Rate My Professor Matt Aronson

Matt Aronson is Professor of Sociology in the Behavioral and Social Sciences Department at Western Colorado University. He holds a B.A. in Native American Studies and Sociology with an emphasis in Rural and Environmental Change from the University of Montana (2000), an M.A. in Sociology from Colorado State University (2004), and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Colorado State University (2015). Before joining Western, Aronson taught sociology at Colorado State University in Fort Collins and briefly at Regis University in Denver. As a researcher for OMNI Inc., he contributed to projects funded by the National Science Foundation, United Way, University of California, and others. His applied research involved conducting interviews and focus groups with homeless youth in Denver, classroom observations of kindergarteners interacting with science exhibits, and in-depth interviews with environmental activists and high-level bureaucrats at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. In 2009, he served on the steering committee for the Economic Prosperity and Poverty Reduction Task Force convened by members of the Colorado state legislature and participated in community initiatives such as Pathways Past Poverty funded by the United Way of Larimer County.

Aronson's research specializations include symbolic interactionism, the sociology of education, life-course stratification, and survival analysis with longitudinal survey data. Key publications include Aronson, M. and S. Bialostok. 2016. “Do Some Wondering: Children and Their Self-Understanding Selves in Early Elementary Classrooms.” Symbolic Interaction 39(2); and Bialostok, S. and M. Aronson. 2016. “Making Emotional Connections in the Age of Neoliberalism.” Ethos 44(2). At Western, he teaches courses including Deviance, Introduction to Sociology, Sociological Theory, The Family, Quantitative Research Methods, Self and Society, Social Problems, Sociology of Education, Sociology of Sexualities, and American Indians in Sociological Perspective. Aronson serves as faculty advisor for the Sociology Club/AKD, Spectrum, and Native American Student Council, and has been involved in graduate programs such as the Master of Behavioral Science in Rural Behavioral Health.