Pamela J. Prickett, PhD

 urban  /  qualitative  /  gender  /  religion  /  inequality  /  race   /  family  /  culture  /  death & dying

I am an urban ethnographer. I use a variety of qualitative methods, combined with feminist theories, to understand everyday life inside urban communities marked by inequality and disadvantage. I also study what happens in the absence of community or kinship, when people's lives become shaped by social isolation and neglect rather than connection. For the past ten years, my research has focused on communities in Los Angeles.

Currently, I am an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Amsterdam. My work appears in leading general and specialty social science journals, including Social Problems, Gender & Society, Du Bois Review, City & Community, and more. To learn about my forthcoming book on American Islam, please click here. For information about my current research on the unclaimed dead, please click here. If your interests include gender and religion, definitely click here and then get in touch if you want to participate in a new podcast.

Prior to the UvA, I was a postdoctoral fellow at Rice University, where I continue to serve as a non-resident research fellow in the Religion and Public Life Program. I completed my doctorate in sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles. For an up-to-date CV, contact me here.

Before academia, I worked as a journalist and media professional. My past professional experience continues to influence the research questions I ask and the projects I choose to study. For more on my public writing and speaking, please click here.