معرفی
Jonathan T. Church serves as Department Chair & Professor of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminal Justice at Arcadia University (formerly Beaver College). A cultural anthropologist, he conducts ethnographic research in Shetland Islands and online gaming communities, with expertise in language dialect preservation, identity politics, neoliberalism in higher education, and online pedagogy. He earned his PhD from Temple University and holds ongoing appointments including Research Fellow at Drexel University (2000–present).
Education:
- Ph.D. in Cultural Anthropology, Temple University
His research examines identity formation through language politics in Shetland, commodification of knowledge in digital academia, and gender authenticity in virtual worlds. Key themes include neoliberal restructuring of universities, ethical implications of the Common Rule, and HIV/AIDS sociocultural dynamics, consistently applying ethnographic methods to both physical and digital landscapes.
Publication trends reveal a progression from Shetland-focused historical anthropology (1990s) to critical analyses of online gaming and academic commodification (2000s–2013), highlighting interdisciplinary intersections between cultural studies, education policy, and digital media ethics without fragmenting individual works.
Scientific awards:
- Faculty Inductee, Phi Kappa Phi (2005)
- Lindback Distinguished Teaching Award, Beaver College (1998)
- Bernard C. Watson Award for Outstanding Dissertation, Temple University (1990)
He has advised graduate students in cultural anthropology and sociology while securing extensive grant support, including two Arcadia University Faculty Development Fund grants for Shetland Islands research (2004, 2006), Beaver College grants for Asheron's Call (1999) and Shetland (1995), a Mellon Foundation grant for techno-pedagogy collaboration (2000–2002), Fulbright Scholarship (1984–1985), and Temple University fellowships.
As director of Arcadia's anthropology program, he leads collaborative research initiatives such as the Mellon Foundation-funded 'Talking Toward Techno-Pedagogy' project, bridging ethnographic practice with digital education innovation.
