Curriculum Vitae
EDUCATION
In Progress PhD in Sociology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
- Dissertation: “Dividing the San Juan: Water Inequality in the Southwest”
- Committee: Tom Shriver (chair), Stefano Longo, Kim Ebert, and Michael Schulman
2015 M.S. in Sociology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh NC
2009 B.A. in Sociology and Political Science, Austin College, Sherman, TX
RESEARCH & TEACHING INTERESTS
Environmental sociology, Environmental justice, Social movements, Disasters and hazards, Rural sociology, Political sociology
JOURNAL ARTICLES
Bray, Laura A. “Settler Colonialism & Rural Environmental Injustice: Water Inequality on the Navajo Nation.” Forthcoming in Rural Sociology, special issue of “Race, Ethnicity, and Rurality in the United States.”
Bray, Laura A., Nicholas J. Membrez-Weiler, and Thomas E. Shriver. “Agrochemical Exposure and Environmental Illness: Legal Repression of Latin American Banana Workers.” Forthcoming in Sociological Quarterly
Adams, Alison E., Thomas E. Shriver, Laura A. Bray, and Chris Messer. 2020. “Petrochemical Pollution and the Suppression of Environmental Protest.” Sociological Inquiry (90)3:646-68.
Laura A. Bray, Olivia Vilá, Bethany B. Cutts, David Lowry, Margaret Crites, Hannah Goins, Nathan McMenamin, Mac Legerton, and Angela Harris. “Promoting Environmental Justice through Participatory Disaster Research: Hurricane Recovery in Robeson County, North Carolina.” Carolina Planning Journal 45. (not peer reviewed)
Thomas E. Shriver, Adriana Szabo, and Laura A. Bray. “Opportunity and Threat behind the Iron Curtain: The Failed Diffusion of Human Rights Activism in Romania.” Forthcoming in International Sociology.
Shriver, Thomas E., Annika Wilcox, and Laura A. Bray. 2020. “Elite Cultural Work and Discursive Obstruction of Human Rights Activism.” Social Currents 7(1):11-28.
Bray, Laura A., Thomas E. Shriver, and Alison E. Adams. 2019. “Framing Authoritarian Legitimacy: Elite Cohesion in the Aftermath of Popular Rebellion.” Social Movement Studies 18(6):682-701.
Shriver, Thomas E., Alison E. Adams, and Laura A. Bray. 2019. “Political Power and Manufacturing Consent: The Case of the 1953 Plzeň Protest.” The Sociological Quarterly 60(1):26-45.
Bray, Laura A., Thomas E. Shriver, and Alison E. Adams. 2019. “Mobilizing Grievances in an Authoritarian Setting: Threat and Emotion in the 1953 Plzeň Uprising.” Sociological Perspectives 62(1):77-95.
Shriver, Thomas E., Laura A. Bray, and Alison E. Adams. 2018. “Legal Repression of Protesters: The Case of Worker Revolt in Czechoslovakia.” Mobilization 23(3):307-28.
Bray, Laura A. 2017. “Media and ‘Undone Science’ in West Virginia’s Elk River Chemical Spill.” Environmental Sociology 3(4):359-69.
MANUSCRIPTS IN REVIEW & REVISION
Shriver, Thomas E. , Laura A. Bray, Annika Wilcox, and Adriana M. Szabo. “Human Rights and Dissent in Hybrid Environments: The Impact of Shifting Rights Regimes.” In review.
RESEARCH GRANTS
Water Resources Research Institute ($120,000 requested). “Research to Resilience: Transformative Watershed Planning with Socially Vulnerable Communities.” PIs: Bethany Cutts and Angela Harris. (outcome pending)
North Carolina Sea Grant, Mini Grant ($10,000), 2020. “Planning nature-based flood mitigation strategies through participatory videos.” PI: Bethany Cutts.
Foundation for the Carolinas, Hurricane Florence Response Grant Program ($40,000), 2019. “Robeson County – 100 soil tests near flooded homes.” Cutts, Bethany (PI), Olivia Vila, Laura Bray, David Lowry, and Angela Harris.
Rural Sociological Society, Thesis and Dissertation Research Award. 2018. “Dividing the San Juan: Water Inequality in the Southwest.” $1,405.
Sociology Graduate Student Association, North Carolina State University. Dissertation Mini- grant. 2017. “Dividing the San Juan: Settler Colonialism, American Indians, and Water Rights in the Southwest.” $100.
AWARDS & HONORS
Graduate Student Mentor Award, Sociology Graduate Student Association, NC State University, 2020.
Lead Peer Mentoring Collaborative, NC State University ($1,000), 2017.
PRESENTATIONS
2020 “Racial Projects and Rural Environmental Injustice: Water Inequality on the Navajo Nation.” Laura Bray. Accepted for the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society (August 6 – 9), Westminster, CO. [Meeting cancelled due to COVID-19]
2020 “Pesticide Exposure and Transnational Legal Mobilization of Farmworkers.” Laura Bray, Nicholas Membrez-Weiler, and Thomas Shriver. Accepted for the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society (August 6 – 9), Westminster, CO. [Meeting cancelled due to COVID-19]
2019 Bray, Laura, Nicholas J. Membrez-Weiler, and Thomas E. Shriver. “Agrochemical Exposure and Environmental (In)justice: Legal Repression of Latin American Banana Workers.” Presented at:
- The Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (August 10 – 13), New York.
- Culture and Politics Workshop, University of North Carolina (February 15), Chapel Hill, NC
2019 Laura Bray. “Water Conflicts and Rural Environmental Justice.”
- North Carolina State University, Food and Environment Seminar Series (April 4), Raleigh, NC.
- Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society (April 10 – 13). Atlanta, GA.
2019 Thomas E. Shriver, Annika Wilcox, and Laura Bray. “Elite Cultural Work and the Vilification of Dissent.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society (April 10 – 13). Atlanta, GA.
2019 Thomas E. Shriver, Adriana M. Szabo, and Laura Bray. “Repression and Dissent behind the Iron Curtain: Challenging State Power in Czechoslovakia and Romania.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society (April 10 – 13). Atlanta, GA.
2018 Bray, Laura, Thomas E. Shriver, and Alison E. Adams. “Authoritarian Legitimacy and Elite Cohesion.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society (April 4 – 7). New Orleans, LA.
2017 Adams, Alison E., Thomas E. Shriver, and Laura Bray. “Discursive Obstruction and the Vilification of Grassroots Environmental Activists.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society (March 29 – April 1). Greenville, SC.
2017 Bray, Laura, Thomas E. Shriver, and Alison E. Adams. “Mobilizing Grievances in an Authoritarian Setting: Threat and Emotional Liberation in the 1953 Plzeň Uprising.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society (March 29 – April 1). Greenville, SC.
2017 Bray, Laura. “Media, Lay Knowledge and ‘Undone Science’ in the Elk River Chemical Spill.” Presented at the North Carolina Sociological Association (February 17). High Point, NC.
2016 Shriver, Thomas E., Laura Bray, and Alison E. Adams. “Elite Framing and the Vilification of Dissent in Authoritarian Settings.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association (August 20 – 23). Seattle, WA.
2016 Bray, Laura. “Agrochemical Exposure Abroad: The Cultural Dynamics of Transnational Tort Litigation.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society (April 13 – 16). Atlanta, GA.
2016 Shriver, Thomas E., Allison E. Adams, and Laura Bray. “State Official Frames and the Vilification of Dissent.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society (April 13 – 16). Atlanta, GA.
2015 Bray, Laura. “Media Risk Framing in the Elk River Chemical Spill.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Sociological Society (March 25-28). New Orleans, LA.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
2018 – Present Research Assistant for Bethany Cutts (Parks, Recreation, and Tourism Management). “Project to Build Resilience and Innovation through Diverse Engagement: Long-Term Recovery from Hurricane Matthew.” Funded by NC Sea Grant, Foundation for the Carolinas, and Natural Hazards Center.
2014-2017 Research Assistant for Thomas Shriver (Sociology). “Elite Framing of Social Movements.” Funded by the National Science Foundation.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Instructor of Record
Technology in Society and Culture, Online (Fall 2020, Fall 2019, Summer 2019, Spring 2019 and Summer 2018)
Sociology of Agriculture and Rural Society (Spring 2018)
Current Social Problems (Spring 2017, Fall 2017, Fall 2018)
Current Social Problems, Online (Summer 2017)
Teaching Assistant
Theories of Social Structure (SOC 400), Spring 2014
Teaching Training
Accessibility in the Classroom, 6-week Online Course (Fall 2020)
Creating Anti-Racist Learning Environments Online, Workshop (Fall 2020)
Creating Interactive Content on Moodle, Workshop (Fall 2018)
Teaching Sociology Seminar, SOC 710 (Fall 2014)
PROFESSIONAL SERVICE
University & Department
Co-organizer, Environmental Justice & Health Working Group, 2019 – present
Co-organizer, University Workers COVID-19 Townhall, 2020
Hiring Committee, Hurricane Recovery Interview Specialists, 2018 – 2019
Lead Mentor, Lead Peer Mentoring Collaborative, 2017 – 2018
Cohort Representative, Graduate Student Advisory Board, 2016 – 2017
Climate Survey Committee, Sociology Graduate Student Association, 2015 – 2016
Treasurer, Sociology Graduate Student Association, 2015 – 2016
Cohort Representative, Graduate Student Advisory Board, 2014 – 2015
Finance Committee, Sociology Graduate Student Association, 2014 – 2015
Professional Meetings
Session Presider, “Environmental Change and Inequality,” American Sociological Society, 2019
Session Presider, “Media, Mobilization, and Repression,” Southern Sociological Society, 2019.
Session Presider, “Domestic and International Economic Development,” Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting, 2016
Journal Article Reviewer
American Sociological Review, Environmental Sociology, International Sociology, Social Movement Studies, Social Forces, Social Problems, Sociological Perspectives
PROFESSIONAL MEMBERSHIPS
American Sociological Association
- Environmental Sociology Section
- Indigenous People and Native Nations
- Collective Behavior and Social Movements Section
Association for Environmental Studies and Sciences
Rural Sociological Society
Southern Sociological Society
