College of Arts and Sciences

Sociology Faculty:

Barbara Ann Strassberg
Professor of Sociology
bstrass@aurora.edu
844-5408

While her career spans most fields within general sociology, Dr. Strassberg's academic interests focus on several topics from the field of sociology of culture:

• identity - national, ethnic, and religious, especially in the context of globalization and transnational migrations;
• human rights and social justice;
• genocides, peace, and nonviolent conflict resolution;
• men's and women's studies; intimate relations and sexuality; and
• issues of global ethics from the interfaith and interdisciplinary perspectives in the context of genocides, terrorism, war, surveillance, HIV/AIDS, organ transplantation, and so forth.

Prior to joining Aurora University, Dr. Strassberg was an Honorary Fellow at the Divinity School and a Visiting Professor at the Department of Sociology of the University of Chicago. A native of Poland, she earned her MA in English and American Literature, MA in Sociology, PhD and a post-doctoral degree (Habilitation) in Sociology from the Jagiellonian University of Krakow, Poland. She completed her doctoral studies in Sociology at Ecole Supérieure des Hautes Etudes, in Paris, France, and conducted a post-doctoral research at the Divinity School of the University of Chicago. She is the author of two books, over 50 articles, book chapters, book reviews, and conference papers, as well as translations of books and articles from Polish to English, English to Polish, and from French to Polish.

Dr. Strassberg has also been involved in a science and religion program. For the past eight years, she has coordinated an Annual Lecture Series at AU. The lectures are held in spring and they bring to the university outstanding scholars in science and religion. Dr. Strassberg, who lives in Chicago enjoys theater and travel; driving; following daily news from all over the world; meeting and studying people; reading, writing, and teaching. She speaks English, French, Polish, Italian, Russian, German, and Latin.