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Abby
Fuller
Brad Yoder
Cheri Krueckeberg
Robert Pettit
Barb Burdge

Abby Fuller, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology
Interim Director of Peace Studies
aafuller@manchester.edu
260.982.5009
Abby's Homepage (see more pictures and read Abby's research)
I
joined the department in 1996, coming from the University of Colorado.
I teach courses in research methods, racial-ethnic and gender
inequality, social stratification, social movements, and cultural
anthropology. My research looks at different aspects of U.S. movements
for peace and social justice, and at the junction of social and
political activism and academia.
I
have two daughters, Josephine (Scout) and Leonore (Leo).
My partner, Neil Wollman, is a former psychology professor who is now
a full-time activist. I also serve on the Board of Directors of
Manchester Community Day Care and on the Steering Committee of the
North Manchester Fellowship of Reconciliation. In my spare time (when
I have any), I like to read, listen to the news, visit my parents and
sisters in Massachusetts, and work on my garden and house.
Abby
teaches:
SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology
SOC/SOWK 222 Social Research Methods
SOC/SOWK 228 Racial, Ethnic,& Gender Group Relations
SOC 275 Practicum in Sociology
SOC 311 Cultural Anthropology
SOC 328 Social Movements
SOC 345 Class, Status, and Power
Brad Yoder, MSW, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology and Social Work
blyoder@manchester.edu
260.982.5366
Brad teaches:
SOC 223 Deviance and Social Control
SOC/SOWK 233 Social
Welfare as an Institution
SOC/SOWK 244
Criminal Behavior and the Criminal Justice System
SOWK 275 Practicum
in Human Services (criminal justice placements)
SOC 335 Sociology of
Family
SOC/SOWK 340 Youth
and the Juvenile Justice System
SOWK 350 Policy and Practice Issues in Social Welfare
SOWK 366 Social
Service Policy
SOWK 477 Social
Work Practice II

Barb Burdge, MSW
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Social Work Program Director
bjburdge@manchester.edu
260.982.5365
I came to Manchester College in 2003.
In addition to my role as Social Work Program Director, I teach senior level social work classes, including Social Work
Practice I and Field Instruction. I have several years of
direct social work practice experience in the fields of child
welfare and mental health. My current areas of interest
include diversity education for social justice, LGBT civil rights,
and the implications of gender identity for social work practice. I am pursuing a Ph.D. in Social
Work through Indiana University.
I love to travel and have spent time
in many parts of the U.S. plus Paraguay, Poland, Germany, Mexico,
Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland. My next journeys will
be to Jamaica and Thailand. Spending time outside is
important to me, so I
go camping several times a year, bicycle and swim often, and work many
hours in my yard. I also try to spend as much
time as possible to with family and friends. I am an animal
lover, too. I have a perfect border collie, a bossy Australian
shepherd, a fat and lazy black cat, and two stunning horses.
Barb teaches:
SOWK 275 Practicum
in Human Services (general placements)
SOWK 375 Social
Work Practice I
SOWK 475 Field
Instruction
SOWK 476 Field
Instruction Seminar
Robert Pettit, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology and Social Work
Chair, Dept. of Sociology and Social Work
rbpettit@manchester.edu
260.982.5078
B.A. (Religion and Philosophy), Baylor
University, 1967
Master of Theological Studies (Religion and Society), Harvard Divinity
School, 1969 Ph.D. (Sociology), Columbia University, 1986
My academic and
intellectual path from where I began to where I am now was a long and
winding road. At various times in my life I have considered careers as
a "spaceman" or astronomer, an imagineer for Walt Disney Studios, or a
college teacher of English, philosophy, or Christian social ethics.
(Is it any wonder that I encourage students to explore across the
liberal arts in search of their own hearts' desires?). Although I had
two undergraduate courses in sociology, I must painfully admit that I
found them to be terminally boring and irrelevant (a response I work
hard to prevent in my own students). It was not until my second year
of graduate theological studies that I discovered the pleasures and
challenges of a sociological perspective (reading works by the
sociologist Peter Berger), and I was hooked from then on.
If there are any
threads of continuity that run through my sociological interests, they
might include: (1) I am unceasingly intrigued at how humans construct
and maintain socially shared meanings, especially concerning
sexuality, gender, family, and religion. (2) I have an abiding
fascination with popular culture, examining how it reflects the most
commonly shared attitudes, beliefs, and knowledge of our society (for
better or worse!).
Perhaps the most
unusual course I teach is a January term course, "Disney and American
Culture." In this class I follow the lead of anthropologist Richard
Fjellman, who has written: "Not only does an analysis of WDW [Walt
Disney World] require some attention to its political, economic,
social, and cultural context, but that context itself--a particular
version of America--relies in many ways on the stories told to
millions of people by the Walt Disney Company. To explain WDW, then,
is to explain a good deal about twentieth-century America." My class
and I spend a week and a half on campus in intensive reading and
discussion, then a week in Walt Disney World. Yes, we have fun, but
I'm confident that my students would assure you that this is no
"Mickey Mouse" course, but rather a challenging academic exploration
of our society's values and social structures.
I live in Fort
Wayne, Indiana, with my wife, Christen; my two daughters, Tess and
Brynn; two cats, Moses and Cooper; and a miniature dachshund, Maisie.
In our spare time we enjoy watching Tess and Brynn perform their many
improvised ballets and dramatic productions.
Robert teaches:
SOC 101 Introduction to Sociology
SOC 230 Aspects of
Popular Culture (including Disney and
American Culture, American Culture and Politics Through Film, The
Sixties)
SOC 240 Sociological Theory
SOC 305 Self and
Society
SOC 333 Sexuality &
Gender in Society
SOC 347 Sociology of
Religion
SOC 440 Senior Seminar
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