Job Market

Masters and Ph. D Students Currently on the Job Market:

Mathew D. Gayman

Mathew D. Gayman is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at Florida State University. His primary areas of interest include stress and mental health, life-course epidemiology, race-ethnicity and health, and social psychology. As part of his dissertation work is investigating the impact of psychiatric and substance use disorders early in the life-course on psychosocial resources available during the transition into young adulthood. Expected date of completion is January 2008.

Mr. Gayman has published in AIDS and Behavior and Journal of Emergency Nursing. He currently has a paper under review in the Journal of Gerontology titled, “Physical Limitations and Depressive Symptoms: Exploring the Nature and Meaning of the Association.” Other works in progress include exploring: (1) the risk and protective factors for heavy alcohol use among Hispanic populations; and (2) the mental health consequences of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths’ friendship networks.

During his time as a graduate student Mr. Gayman has worked as a teaching assistant for graduate and undergraduate course including: social statistics, multivariate analysis, and social problems. He has also developed and taught two sections of Introduction Social Statistics with strong student evaluations.

Mr. Gayman was recently awarded a NIDA funded research fellowship to attend the annual research institute held by the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse. He will also receive the Louise Johnson Scholar Award in the Medical Sociology section of the American Sociological Association in New York (2007).

Curriculum Vitae

Jennifer M. Pemberton

Jennifer M. Pemberton is currently a doctoral candidate in Sociology at Florida State University. She is also employed as a visiting instructor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at the University of North Florida. Her major areas of interest include Sex and Gender, Race/ethnicity, Sexuality, African-American Studies and Urban Sociology, Social Stratification, Family, the Welfare State and Social Policy, Social Psychology, and Theory (feminist, sociological and critical). The title of her dissertation is “Gold Diggers, Hos, Baby Mamas, and Bitches: Cultural Representations of and Sexual Scripts for African American Women in Rap Music.” Her dissertation explores and explains representations of Black femininity, gender relations, and misogyny in rap music lyrics. Viewing rap music as a product of inner-city, urban America, she ascertains the utility of the themes and arguments of African American sociologists William Julius Wilson and Patricia Hill Collins for explaining the strained relationships between young urban Black women and men and the often negative and sexualized representations of Black women in the lyrics of mainstream rap music. Expected completion date is October 2007.

Ms. Pemberton has co-authored a paper in the Journal of Human Resources and an entry in the Encyclopedia of Social Theory edited by George Ritzer. Other works in progress include a retrospective on the development of Patricia Hill Collins’ theory and research and an exploration and explanation of the changing messages and content of Black popular music from the Civil Rights Movement to the present day.

Ms. Pemberton won the Florida State University Sociology Department’s 2000 Best Research Paper Award, which carried with it a fellowship. In the fall of 2006, she was the recipient of a dissertation research grant from Florida State University. She was also awarded a grant from Furman University’s Research and Professional Growth Committee. She has been co-recipient of grants from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Joint Center for Poverty Research, and the Spencer Foundation. She participated in the Conference of Early Results from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth in Washington, DC and presented a paper (with Professor John Reynolds), “Rising College Expectations Among Youth in the United States.” She was also funded for a conference sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics that taught participants how to use large sets of national data on educational achievement.

In addition to winning the department’s Best Research Paper award, Ms. Pemberton was awarded the Department’s Best Teacher Award for a Graduate Teaching Assistant. As a graduate student, she taught Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems, Social Psychology, and an advanced distance learning course, Problems in American Society. As a visiting instructor at Furman University, she taught Social Problems, Principles of Sociology, and Sociology of Gender. And, as a visiting instructor at the University of North Florida, she is teaching Gender and Society, Racial and Cultural Minorities, and Sex, Race, and Class.

Manacy Pai

Manacy Pai is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at the Florida State University. Her primary areas of interest include social gerontology, aging and the life course, medical sociology, social stratification and health, and social psychology. Her dissertation examines the social role determinants of successful aging and the social structural variations in it. Expected date of completion is June 2008.

Ms. Pai has a paper titled “Long-Term Payoffs of Work? Women’s Past Involvement in Paid Work and Mental Health in Widowhood” published in Research on Aging and a paper titled “Sketches in Cyberspace: Using Student Drawings in an Online Sociology of Aging Course” that is forthcoming in Gerontology and Geriatrics Education. She also has a paper titled “Social Determinants of Black-White Disparities in Breast Cancer” that is currently under review in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers, and Prevention. Other manuscripts in preparation include examining the role of personality as a moderator of the effects of late life widowhood on psychological distress; the role of personality as a coping resource among cancer survivors; and, the influence of mid and late-life paid work transitions on age identity.

As a graduate student, Ms. Pai has had the opportunity to develop and teach Introduction to Sociology. She will also be teaching Aging and the Life Course in Fall 2007. Other teaching experiences include assisting faculty in teaching several undergraduate courses, such as aging policy and service, sociological theory, social problems.

Ms. Pai was a recipient of the 2006-2007 Allen-Klar Best Graduate Student Research Paper Award for her paper titled “Long-Term Payoffs of Work? Women’s Paid Work Histories and Mental Health in Widowhood.” She was also awarded the 2008 Claude and Mildred Pepper Dissertation Fellowship.

Curriculum Vitae

Michael C. Stewart

Michael C. Stewart is currently a doctoral candidate in Sociology at Florida State University. He is currently an adjunct instructor at Florida State University. His major areas of interest include Race and Ethnicity, Sex and Gender, Social Stratification, Sociology of Sport, Social Psychology, Qualitative Research Methods and Theory. The title of his dissertation is, “Racial, Masculine and Athletic Identities as Narrative in College Football Players.” His dissertation examines how college football players actively construct their racial, masculine and athletic identities through the use of narrative and the processes of identity work. College football, specifically at the highest levels, provides a unique structural and cultural context to extend Michael Messner’s work on different and sometimes competing identities in young men. Expected date of completion is January 2008.

Mr. Stewart has co-authored a publication in Social Problems. Other works in progress include (1) examining race relations in football and other sports, and (2) examining how adolescent sport participation connects with family class background.

Mr. Stewart was awarded the 2005 Florida State University Sociology Department’s Best Graduate Student Teacher Award, which was accompanied with a fellowship. As a graduate student he has taught Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems, and Race & Minority Relations.

Curriculum Vitae

				Sociology Department People



	Home News Undergrad Grad Prospective Students People - Faculty - Emeriti - Adjuncts - Graduate Students - Staff Department Contact			Job Market Masters and Ph. D Students Currently on the Job Market: Mathew D. Gayman Mathew D. Gayman is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at Florida State University. His primary areas of interest include stress and mental health, life-course epidemiology, race-ethnicity and health, and social psychology. As part of his dissertation work is investigating the impact of psychiatric and substance use disorders early in the life-course on psychosocial resources available during the transition into young adulthood. Expected date of completion is January 2008. Mr. Gayman has published in AIDS and Behavior and Journal of Emergency Nursing. He currently has a paper under review in the Journal of Gerontology titled, “Physical Limitations and Depressive Symptoms: Exploring the Nature and Meaning of the Association.” Other works in progress include exploring: (1) the risk and protective factors for heavy alcohol use among Hispanic populations; and (2) the mental health consequences of gay, lesbian, and bisexual youths’ friendship networks. During his time as a graduate student Mr. Gayman has worked as a teaching assistant for graduate and undergraduate course including: social statistics, multivariate analysis, and social problems. He has also developed and taught two sections of Introduction Social Statistics with strong student evaluations. Mr. Gayman was recently awarded a NIDA funded research fellowship to attend the annual research institute held by the National Hispanic Science Network on Drug Abuse. He will also receive the Louise Johnson Scholar Award in the Medical Sociology section of the American Sociological Association in New York (2007). Curriculum Vitae Jennifer M. Pemberton Jennifer M. Pemberton is currently a doctoral candidate in Sociology at Florida State University. She is also employed as a visiting instructor in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at the University of North Florida. Her major areas of interest include Sex and Gender, Race/ethnicity, Sexuality, African-American Studies and Urban Sociology, Social Stratification, Family, the Welfare State and Social Policy, Social Psychology, and Theory (feminist, sociological and critical). The title of her dissertation is “Gold Diggers, Hos, Baby Mamas, and Bitches: Cultural Representations of and Sexual Scripts for African American Women in Rap Music.” Her dissertation explores and explains representations of Black femininity, gender relations, and misogyny in rap music lyrics. Viewing rap music as a product of inner-city, urban America, she ascertains the utility of the themes and arguments of African American sociologists William Julius Wilson and Patricia Hill Collins for explaining the strained relationships between young urban Black women and men and the often negative and sexualized representations of Black women in the lyrics of mainstream rap music. Expected completion date is October 2007. Ms. Pemberton has co-authored a paper in the Journal of Human Resources and an entry in the Encyclopedia of Social Theory edited by George Ritzer. Other works in progress include a retrospective on the development of Patricia Hill Collins’ theory and research and an exploration and explanation of the changing messages and content of Black popular music from the Civil Rights Movement to the present day. Ms. Pemberton won the Florida State University Sociology Department’s 2000 Best Research Paper Award, which carried with it a fellowship. In the fall of 2006, she was the recipient of a dissertation research grant from Florida State University. She was also awarded a grant from Furman University’s Research and Professional Growth Committee. She has been co-recipient of grants from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Joint Center for Poverty Research, and the Spencer Foundation. She participated in the Conference of Early Results from the 1997 National Longitudinal Survey of Youth in Washington, DC and presented a paper (with Professor John Reynolds), “Rising College Expectations Among Youth in the United States.” She was also funded for a conference sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics that taught participants how to use large sets of national data on educational achievement. In addition to winning the department’s Best Research Paper award, Ms. Pemberton was awarded the Department’s Best Teacher Award for a Graduate Teaching Assistant. As a graduate student, she taught Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems, Social Psychology, and an advanced distance learning course, Problems in American Society. As a visiting instructor at Furman University, she taught Social Problems, Principles of Sociology, and Sociology of Gender. And, as a visiting instructor at the University of North Florida, she is teaching Gender and Society, Racial and Cultural Minorities, and Sex, Race, and Class. Manacy Pai Manacy Pai is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at the Florida State University. Her primary areas of interest include social gerontology, aging and the life course, medical sociology, social stratification and health, and social psychology. Her dissertation examines the social role determinants of successful aging and the social structural variations in it. Expected date of completion is June 2008. Ms. Pai has a paper titled “Long-Term Payoffs of Work? Women’s Past Involvement in Paid Work and Mental Health in Widowhood” published in Research on Aging and a paper titled “Sketches in Cyberspace: Using Student Drawings in an Online Sociology of Aging Course” that is forthcoming in Gerontology and Geriatrics Education. She also has a paper titled “Social Determinants of Black-White Disparities in Breast Cancer” that is currently under review in Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers, and Prevention. Other manuscripts in preparation include examining the role of personality as a moderator of the effects of late life widowhood on psychological distress; the role of personality as a coping resource among cancer survivors; and, the influence of mid and late-life paid work transitions on age identity. As a graduate student, Ms. Pai has had the opportunity to develop and teach Introduction to Sociology. She will also be teaching Aging and the Life Course in Fall 2007. Other teaching experiences include assisting faculty in teaching several undergraduate courses, such as aging policy and service, sociological theory, social problems. Ms. Pai was a recipient of the 2006-2007 Allen-Klar Best Graduate Student Research Paper Award for her paper titled “Long-Term Payoffs of Work? Women’s Paid Work Histories and Mental Health in Widowhood.” She was also awarded the 2008 Claude and Mildred Pepper Dissertation Fellowship. Curriculum Vitae Michael C. Stewart Michael C. Stewart is currently a doctoral candidate in Sociology at Florida State University. He is currently an adjunct instructor at Florida State University. His major areas of interest include Race and Ethnicity, Sex and Gender, Social Stratification, Sociology of Sport, Social Psychology, Qualitative Research Methods and Theory. The title of his dissertation is, “Racial, Masculine and Athletic Identities as Narrative in College Football Players.” His dissertation examines how college football players actively construct their racial, masculine and athletic identities through the use of narrative and the processes of identity work. College football, specifically at the highest levels, provides a unique structural and cultural context to extend Michael Messner’s work on different and sometimes competing identities in young men. Expected date of completion is January 2008. Mr. Stewart has co-authored a publication in Social Problems. Other works in progress include (1) examining race relations in football and other sports, and (2) examining how adolescent sport participation connects with family class background. Mr. Stewart was awarded the 2005 Florida State University Sociology Department’s Best Graduate Student Teacher Award, which was accompanied with a fellowship. As a graduate student he has taught Introduction to Sociology, Social Problems, and Race & Minority Relations. Curriculum Vitae