Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at Missouri State University
About
Abby Templer Rodrigues is an assistant professor of sociology at Missouri State University. She received her PhD in sociology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst along with a graduate certificate in advanced feminist studies.
Current Work:
Dr. Templer Rodrigues studies artists and artisans and rural, creativity-based economic development. Her research utilized peer interviewing as part of a participatory action research project to analyze (1) the formal and informal economic activity of artists and artisans and the wide range of non-market values that drive their economic activity; (2) the disjuncture between these diverse practices and values and the market-focused creativity-based development strategies linked with gentrification; (3) the role that this disjuncture plays in intensifying economic vulnerabilities for women artists, artists of color, artists from working class backgrounds, and artists with caregiving responsibilities; and (4) the role of community-engaged methods as one way to bring more artists and artisans into local creativity-based development planning.
Research Area Keyword(s):
Community-based research; creative economy; diverse economies; race, class, and gender; feminist research methods