Date: Jul 01, 2009

Hofstra University's Greg Maney, Associate Professor of Sociology and Co-Director of the Irish Studies Program, Elected Chair of the Peace, War and Social Conflict Section of the American Sociological Association

Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY … On June 10, 2009, the American Sociological Association (ASA) announced the election of Greg Maney, associate professor of sociology at Hofstra University, as chair of its Peace, War and Social Conflict Section.

Dr. Maney’s undergraduate education at Brown University, Trinity College Dublin, and University College Dublin focused upon international relations, with a particular emphasis upon Irish politics and history. He received his M.Sc. in labor studies from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1994 and his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Wisconsin Madison in 2001. Funded in part by the United States Institute of Peace, his dissertation focused upon transnational dimensions of the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland.

Much of his current research explores peace and war rhetoric, conflicts over day labor markets, and strategies for sustaining peace processes in divided societies.  Along with two colleagues, Dr. Maney has received grants from the National Science Foundation and the American Sociological Association’s Fund for the Advancement of the Discipline to conduct a longitudinal and comparative organizational study of discourses by the U.S. peace movement. Findings from this research have recently appeared in a book titled Contesting Patriotism: Culture, Power, and Strategy in the Peace Movement, published by Rowman & Littlefield. Together with the Workplace Project, he has also received grants from the Sociological Initiatives Foundation to conduct a community-based study assessing the human rights impact of variations in local government responses to day labor markets on Long Island. Most recently, along with another colleague, he has received a grant from the American Sociological Association’s Spivack Program in Applied Social Research and Policy to examine strategies for responding to NIMBY opposition to providing social services to immigrants.

In terms of other professional service, Dr. Maney previously served as the chair of both the Nominations and Membership Committees for the Peace, War, and Social Conflict Section of the American Sociological Association. More recently he was elected chair of the Workshop Committee of the Collective Behavior and Social Movements Section of ASA. In this capacity, he took the lead role in organizing a successful conference on social movement strategy held at Hofstra University in 2007. In 2008 he was elected to CBSM’s Section Council.

At Hofstra he teaches “Ethnicity and Minority Group Relations” and “Building Strong Communities: Organizing in Diverse Settings.” Through role-plays, small group projects, and observing inter-personal relations in local organizations, the course develops cross-cultural awareness, facilitation, and organizing skills. In addition, he has conducted numerous workshops on topics ranging from coalition building to conflict transformation.

The ASA, founded in 1905, is a non-profit membership association based in Washington, DC, dedicated to advancing sociology as a scientific discipline and profession serving the public good. The ASA is an association of over 14,000 members and home to 44 special interest sections. Members include college and university faculty, researchers, students and practitioners. About 20 percent of the members work in government, business, or non-profit organizations.

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