Jennifer Garfield-Abrams, PhD

Education

• Ph.D., University of Massachusetts Amherst
• M.A., University of Massachusetts Amherst
• B.A., Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Research/Creative Interest

Jennifer Garfield-Abrams is an urban sociologist who uses ethnographic, interview, and visual methods to investigate questions about culture, politics, and identity in changing cities and communities. Her current book project examines the impact of political polarization on community life in a small, gentrifying city in New York’s Hudson Valley.

Teaching Philosophy

Sociology has the power to transform students who feel indifferent to or overwhelmed by the social problems of our time into engaged citizens capable of building the world they want to live in. Dr. Garfield-Abrams pursues this goal by fostering trust and community among students with diverse identities and experiences, igniting their curiosity about the social world, and centering critical reflection throughout every stage of learning. These commitments are supported by a multimodal teaching approach that draws on lectures, discussions, activities, reflections, and a wide range of materials—from scholarly work and news articles to podcasts, documentaries, and pop culture—to equip students with a robust sociological toolkit.

Professional Activities

• Memberships: American Sociological Association, Eastern Sociological Society
• Certifications: McNair Scholar Mentor

Grants, Awards, Honors, & Recognitions

Grant

• Summer Faculty Research Assistant (SFRAP) Award (2026)

Awards

• (Finalist) Innovative Teaching Award (2026)
• Civic Innovator Faculty Champion (2025)

Recent Scholarly or Creative Contributions

• Garfield-Abrams, Jennifer L., Thomas Corcoran, & Jonathan Wynn. 2023. “The (Culture) War of the Worlds: 'Terraforming' as a Language for Urban Redevelopment.” International Journal of Urban and Regional Research 48(1): 53-73.
• Garfield-Abrams, Jennifer L. 2023. “The Art of ‘Everyday Resistance:’ Small City Cultural Actors’ Disruption of Extralocal Growth Politics.” Journal of Urban Affairs: 1-18.
• Garfield-Abrams, Jennifer L. 2022. “Mapping the Organizational Field of Social Welfare.” TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology, February. Washington DC: American Sociological Association.
• Corcoran, Thomas, Jennifer Abrams, & Jonathan Wynn. 2019. “Place Exploration: Six Tensions to Better Conceptualize Place as a Social Actor in Urban Ethnography.” Pp. 91-111 in Research in Urban Sociology, Volume 16, Urban Ethnography: Legacies and Challenges, edited by Richard E. Ocejo. Leeds: Emerald Publishing.