Professor / Writer / Speaker
Associate Professor of Sociology
Senior Fellow Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture
University of Virginia
Angel Adams Parham is Associate Professor of Sociology and senior fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture (IASC) at the University of Virginia. She works in the area of historical sociology, engaging in research and writing that examine the past in order to better understand how to live well in the present and envision wisely for the future. This research focus is rooted in her interest in re-connecting sociology to its classical roots so that sociology is understood to be a kind of public philosophy animated by questions such as: What is a good society? and What kinds of social arrangements are most conducive to human flourishing? She is the author of American Routes: Racial Palimpsests and the Transformation of Race (Oxford, 2017), which was co-winner of the Social Science History Association’s Allan Sharlin Memorial book award (2018) and co-winner of the American Sociological Association’s Barrington Moore award in comparative-historical sociology (2018). In addition to this research, she is active in public-facing teaching and scholarship where she provides resources and training for K-12 educators who are looking to better integrate Black writers and Black history into their teaching. A book related to this work comes out in the summer of 2022 and is entitled The Black Intellectual Tradition: Reading Freedom in Classical Literature. Parham’s public-facing work has also led her to become the co-founder and executive director of Nyansa Classical Community, an educational organization which provides curricula and programming designed to connect with students from diverse backgrounds, inviting them to take part in the Great Conversation, cultivate the moral imagination, and pursue truth, goodness, and beauty. She has been a member of the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, as well as the recipient of a Fulbright grant. She received her bachelor’s degree from Yale University and completed her doctoral work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Ph.D in Sociology, 2003
University of Wisconsin-Madison
M.S. in Sociology, 1998
Yale University
B.A. in Sociology, 1994
Employment
Associate Professor of Sociology
University of Virginia, 2021-Present
Senior Fellow, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture
University of Virginia, 2021-Present
Rev. Joseph H. Fichter, S.J. Professor of Social Science and Assoc. Professor of Sociology
Loyola University-New Orleans, 2018-2021
Associate Professor of Sociology
Loyola University-New Orleans, 2010-2021
Member School of Social Science
Institute for Advanced Study, 2011-2012
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Loyola University-New Orleans, 2003-2010
Chair, African and African American Studies Program
Loyola University-New Orleans, 2007-2012
Honors and Awards
Co-winner, Allan Sharlin Memorial Book Award, 2018
Social Science History Association, for American Routes: Racial Palimpsests and the Transformation of Race, (Oxford, 2017)
Co-winner, Barrington Moore Prize in Comparative and Historical Sociology, 2018
American Sociological Association for American Routes: Racial Palimpsests and the Transformation of Race, (Oxford, 2017)
Honorable mention Thomas & Znaniecki Best Book Award, 2018
International Migration Section, American Sociological Association for American Routes: Racial Palimpsests and the Transformation of Race, (Oxford, 2017)
Community Service Award, 2018
From the College of Arts and Sciences for excellence in community-based teaching and research
Dr. Jon Altschul Faculty Senate Award, 2018
For Community Engagement for connecting research and teaching to the New Orleans community
LA Creole Recognition Award, 2018
For “extraordinary contributions to the enduring good of our community as teacher, author, historian, and promoter of social justice in our community and beyond” for the book American Routes: Racial Palimpsests and the Transformation of Race
Recent Teaching
- Introduction to Sociology
- Social and Political Inequality
- Global Sociology
- Social Problems
- African Diaspora Communities and Cultures
- Introduction to Haitian Society and Culture
Professional Societies
- American Sociological Association
- Social Science History Association
- Haitian Studies Association
Professional Service
Award Committee, Allan Sharlin Memorial book award given by the Social Science History Association, 2020-2021
Associate editor, Principia: A Journal of Classical Education, 2020
Award Committee, Barrington Moore book award given by the Comparative-Historical section of the American Sociological Association, 2019
Service to the University
- College Rank and Tenure Committee, College of Arts and Sciences (2018-Present)
- Chair, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (2017-Present)
- Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee (2013-Present)
- African and African American Studies Committee (2004-Present)
- Director, African and African American Studies Program (2007-2012)
- Common Curriculum Implementation Task Force CCITF (2009-2011)
- Chair of the sub-committee on Mission for the CCITF (2009-2011)
- Chair of the Sub-committee on Implementation for the Common Curriculum Review Committee (2009)
- Common Curriculum Review Task Force (2007-2009)
- Center for International Education Committee, Internationalization of the University (2007-2008)
- Advisor, Black Student Union (2007-2008)
- College of Social Sciences Curriculum Committee (2006-2009)
- Member, Interim Affirmative Action/Diversity Committee (2008)
- Committee for International Education Policy (2004-2005)
Service to the Community
Board member, Hermann Grima+Gallier Historic Houses (2020-Present)
- Advisory board member, Sager Classical Academy, Arkansas (2020-Present)
- Advisory Board Member, Southern History Project (2017-Present)
- Co-founder and Executive Director, Nyansa Classical
Community (2014-Present) - Board member, Vision of Hope Ministries VOHM (2007-Present)
- Member, Steering Committee for the creation of the
Univérsité Internationale en Haiti (2010-2015) - Board member, Health and Educational Alliance of Louisiana HEAL (2013-2014)
- Story coordinator, People and Stories based in Trenton, NJ (2012-2014)
- Advisory Committee member, Urban Impact Leadership Academy (2007-2008)
- Member, United States-based committee for the University of Fondwa in Haiti (2004-2006)