New CAS Faculty
Edward Walker
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Edward Walker, Assistant Professor of Sociology, received his B.S. from Drexel University and his M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from Pennsylvania State University. Dr. Walker's research interests are primarily in sociological theory, with a particular focus on the relation of civil society to political and economic institutions.
In his doctoral research, supported by the National Science Foundation, Dr. Walker explored how declining civic engagement, steady growth in the population of political interest groups, and rising business engagement in politics have combined to support the growth of grassroots political marketing firms in the U.S. since the early 1970s. He is also engaged in a long-term project concerning the organizational structures, advocacy, funding, and coalition-building strategies of poor people's social movement organizations. Most recently, Dr. Walker's research has taken up the question of whether "memberless" organizations active in public affairsfunds, centers, institutes, think tanks, and the likehave displaced traditional membership organizations. His work has appeared in Non-profit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Public Opinion Quarterly, in the edited volume Membership Based Organizations of the Poor (Routledge, 2007), and a recent manuscript is forthcoming in Sociological Forum.
Last modified October 16 2012 11:25 AM