Biography
Education
Ph.D. Sociology, UCLA, 1990M.A. Sociology UCLA, 1984
B.A. Sociology UCSB, 1982
Specialty Areas: Cultural Sociology, Sociological Theory, Religion, Race/Ethnicity.
Courses Taught
Undergraduate Courses
- SOC 305: Culture and Personality
- SOC 368/S: Theory I Classical Sociological Theory Lecture/Seminar
- SOC 468/S: Theory II Contemporary Sociological Theory Lecture/Seminar
- SOC 467: Sociology of Religion
- SOC 498AEE: The Sociological Experience
Graduate Courses
- SOC 585R: Special Topics - Cultural Sociology
- SOC 601: Classical Sociological Theory
- SOC 670: Contemporary Sociological Theory
- SOC 691A: Qualitative Research Methods
Publications
Books
Alexander, Jeffrey, Kenneth Thompson, Laura Desfor Edles, and Moshoula Capous-Desyllas. 2018. A Contemporary Introduction to Sociology: Culture and
Society in Transition, 3rd edition. New York: Routledge.
Appelrouth, Scott and Laura Desfor Edles. 2016. Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory: Text and Readings, 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, Inc. (1st ed. 2008; 2nd ed. 2012).
Appelrouth, Scott and Laura Desfor Edles. 2016. Sociological Theory in the Contemporary Era: Text and Readings, 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage
Publications, Inc. (1st ed. 2007; 2nd ed. 2010).
Edles, Laura Desfor and Scott Appelrouth. 2015. Sociological Theory in the Classical Era: Text and Readings, 3rd edition. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications,
Inc. (1st ed. 2004; 2nd ed. 2010).
Back, Les, Andy Bennett, Laura Desfor Edles, Margaret Gibson, David Inglis, Ron Jacobs, and Ian Woodward. 2012. Cultural Sociology: An Introduction. Malden,
MA: Wiley-Blackwell.
Edles, Laura Desfor. 2002. Cultural Sociology in Practice. Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishers.
Edles, Laura Desfor. 1998. Symbol and Ritual in the New Spain: The Transition to Democracy after Franco. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Journal Articles and Book Chapters
Edles, Laura Desfor. 2016. “International Voluntourism as Secular Pilgrimage: A Case Study of Hosts and Guests in a Small Panamanian Town.” International
Journal of Religious Tourism and Pilgrimage 3(2): 57-64.
Edles, Laura Desfor. 2016. “The Cultural Sociology of Religion and Beliefs”, in The Sage Handbook of Cultural Sociology, David Inglis and Anna-Mari Almila, eds.
Sage Publications, Inc.
Edles, Laura Desfor. 2013. “Contemporary Progressive Christianity and its Symbolic Ramifications.” Cultural Sociology 7(1):1-22.
Edles, Laura Desfor. 2004. “Rethinking ‘Race’, ‘Ethnicity’ and ‘Culture’ in Hawaii.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 7(1): 37-68.
Edles, Laura Desfor. 2002. “‘Race’, ‘Ethnicity’, and ‘Culture’ in Hawaii”. In New Faces in a Changing America: Multiracial Identity in the 21st Century, edited by
H. DeBose and L. Winters. Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Edles, Laura Desfor. 1999. “A Culturalist Approach to Ethnic Nationalist Movements: Symbolization and Basque and Catalan Nationalism in Spain.” Social Science
History 23 (3): 311-355.
Hsin-Huang Michael Hsiao, On-Kwok Lai, Hwa-Jen Liu, Francisco Amgno, Laura Desfor Edles, and Alvin So. 1999. “Culture and Asian Environmental
Movements”, with, et. al., in Asia’s Environmental Movements: Comparative Perspectives, Yok-shiu Lee and Alvin So, eds., New York: M.E. Sharpe.
Edles, Laura Desfor. 1995. “Rethinking Democratic Transition: A Culturalist Critique and the Spanish Case.” Theory and Society 24: 355-384.
Edles, Laura Desfor. 1993. “The Sacred and the Spanish Transition to Democracy." Social Compass 40: 399- 414.