My research interests are at the Intersections of Deviance and Criminology, Subcultures, LGBTQ Studies, and Science and Technology. More specifically, my research explores how social media, and other online forms of connectivity, has impacted notions of ingroup solidarity among different groups. As I argue in my work, while new technologies have given us greater connectivity, the ways in which these environments are structured undermines their core values. I have done this for members of the Electronic Dance Music subculture, the LGBTQ community, and am also working on this process among other social groups. Recently, I have also begun to unpack the QAnon movement and seek to understand the social conditions that gave rise to this unique social phenomenon.

Books

▪ Conner, Christopher T. and David R. Dickens. 2021. Electric Empires: From Subculture to Culture Industry. Lantham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield. (under contract)

Peer Reviewed Journal Articles

▪ Conner, Christopher T. 2022. “How Sexual Racism and Other Discriminatory Behaviors Become Rationalized in Online Dating Apps.” Deviant Behavior (https://doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2021.2019566)

      o   Cited by Channel Q: Let’s Go There with Shira & Ryan (8/25) (https://www.audacy.com/wearechannelq/podcasts/lets-go-there-with-shira-ryan-22293/825-naked-baby-683525123)

       o Cited in “What Queer Community Looks Like Beyond Cities.” In Medium, Chris Heller (Waze). (https://medium.com/waze/what-queer-community-looks-like-beyond-cities-)

▪ Conner, Christopher T. and Nicholas MacMurray. 2021. “The Perfect Storm: A Subcultural Analysis of the QAnon Movement.” Critical Sociology (https://doi.org/10.1177/08969205211055863).

     o Top 50 Most Read Articles Published in Critical Sociology

     o Cited in CNET article “The misinformation pandemic is out of control, but there’s a fix.” (https://www.cnet.com/news/misinformation-            is-a-pandemic-that-doesnt-have-a-vaccine/).

▪ Conner, Christopher T. and Nicholas M. Baxter. 2021. “Teaching Symbolic Interaction: Are you a werewolf?” Teaching Sociology. (https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X211053375).

▪ Conner, Christopher T. and Daniel Okamura. 2021. “Queer Expectations: An Empirical Critique of Rural LGBT+ Narratives.” Sexualities (https://doi.org/10.1177/13634607211013280).

▪ Conner, Christopher T. and Nathan Katz. 2020. “Electronic Dance Music: From Spectacular Subculture to Culture Industry.” Young: Nordic Journal of Youth Research 28(5): 445-464. (https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1103308820926102).

                 o 24th Most Read Article in Young: Nordic Journal of Youth Research

                 o In the top 5% of all journal articles scored by Alametric

▪ Conner, Christopher T. 2019. “The Gay Gayze: Expressions of Inequality on Grindr.” The Sociological Quarterly. 60(3): 397-419. https://doi.org/10.1080/00380253.2018.1533394.

     o 11th Most Read Article Published in The Sociological Quarterly

     o Honorable Mention Patricia Hill Collins Intersectionality Award (Inaugural Award)

Book Chapters in Edited Volumes

▪ Conner, Christopher T. and Sullivan, Sarah. 2022. “A Queer Kind of Stigma.” People, Technology, and Social Organization: Interactionist studies of everyday life, edited by Dirk Vom Lehn, Will Gibson, and Natalia Ruiz-Junco. New York, NY: Routledge. (accepted).

▪ Conner, Christopher T. 2022. “Situating Subcultures.” Studies in Symbolic Interaction 54(1). Bingley, United Kingdom: Emerald Publishers.

▪ Conner, Christopher T. and Daniel Okamura. 2021. “Queering The Sociological Imagination.” Pp. 1-14 in The Gayborhood From Sexual Liberation to Cosmopolitan Spectacle, edited by CT Conner and D. Okamura. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

▪ Conner, Christopher T., Nicholas Baxter, and David R. Dickens. 2019. “Introduction” Pp. 1-10 in Forgotten Founders and Other Neglected Social Theorists, edited by CT Conner, N Baxter, and D. Dickens. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books.

Edited Volumes and Other Anthologies

▪ Conner, Christopher T. 2022. Studies in Symbolic Interaction Special Issue on Subcultures. 54(1). Bingley, United Kingdom: Emerald Publishers. (In Production – Release Scheduled)

▪ Conner, Christopher T. and Daniel Okamura (eds). 2021. The Gayborhood: From Sexual Liberation to Cosmopolitan Spectacle. Lantham, MD: Lexington Books.

▪ Conner, Christopher T., Nicholas Baxter, and David R. Dickens (eds). 2019. Forgotten Founders and Other Neglected Social Theorists. Lantham, MD: Lexington Books.

SELECTED CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS AND INVITED TALKS

* Conner, Christopher T. and Nick MacMurray. 2022. “The Perfect Storm: A Subcultural Analysis of the QAnon Movement.” Presented at the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences. Las Vegas, NV.

▪ Conner, Christopher T. and Nick MacMurray. 2022. “The Perfect Storm: A Subcultural Analysis of the QAnon Movement.” Presented at the Midwest Sociological Society Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL.

▪ Conner, Christopher T. 2021. “A Social History of Electronic Dance Music.” Profs and Pints. (Online)

▪ Conner, Christopher T. and Daniel Okamura. 2021. “The Sociology of the Gayborhood: An Overview.” Presented at the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL.

▪ Julien Grayer and Christopher T. Conner. 2021. “Forgotten Interactionists of Color.” Presented at the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL.

▪ Christopher T. Conner. 2021. “Roleplaying as Pedagogy.” Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL.

PUBLIC SOCIOLOGY

News Articles

▪ Conner, Christopher T. 2021. “Queer in the country: Why some LGBTQ Americans prefer rural life to urban ‘gayborhoods.’ The Conversation 3/4/21. https://theconversation.com/queer-in-the-country-why-some-lgbtq-americans-prefer-rural-life-to-urban-gayborhoods-155616.

▪ Conner, Christopher T. 2021. “How the gay party scene short-circuited and became a moneymaking bonanza.” The Conversation 2/12/2021. https://theconversation.com/how-the-gay-party-scene-short-circuited-and-became-a-moneymaking-bonanza-153424.

▪ Conner, Christopher T. 2021. “Op-Ed: New Year’s Eve Circuit parties go on despite COVID-19 travel concerns.” Windy City Times. 01/08. Reprinted in The Washington Blade 1/22/2021.

HONORS, AWARDS AND GRANTS

2020     Cornell University Certificate of Diversity

2019     Knox College CoFER Research Grant $1,701

             Paul K. Richter and Evalyn Elizabeth Cook Richter Memorial Fund Award $1,700

             Midwest Sociological Society Contingent Faculty Award $500

2018     Washburn University Sweet Summer Sabbatical Grant $12,000

             Washburn Transformational Experience Faculty Grant $1,000

             Washburn Center For Teaching Excellence Teaching Certificate

2017     UNLV Library Most Downloaded Dissertation from 2007 – 2017

Recently Taught Courses:

• Sociology of Sport
• Recent Theories in Sociology
• Criminology
• Drugs and Society
• Collective Behavior
• Independent Study

Student Testimonials

“The professor was one of the best teachers I have ever had. He was very flexible and helpful no matter what the situation was. He knew this wasn't our number one priority all the time, so he utilized class presentations extremely well. I was very impressed with him.”

“I really enjoyed the documentaries and articles provided. They helped further my understanding of the content covered during the lectures. I also appreciated the messages sent out each week because they were informative academically but also involved information on things going on in society and he provided a lot of emphasis on the importance of our health over assignments, which I feel like isn't as common among other professors as it should be.”

“I thought the instructor taught the course concepts very well. I liked how he used a variety of examples to demonstrate the definitions of the many concepts we discussed and connected them to real-life events. Also, I thought his explanations of all the main concepts were very detailed too.”

Recently Taught Courses:

Sociology of Sport

Recent Theories in Sociology

Criminology

Drugs and Society

Collective Behavior

Independent Study

Honors Thesis

Membership and Affiliations

American Sociological Association

Society for the Study of Social Problems

Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction

Midwest Sociological Society

Pacific Sociological Society