Rate My Professor Matt Aronson

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

Aronson's academic research focuses on symbolic interactionism, sociology of education, life-course stratification, and survival analysis with longitudinal survey data. At Western Colorado University, he teaches courses including Deviance, Introduction to Sociology, Sociological Theory, The Family, Quantitative Research Methods, Self & Society, Social Problems, Sociology of Education, Sociology of Sexualities, and American Indians in Sociological Perspective. He serves as faculty advisor for the Sociology Club/AKD, Spectrum, and the Native American Student Council, and as Graduate Director for the Master of Behavioral Science in Rural Community Health. His peer-reviewed 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).