Joseph Jakubek

Dr. Joseph Jakubek serves as Assistant Teaching Professor and Internship Coordinator in the Department of Sociology at Appalachian State University's College of Arts & Sciences, joining the faculty in 2019. He teaches foundational courses including The Sociological Perspective (SOC 1000), Social Problems in American Society (SOC 1100), and specialized offerings like Sociology of Appalachian Communities (SOC 3710) and Sociology of Sport (SOC 2700), while guiding students through internship placements for career preparation.

His research centers on rural sociology with emphases on social and economic development strategies in rural spaces, community change dynamics, and Appalachian regional studies. This work integrates community capitals frameworks to analyze sustainable development challenges, particularly examining how rural communities navigate economic transitions and social transformations through empirical fieldwork and historical analysis.

Recent publications reveal consistent scholarly engagement with race, historical sociology, and rural economies—including reviews of civil rights food politics and W.E.B. Du Bois scholarship, plus original research on biofuels value chains. These works demonstrate interdisciplinary connections between rural development, African American studies, and environmental sociology through critical examination of community resilience and resource systems.

As Internship Coordinator, Dr. Jakubek develops structured pathways connecting sociology majors with practical field experiences. He oversees SOC 4900 Internship courses, facilitating student placements while aligning academic theory with professional practice across community organizations and research settings, thereby strengthening career readiness through supervised experiential learning.