concepts such as culture, socialization, social class, race/ethnicity, gender, technology, social inequality, and social change.
4 CRS.4 HRS.NULL LAB HRS. SOC 350 SOC 350 (Sociology Capstone): This Sociology Capstone will focus on special topics within the field and expertise of the instructor. It will provide a culminating experience for students by allowing them to explore a topic in-depth, engage in independent research, develop their analytic abilities and critical thinking skills, and apply concepts and theories to new cases. The capstone course will introduce students to the major theoretical perspectives, the basic research methodologies and research design issues, and the central analytical models in Sociology. Over the course of the semester, each student will engage in independent research that culminates in a research paper or project and a presentation to the class. Prerequisite: [ENG 100.5 or ENG 101] and SOC 100 and two (2) SOC major electives of which one (1) must be a 200-level course

Research and Projects

The Inside-Outside Relationship of Women’s Bodies in Sculpture by Women Artists

Publications

Honors, Awards and Affiliations

Awards

Digital Storytelling 2014
Facilitator, Faculty Summer Workshop
PSC-CUNY Award 2013
“Land, Landing, Landed: A Visual and Textual Autoethnography”
Digital Storytelling 2013
Faculty Summer Workshop at BMCC -“Following Trees”
CUNY Faculty Fellowship Publication Program Spring 2010
“After Race: Technics, Haptics & Zones of Intensities”
CUNY PSC Grant 2009-1010
“Complicating the Nature-Culture Relationship: Natalie Jeremijenko’s OneTree”

Memberships

Eastern Sociological Society
Midwest Sociological Society
Cultural Studies Association