Sociology

Professor Harger teaches Introduction to Sociology, Research Methods, Theories of Self, and topics courses on family, education, and childhood and adolescence. He has published research on definitions of bullying in elementary schools, gossip, and depictions of professors in popular film, all of which share a focus on meaning making. His current work focuses on student expectations and experiences with the transition to college. With Ingrid Castro and Melissa Swauger he is also co-editor of Volume 22 of Sociological Studies of Children and Youth.

Selected Publications

Harger, Brent. 2019. “A Culture of Aggression: School Culture and the Normalization of Aggression in Two Elementary Schools.” British Journal of Sociology of Education (Online First) 1-16. (Email for access)

Harger, Brent. 2019. “On the Margins of Friendship: Aggression in an Elementary School Peer Group.” Childhood 26(4):476-490. (Download)

Harger, Brent. 2019. “To Tell or Not to Tell: Student Responses to Negative Behavior in Elementary School.” The Sociological Quarterly 60(3):479-497. (Email for access)

Harger, Brent and Melissa Quintela. 2017. “The IRB as Gatekeeper: Effects on Research with Children and Youth.” Pp. 11-33 in I. Castro, M. Swauger, and B. Harger (Eds.) Sociological Studies of Children and Youth, Volume 22. Bingley, U.K.: Emerald. (Download)

Harger, Brent. 2016. “You Say Bully, I Say Bullied: School Culture and Definitions of Bullying in Two Elementary Schools.” Pp. 95-123 in Y. Besen-Cassino (Ed.) Sociological Studies of Children and Youth, Volume 20. Bingley, U.K.: Emerald. (Download)

Dagaz, Mari, and Brent Harger (equal authorship). 2011. “Race, Gender, and Research: Implications for Teaching from Depictions of Professors in Popular Film, 1985-2005.” Teaching Sociology 39(3):274-289. (Download)

Hallett, Tim, Brent Harger, and Donna Eder. 2009. “Gossip at Work: Unsanctioned Evaluative Talk in Formal School Meetings.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 38(5):584-618. (Download)