Joseph A. Kotarba
Department Chair / Professor
- Phone: (713)743-3954
- Email:jkotarba@uh.edu
- Office: 493 Philip G. Hoffman Hall
Joseph A. Kotarba is Professor of Sociology, and Chair, at the University of Houston. His research and teaching are in the sociology of everyday life, which examines the ways people seek meaning for life and life's problems through their group memberships and activities. Symbolic interactionist, phenomenological, and existential theory inform Professor Kotarba's work. Qualitative and interpretive methods are his primary research styles. Professor Kotarba is currently directing funded, team research studies on ethnic music scenes; the public high school reform movement; professional sports training and health care; and illness and injury management during natural disasters. Of all his professional honors, he is most proud of the George Herbert Mead Award for Lifetime Achievement, awarded to him by the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction in 2009.
Education
- Ph.D., University of California - San Diego
- M.A., Arizona State University
- B.A., Illinois State University
Selected Publications
- Joseph A. Kotarba and Phillip Vannini. 2009. Understanding Society through Popular Music. New York: Routledge
- Joseph A. Kotarba. 2009. "'I'm just as Rock 'n' Roll Fan:' Popular Music as a Meaning Resource for Aging." Civitas 9, 1.
- Joseph A. Kotarba. 2009. "Audience Experiences of Pop Music Authenticity and Inauthenticity." In Phillip Vannini and Patrick Williams (eds.), Authenticity in Everyday Life. London: Ashgate.
- Joseph A. Kotarba. 2009. "The Team Concept in Qualitative Research with Illicit Drug Users." Substance Use and Misuse. 44, 10.
- Joseph A. Kotarba. 2007. "Drugmusictalk On-Line: An Ethnographic Analysis." In Edward Murguia (ed.), Real Drugs in a Virtual World: Drug Discourse and Community Online. Boston: Lexington Press.
- Joseph A. Kotarba and Phillip Vannini (eds.). 2006. Special Issue of the Journal of Symbolic Interaction on "Popular Music and Everyday Life."
- Joseph A. Kotarba and Matt Held. 2006. "Women's Experiences of Body within the Context of Violent Team Sports." In Dennis Waskul and Phillip Vannini (eds.). Body/Embodiment: Symbolic Interaction and the Sociology of the Body. Burlington, VT: Ashgate.
- Joseph A. Kotarba. 2004. "Professional Athletes' Injuries: From Existential to Organisational Analyses." In Kevin Young (ed.) Sporting Bodies, Damaged Selves: Sociological Studies of Sports-Related Injuries. Bridgeport, CT: JAI/Elsevier.
- Joseph A. Kotarba, et al. 2003. "Inner Strength and the Existential Self' among HIV+ Women: Integrating Nursing and Sociological Concepts." Research in the Sociology of Health Care 21:87-106.
- Joseph A. Kotarba and John M. Johnson (eds.). 2002. Postmodern Existential Sociology. Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira (2002)
- Joseph A. Kotarba. 2001. "Conceptualizing Sports Medicine as Occupational Health Care: Illustrations from Professional Rodeo and Wrestling." Qualitative Health Research 11, 6:766-779.
Research Interests
- Culture
- Health and Illness
- Education
- Social Theory
- Qualitative Research Methods
- Applied Sociology
Current Projects
- "Ethnographic Mapping of Latino Music Scenes" (funded by the Joseph S. Werlin Fellowship)
- "Professional Female Athletes' Injury Care" (funded by the Centers for Disease Control/National Institute on Occupational Safety and Health, through the Southwest Institute for Occupational Safety and Health)
- "The Houston A+/Houston Schools for a New Society Study" (funded by the Carnegie Corporation and the Gates Foundation)
- "Disruption and Reformulation of Illicit Drug Markets: A Community Health Approach" (funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse though the National Development and Research Institutes)
Teaching
Recent Courses
Undergraduate Courses
- Introduction to Sociology
- Sociology of Health and Illness
- Popular Music and Society
Graduate Seminars
- Seminar in Sociological Theory
- Seminar in Medical Care
- Seminar in Qualitative Sociological Methods
Affiliations
- The American Sociological Association
- The Society for the Study of Social Problems
- The Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction
- The International Sociological Association
