Josh Seim

Josh Seim is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston College, affiliated with the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences. His work focuses on the sociologies of work, medicine, welfare, punishment, pedagogy, and ethnographic methods. He holds a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, and has published widely in top journals including *American Sociological Review* and *Social Problems*.

Education:

• B.A., Gonzaga University
• M.S., Portland State University
• Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley

Research Interests: His research explores how institutions like healthcare systems, welfare offices, and penal institutions interact with urban poverty. Recent projects include studies on ambulance crews’ labor processes, welfare bureaucracy, and post-prison labor. His writing also emphasizes pedagogical innovation in sociology teaching and ethnographic methodological rigor. Key themes include the governance of suffering, medical labor, and carceral systems.

Publications & Books:

• Bandage, Sort, and Hustle: Ambulance Crews on the Front Lines of Urban Suffering (UC Press, 2020)
• The Welfare Assembly Line: Public Servants in the Suffering City (forthcoming UC Press, 2026)

Teaching:

• Sociology 7715: Classical Sociological Theory (graduate)
• Sociology 7716: Contemporary Sociological Theory (graduate)