RICHARD PITT
Ph.D. University of Arizona, 2003
TITLE:   Assistant Professor
OFFICE:   311 Garland Hall
EMAIL  r.pitt@vanderbilt.edu
PHONE:  615-322-7530
CV:  RichardPittCV.pdf

HONORS, AWARDS, GRANTS RECEIVED

"Double Majors: Identities, Impacts, and Influences" Teagle Foundation; 12/01/2007-11/30/2010, $194,724 (with Steven Tepper,
Co-PI)

UA Dean's Summer Research Fellowship, University of Arizona, 2002

Ford Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship, National Research Council. 1999-2002

UA College of SBS Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, 2002

UA Department of Sociology Outstanding Graduate Student Instructor Award, 2002

COURSES TAUGHT

UNDERGRADUATE:

  Schools and Society
  Racial and Ethic Minorities in the US
  Gender in Society
  Families and Households
  Sociology of Religion
  Introduction to Sociology

GRADUATE:

  Sociology of Education


RESEARCH INTERESTS

Social Psychology: Identity work, cognitive dissonance, accounts
Education: Skills Accumulation, race/gender & academic identity
Gender: Masculinities, sexual and gender identity development
Religion: Clergy, religious identity and behavior incongruence

CURRENT RESEARCH PROJECTS

Sent: The Call To And Practice Of Religion Entrepeneurship is an examination of a unique, but not insubstantial, cohort of religious leaders: men and women who pioneer, found, or plant new congregations. This project is situated between my work on religious “intrepreneurs” and other scholars’ investigations of religious innovators. Through a series of in-depth interviews, I examine how the “call to ministry” shapes the motivations of these entrepreneurs, how risk perception/propensity factors into their decisions, and how a successful entrepreneurial identity is sustained in spite of the unique structural barriers that face church starters.

Hyper-Specialization and Hypo-Specialization: Double Majoring and Concentrations In Liberal Education.
College Major Prestige And Racialized Choices In Academic Specialization.
Gender And Academic Identity Negotiation Among Hyper-Specializing Students.

RECENT PUBLICATIONS

Pitt, Richard N. 2012. Divine Callings: Understanding The Call To Ministry In Black Pentecostalism. New York: New York University Press

Pitt, Richard N. and Joshua Packard. 2012. "Activating Diversity: The Impact of Student Race on Contributions to Course Discussions." Sociological Quarterly, 53:295-320

Pitt, Richard N. and Steven Tepper. 2012. Double Majors: Influences, Identities, and Impacts [Report]. New York: Teagle Foundation

Pitt, Richard N. 2011. "Race and the Sociology of Education Section: Is Eight (Percent) Really Enough?" Sociology of Education Section Newsletter, Vol. 14

Pitt, Richard N. 2010. "Killing the Messenger: Gay Black Men's Negotiation of Anti-Gay Religious Messages." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 49:56-72

Pitt, Richard N. 2010. "Still Looking for My Jonathan: Gay Black Men's Management of Religious and Sexual Identity Conflicts." Journal of Homosexuality, 57:39-53

Pitt, Richard N. and George Sanders. 2010. "Revisiting Hypermasculinity: Shorthand for Marginalized Masculinities?" Pp 33-51 in What's Up with the Brothers? Essays and Studies on African American Masculinities, edited by Whitney Harris and Ronald Ferguson. Harriman: Men's Studies Press

Pitt, Richard N. and Joshua Packard. 2010. "Stakeholder Meetings as a Means of Engaging Student Learning of Complex Social Problems." Teaching Sociology, 38:215-225

Pitt, Richard N. 2010. "Fear of a Black Pulpit? Real Racial Transcendence Versus Cultural Assimilation in Multiracial Churches." Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 49:218-233

Pitt, Richard N. and Elizabeth Borland. 2008. "Bachelorhood and Men's Attitudes about Gender Roles." Journal of Men's Studies, 16:140-157

Pitt, Richard N. 2006. "Downlow Mountain? De/Stigmatizing Bisexuality Through Pitying and Pejorative Discourses in Popular Media." Journal of Men's Studies, 14:257-261

Arum, Richard, Richard Pitt and Jennifer Thompson. 2003. "From the Bench to the Paddle" Pp 127-158 in Judging School Discipline: The Crisis of Moral Authority in American Schools, by Richard Arum with Irenee Beattie, Richard Pitt, Jenn Thompson, and Sandra Way. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.