Education

Ph.D., Development Sociology, Cornell University

M.A., Sociology, The New School for Social Research

B.A., Sociology, University of Texas at Austin

Bio

Rachel Schwartz joined the Department of Social Sciences at St. Joseph's College in 2011. Dr. Schwartz teaches required courses such as Introduction to Sociology and Elements of Social Science Research as well as electives such as Popular Culture and Family. She also supervises senior theses as well as teaches a Freshman Seminar on food and society. Prior to coming to St. Joseph's, Dr. Schwartz taught at the SUNY Fashion Institute of Technology and The New School in NYC.

Scholarly & Professional Interests

Dr. Schwartz’s research interests are in the areas of sociology of culture, gender, and power. Her previous work examined the realities of front-line, interactive, service work in the food retailing industry. Drawing from data gathered through participant observation as a full-time employee in a large U.S. supermarket, she developed the concept of deflective labor in order to illustrate how employees redirect service inquiries into terminal conversational spaces. Her current research on the complexities involved in “feeding the family” in urban food swamps where access to nutritious, culturally appropriate foods is limited.