Susan J. Ferguson

Susan Ferguson (she/her) is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Assessment at Grinnell College, where she has taught for over 30 years. Ferguson regularly teaches Introduction to Sociology, and her critically acclaimed anthology, Mapping the Social Landscape: Readings in Sociology (SAGE, 2021) is used in introductory classes around the country. Ferguson also teaches courses on the family, medical sociology, and a seminar on social inequality and identity.  Ferguson has published in all these areas, including the research collection, Breast Cancer:  Society Shapes an Epidemic (with co-editor Anne Kasper, Palgrave, 2000), Shifting the Center:  Understanding Contemporary Families (SAGE, 2022), and Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Social Class:  Dimensions of Inequality and Identity (SAGE, 2020). In addition, Ferguson is the General Editor for “Contemporary Family Perspectives,” a series of research monographs on the family (SAGE Publications). During fall 2016, Ferguson taught three courses on the inaugural Colorado State University Semester at Sea voyage, including the Sociology of Gender, Introduction to Sociology, and Global Studies. More recently, Ferguson is the recipient of the 2018 Hans O. Mauksch Award for Distinguished Contributions to Undergraduate Teaching and the 2021 ASA Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award. Her current research emphasis is on curriculum mapping in sociology with her co-PI, Stephen Sweet at Ithaca College. 

Publications: 

• Editor. Ninth Edition. Mapping the Social Landscape: Readings in Sociology. Los Angeles: Sage Publishing Company. 2018. 
• "Measuring College Learning in Sociology."  Improving Quality in Higher Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 2016. Co-author is William Carbonaro.
• Race, Gender, Sexuality, and Social Class Dimensions of Inequality & Identity. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. 2016.
• Editor. Contemporary Family Perspectives Series. Los Angeles: Sage Publications. 2011-2016. 
• Editor. Sixth Edition. Shifting the Center: Understanding Contemporary Families. New York: McGraw Hill Publishing Company. 2011. 
• Editor. Breast Cancer: Society Shapes an Epidemic. New York: Palgrave. Co-editor is Anne S. Kasper. December 2000.