Meet Assistant Professor of Sociology Bob Francis, Ph.D., who joined the faculty in 2019 and teaches courses like Social Stratification, Introduction to Social Welfare, Housing & Homelessness, and Rural Sociology.
Q. What drew you to your academic discipline?
A. As someone from a low-income background, sociology really resonated with me as an undergraduate by giving a language to describe my lived experiences. I think many students continue to be drawn to our department and discipline because we help them make sense of the world and their place in it.
Q. Tell us about an interesting class you teach.
A. I teach a class about housing and homelessness where we dive into the best research on homelessness while also hearing from community organizations and practitioners. For the last two years, we have concluded the course by volunteering with the city of Spokane to help with its Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, an annual count of sheltered and unsheltered people experiencing homelessness required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Q. What advice would you give to a student who’s interested in studying your discipline at Whitworth?
A. Sociology is such a broad and deep discipline, looking at human behavior at the individual, family, group, organizational, national and international levels. I have long said that everyone should take at least one sociology class! We talk a lot in our discipline about growing our sociological imaginations, which helps us connect the micro and macro. Sociology is a great foundation for many jobs and careers!
Q. What’s something great about your Whitworth department?
A. We have such a range of research and teaching interests, everything from intimate partner violence to poverty to religion.
JUST FOR FUN…
Q. What might your students be surprised to learn about you?
A. Many of my students already know this, but I am an avid collector of Pokémon cards. I got into Pokémon with my son about five years ago, but even though he has now moved on to other things, I was hooked. I even have my own Pokémon YouTube channel!
Q. What’s the most interesting or unusual item in your office?
A. My dad, who died in 2007, was a quintessential working-class man. In my office, I have the lunch pail he took to work for many years. I also have the American flag our family was gifted from the U.S. government because of his military service.
Q. What artists or musical genre do you play when you need a pick-me-up?
A. My favorite band is The Killers, who have an unfortunate name. There are spiritual overtones to their work, and they sing a lot about rural places and the working class.
Worth a Look 