February 5, 2015

CLAYTON CHILDRESS

ccchildress@gmail.com|510.375.5052
Dept. of Sociology, University of Toronto, 725 Spadina Ave. Toronto, ON, Canada M5S 2J4

POSITION
20132012-2013
2011-2012
2010-2011

Assistant Professor, Sociology, University of Toronto Scarborough

Postdoctoral Research Associate, Center for the Study of Social Organization, Dept. of
Sociology, Princeton University
Predoctoral Visiting Instructor, Sociology, Wesleyan University
Affiliate, Center for Cultural Sociology, Yale University
Predoctoral Fellow, Creative Encounters, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark
Predoctoral Fellow, Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology, Bielefeld
University, Germany

EDUCATION
2012
2008
2002

PhD, University of California at Santa Barbara, Sociology

MA, University of California at Santa Barbara, Sociology
BA, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, NY, Sociology (honors), Urban Studies minor

AREAS OF RESEARCH & TEACHING INTERESTS

Sociology of Culture, Economic Sociology, Organizations, Institutions, Networks
PUBLICATIONS
Book
Childress, C. Clayton. Novel Culture: Meaning, Markets, and Social Practice. (under contract with Princeton
University Press)
Peer Reviewed Articles
Childress, C. Clayton. forthcoming. Regionalism and the publishing class: conflicted isomorphism and
negotiated identity in a nested field of American publishing. Cultural Sociology.
Childress, C. Clayton and Alison Gerber. forthcoming. What's a creative writing MFA for?: The uses of a
'useless' credential in the literary field. Professions and Professionalization.
Maghbouleh, Neda, C. Clayton Childress and Carlos Alamo. forthcoming. Our Table Factory, Inc..: Active
learning to teach Marx. LATISS: Learning and Teaching in the Social Sciences.
Nathaus, Klaus, and C. Clayton Childress. 2013. The production of culture perspective in historical research:
integrating the study of the production, reception and meaning of symbolic objects. Studies in Contemporary
History/Zeithistorische Forschungen, 10(1): 1-16.
Childress, C. Clayton. 2012. Decision making, market logic, and the rating mindset: negotiating BookScan in
the field of U.S. trade publishing, European Journal of Cultural Studies, 15(5): 604-620.
Childress, C. Clayton and Noah E. Friedkin. 2012. "Cultural production and consumption: the social
construction of meaning in book clubs," American Sociological Review 77(1): 45-68.

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February 5, 2015
Childress, C. Clayton. 2011. Evolutions in the literary field: the co-constitutive forces of cognitions,
institutions, and networks, Historical Social Research/Historische Sozialforschung 36(3): 115-135.
Childress, C. Clayton. 2011. Whats the matter with Jarrettsville? Genre classification as an opportunistic
construct," Journal of Business Anthropology.
-Expanded version in (Eds.) Brian Moeran & Bo Christensens (2013) Exploring Creativity: Evaluation
Practices in Innovation, Design, and the Arts. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press.
Other Publications:
Childress, C. Clayton 2014. What production studies can learn from consumption studies, (feature article)
Consumed: Newsletter of the American Sociological Association Consumers & Consumption Section 1(1): 8-10; 15.
Childress, C. Clayton. 2012. "Book Review for Merchants of Culture. The Publishing Business in the Twenty-First
Century," Journal of Business Anthropology.
Childress, C. Clayton. 2012. "All media are social," Contexts: Understanding People in Their Social Worlds 11(1):5557.
Childress, C. Clayton. 2009. "Book Review for Changing Bodies: Habit, Crisis and Creativity," Teaching Sociology
37:417-18.
Childress, C. Clayton. 2007. "The golem & the liar: narrative and truth in war storytelling," Poets Against War,
featured article, Spring 2007.
Under Review and In Progress
Childress, C. Clayton and Brian Moeran. All Hands on Deck: Evaluation in Creative Industries. (Revise &
Resubmit)
Childress, C. Clayton. Being Passable: The Double Match of Race and Meaning in American Book
Publishing.
Childress, C. Clayton. The Multiple Roles of Gender in Literary Consecration.
Childress, C. Clayton. Enthusiasm for Action: Interaction Ritual Chains and Emotions as Resources in High
Status Occupations.
Childress, C. Clayton and Brian Moeran. The Art of Commerce: Winning and Almost Winning the Man
Booker Prize for Fiction from 2002-2012.
FELLOWSHIPS & GRANTS
2013
2012
2011

2010

-Startup Funds, Dept. of Sociology, University of Toronto

- Postdoctoral Research Funds, CSSO/Dept. of Sociology, Princeton University
- Visiting Pre-Doctoral Fellow, Copenhagen Business School, Creative Encounters Research Group,
Department of Intercultural Communication & Management
- GRMP Fellow, UCSB
- Grant, University of California Humanities Research Institute
-Visiting Pre-Doctoral Fellow, Bielefeld Graduate School in History & Sociology, Bielefeld University
- GRMP Fellow, UCSB
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February 5, 2015

2007
2004
2002

- Interdisciplinary Humanities Center Fellow, UCSB (award declined)

- Travel/Tuition Award, CASOS Institute, Carnegie Mellon University
- Departmental Fellowship, UCSB
- Aramark Scholar, Vassar College
- Media Studies Fellow, Media Studies Summer Research Institute, Vassar College

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

2010
2008
2007
2002
2001

- Outstanding Lecturer Award, Residence Halls Association & Office of Residential Life, UCSB
- Certificate in College and University Teaching (CCUT), UCSB
- Excellence in Teaching Award for Social Science & Education, Graduate Student Association, UCSB
($1,000)
- Certificate, Summer Teaching Institute for Associates, UCSB
- Certificate, CASOS Summer Institute for Dynamic Network Analysis, Carnegie Mellon University
- Distinction (highest honor), Vassar College
- Certificate, Urban Education Semester, Bank St. College, NY, NY.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2013-14 Assistant Professor, Dept. of Sociology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
The Production of Culture in Creative Industries (graduate)
Media & Society (undergraduate)
Sociology of Culture (undergraduate)
2012-13 Postdoctoral Research Associate, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
The Production and Consumption of Culture
2011-12 Visiting Instructor, Wesleyan University, Middletown, CT
The Economy of Culture SOC 225
The Social Life of Organizations and Markets SOC 226
Introductory Sociology (x2) SOC 151
2008-10 Instructor, University of California at Santa Barbara
Studying Populations Using Quantitative/Qualitative Methods - SOC 108ST; team-taught
Cultural Theory - SOC 118C
Introduction to Sociology SOC 101 (x2)
2010-4 Teaching Assistant, University of California at Santa Barbara
Introduction to Sociology (5x; Lead TA 3x), Sociology of Culture, Cultural Theory,
Fundamentals of Data Analysis-Statistics (graduate level), Social Psychology, Sociology of
Law, Global Religion, Teaching Assistant Training Seminar (graduate level),
Other Classroom Teaching Experience
Teacher of Record, English, Berkeley High School, Berkeley, CA (2002-2003), On-Site Classroom
Aide, Saxe Middle School, New Canaan, CT (2003), Classroom Aide, The Renaissance School,
Queens, NY (2001)

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SELECTED RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
2014
2012
2011
2009
2007
2003

-Dissertation Adviser (Jean-Francois Nault)

-First Year Graduate Supervisor (Pagaduan)
- Supervisor, undergraduate research assistants (Kang, Wong), Sociology, University of Toronto
- Supervisor, undergraduate research assistants (Cui, Specter), Sociology, Wesleyan University
- Research Assistant for Drs. Ellen Carol DuBois & Lynn Dumenil: Through Women's Eyes: An
American History With Documents (Bedford, 2012), 3rd edition
- Educational Improvement Grant, Dr. John Mohr, Sociology, UCSB
- Research Assistant for Drs. Alan Liu & Rita Raley, Transliteracies Project, English, UCSB
- Research Assistant for Dr. Joshua Gamson, project on LGBT media consolidation, USF

PROFESSIONAL SERVICE & MEMBERSHIP

2014

- Dissertation Committee (Jean-Francois Nault)

-First Year Adviser (Pagaduan)
- Undergraduate Research Supervisor (Kang, Wong)
2013 -JP Adviser (Mitchell), Sociology, Princeton University
2012 -Thesis Reader (Echeverria), Sociology, Wesleyan University.
2011-7 - Undergraduate Thesis Mentor, Sociology, UCSB (Brit, Koppman, Lagarde, Lopez, Sherman)
2008 - Research Mentor, Summer Research Mentorship Program, UCSB (Bolaos, Mora, Riela)
- Co-Facilitator, Summer Teaching Institute for Associates, UCSB
- Graduate Student Rep, Demography Chair Faculty Search, UCSB
2008-6 - TA Training Committee, Sociology, UCSB
2007 - Lead TA Institute/Lead TA, Sociology, UCSB
2006-5 - Graduate Student Department Rep, Sociology, UCSB
Associate Editor: American Journal of Cultural Sociology
Occasional Reviewer: American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, Social Forces, Poetics,
Cultural Sociology, American Journal of Cultural Sociology
RECENT CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS & INVITED TALKS (FULL LIST ON REQUEST)
2015

Regionalism and the Publishing Class: Multiple Isomorphism and Negotiated Identity in a Nested
Field of American Publishing. Eastern Sociological Society. Panel: Culture and Cognition MiniConference Session -- Performing the Arts and Artistic Organizations, February 2015.
Where are we Heading? Reflections of the Sociology of Culture. Department of Sociology 50th
Anniversary Conference, University of California, Santa Barbara, February 2015. (invited talk)

2014

Thinking through Fields: Creation, Production, and Reception in the Fiction Complex. Social
Science History Association. Panel: Worlds & World-Making in Cultural Analysis. Toronto, ON,
Canada, November 2014
Being Passable: The Double Match of Race and Meaning in American Book Publishing. Social
Science History Association. Panel: Valuing Work in the Cultural Economy (co-organizer). Toronto,
ON, Canada, November 2014
Fall 2014 Keynote: Novel Culture and the Field of Authorial Creation. Northwestern University,
Ethnography Workshop. (invited talk)

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Keynote Address: Being Passable: The Double Match of Race and Meaning in American Book
Publishing. Media Sociology Preconference. Mills College, Oakland, CA, August 2014. (invited
talk)
All Hands on Deck: Evaluation in Creative Industries. American Sociological Association. Panel:
Sociology of Culture. San Francisco, CA, August 2014.
Being Passable: The Double Match of Race and Meaning in American Book Publishing. Center
for Cultural Sociology Anniversary Conference, Yale University, April 2014.
Studying Culture SOS Presents: Sociology Mini Lecture Series. University of Toronto
Scarborough. Toronto, ON, Canada. (invited talk)
2013

Signals of Victory: The Production of Reproduction in Field Configuring Events. Media Sociology
Preconference, Institute of Public Knowledge and Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute, New York
University. New York, NY.
Being Passable: Status, Taste, and Racial Exclusion in the Lily White Field of Book Publishing
Panel: Race, Racism and the Life Course. Society for the Study of Social Problems. New York, NY.
Our Table Factory, Inc.: Active Learning to Teach Marx. (with Carlos Alamo and Neda
Maghbouleh). Panel: Sociological Practice: Active Learning, Assessment, and Engagement. Eastern
Sociological Society. Boston, MA.
All Hands on Deck: Evaluation in Creative Industries Experience Creative Economy 2013. Martin
Prosperity Institute, Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
All Hands on Deck: Evaluation in Creative Industries Work/Culture 2.0 Conference. Carroll
School of Management, Boston College, Boston, MA.
For Love or Money: Decision Making in Publishing, or, Why You Cant Play Moneyball With
Books. Dept. of Sociology, Dickinson College. (invited talk)

2012

Stories about Sales: Market Logic as Change Agent or Alibi in Publishing Decisions. Center for
Arts and Cultural Policy Studies, Woodrow Wilson School, Princeton University. (invited talk)
Regionalism and the Publishing Class: Are Publishers Outside of New York Satellites or Alternative
Cores in the U.S. Literary Field? Panel: Storied Lives in Publishing and the Literary Field. Eastern
Sociological Society. New York, NY.

2011

Decision Making, Market Logic, and the Ratings Mindset. Panel: (Re)Producing Culture. American
Sociological Association, Las Vegas, NV.
Evolutions in the Literary Field: The Case of Odyssey Editions. Grenoble Ecole de Management,
Grenoble, France. (invited talk)
Acquisition Editors, BookScan, and the Negotiation of Market Logic in Everyday Work Practice.
Panel: Markets, Networks, Power. American Studies Association. Baltimore, MD.

2010

U.S. Publishing Firm Networks: 1980-2005. Creative Encounters Colloquium Series,

Copenhagen Business School, Denmark. (invited talk)

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February 5, 2015
Cultural Networks, Cognitions, and Acquisition Decisions in the Literary Field. Evolving Market
Fields Workshop. Bielefeld Graduate School in History and Sociology, Bielefeld University, Germany.
The Decline of Publishers in the U.S. Publishing Industry. Analysing the Literary Field: Case Studies
from Sociology, History and the Literary Sciences. Literary Studies Department, Bielefeld University,
Germany.
REFERENCES
PAUL J. DIMAGGIO
A. Barton Hepburn Professor of Sociology and Public
Affairs, Sociology Department and Woodrow Wilson School
Princeton University
dimaggio@princeton.edu
NOAH E. FRIEDKIN (dissertation co-chair)
Professor of Sociology
University of California, Santa Barbara
friedkin@soc.ucsb.edu
BRIAN MOERAN
Director of Creative Encounters
Professor, Department of Intercultural Communication and Management
Copenhagen Business School
bdm.ikl@cbs.dk
JOHN W. MOHR (dissertation co-chair)
Professor of Sociology
University of California, Santa Barbara
mohr@soc.ucsb.edu

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