About
John is a PhD student in sociology, with a focus on comparative-historical and qualitative approaches. His research uses cultural approaches to study various areas of political life. Recent examples include an ethnography of Latinx mushroom farmers in rural Pennsylvania, a comparative study of the speech of conspiracy theorists and authoritarian populist candidates, and a discourse analysis of the techniques pursued by former EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler to deregulate the fossil-fuel industry. His current projects take a comparative ethnographic approach classical music conservatory culture and provide a historical account of intersectionality.
John also has an interest in applying insights from classical sociological theory to contemporary cases—most centrally the writings of the Frankfurt School, structuralist semioticians, and Friedrich Nietzsche. In his spare time, John is an avid composer and cellist, studying with Bright Sheng, Daniel Temkin, and Claudio Jaffe, among others. His violin miniatures were recorded by Grammy-nominated violinists Emma Frucht and Miho Saegusa, and he loves nothing more than performing chamber music.
Recent Publication: Full article: Mushroom Tacos: Multicultural Festivals and Environmental Racism in a Rural Pennsylvania Town (2023)
