Karen Hossfeld

Karen Hossfeld, associate professor of Sociology, joined the faculty in 1988. She teaches Social Inequality, Class, Ethnicity and Gender, Families in Society, and Social Aspects of Sexuality; Dr. Hossfeld also runs the department's community internship program. Her research interests center on the intersections of gender, race, nationality, and class. Dr. Hossfeld is engaged in a long-term study of the lives and labors of immigrant women workers in Silicon Valley factories, and works with environmental and labor organizations in Silicon Valley. She also develops diversity awareness modules for Oakland elementary schools and is on the editorial board of Teaching Sociology.

Previously Offered Courses

• SOC 272 Social Inequality: Poverty, Wealth, and Privilege
• SOC 300 Sociological Analysis - GWAR
• SOC 500 Senior Seminar: Class, Ethnicity & Gender
• SOC 502 Internship Seminar: Applied Sociology
• SOC 685 Projects in the Teaching of Sociology

Research Interests

• Gender, Race, and Class; Families; Sexualities; Labor; Immigrant Communities; Silicon Valley's High Industry; Social Change

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