School of Humanities and Social Sciences

Julia Flagg '11

Job: Associate Professor of Sociology and Environmental Studies, Director of the Environmental Studies Program at Connecticut College Major(s): Sociology and Spanish

An interview with Julia

What was your hometown when you came to TCNJ?

Montvale, NJ

Where do you currently call your hometown?

Portland, CT

When you were studying here, where did you picture yourself after graduation?

I really wanted to go to graduate school, learn more about Sociology, get experience teaching, and become a professor. As for what I *thought* I might be doing, I spent a lot of time thinking I would never achieve those goals. A lot of mentors helped me along the way, including several TCNJ professors, and I am so grateful for their support!

What was your first job after graduating?

I went straight to graduate school in an MA/PhD program in Sociology at Rutgers University. While a student, I was also working as a teaching assistant in the Department of Human Ecology, also at Rutgers.

How do you use your Sociology degree in your current career and other activities?

I teach 4 different Sociology and Environmental Studies classes at Connecticut College: 1) Nature and Society (an intro course), 2) Climate and Society (a 200-level course), 3) Sociology of the Environment (a seminar), and 4) Disasters (a 400-level seminar). I learned a lot about these diverse topics in my coursework at TCNJ. Since graduating, I have published peer-reviewed articles that use both quantitative and qualitative methods. People I met along the way in my career were astounded by the training I received in research methods at TCNJ. I use the knowledge I gained in the research methods course all the time. I also recently published a book and used a lot of the writing/revising skills I gained at TCNJ in the process. One final thing is that my classes at TCNJ taught me a lot about other people's experiences. That gave me a deeper sense of empathy for others, which carries into my career but also just my life in general. I'll provide one example. I took a class on Global Public Health at TCNJ with Professor Adler. I decided to do my final paper in that class on Type 2 diabetes in India, a topic I really knew nothing about. But I was curious about it because as a lifelong Type 1 diabetic, I had some misconceptions about the struggles Type 2 diabetics face. As embarrassing as it now is to say, at the time I thought Type 2 diabetics often struggled because they didn't put in enough effort to manage their diseases. Well, those ideas were quickly dispelled through that research project. I learned so much about health insurance coverage, health insurance gaps, the role of inequality, the structural barriers to better diabetes coverage and care, etc. It really changed my entire understanding of health and illness and helped me see and understand people's experiences in new, more nuanced ways. I'm forever grateful for the experience.

What is your favorite "major memory" from your time as a Sociology student?

Can I only list one? I have so many! My advising meetings with Professor Bates stand out as one of my favorite "major memories." Besides for the fact that I just loved talking to her, she helped me figure out what to do after TCNJ. That experience made me so passionate about teaching and advising and is one of the best parts of my current job. I also took a research class with Professor Li, where I worked with a small group of students and learned how to find peer-reviewed literature about a specific topic. I learned so much! I also did a senior thesis on the recycling program at TCNJ, where I got experience collecting data, analyzing data, writing a literature review, revising, etc. etc. I still think about my Intro to Soc class (8:30am on Mondays!), where we talked about the price of oil in class each day (this was fall 2007). That experience completely opened my eyes to the world around me and made me want to major in a field I had never heard of. I have so many good memories!!

What is some advice you would give to your undergraduate self?

Take more classes in disciplines that I know nothing about. I was very laser-focused on Sociology, Spanish, and Environmental Studies, and to be clear, this worked well for me and definitely helped me in my future endeavors. But I look back and realize there are several disciplines I never even contemplated taking a class in. It would be easier said than done, but I think I would advise my undergraduate self to take a couple of classes in disciplines/ topics I know nothing about. Of course, learning is a lifelong process, but it would have been nice to have some of the foundational knowledge about a discipline from a college course.