James Coleman

Professor of Sociology

Office: 47-12K
Phone: (805) 756-1230
Email: jcoleman@calpoly.edu
 

 

B.A., California State University, Northridge (1969)
M.A., University of California, Santa Barbara (1971)
Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara (1975)
Research Interests:

Dr. Coleman is currently working on several research projects. They include the Social Foundations of Western Buddhism, the Sociology of White Collar Crime, and the Political Economy of the World System.

Some of his past research consists of the Sociology of White Collar Crime, the Sociology of Social Problems, and the Sociology of Drug Use. Coleman has published several sociology texts which are currently being widely used.

Currently, Dr. Coleman oversees various internships within the Social Sciences Department and is available to assist students in their chosen careers.

Courses:
SOC 105 - Introduction to Sociology
SOC 309 - World System
SOC 310 - Self & Society
SOC 355 - Research Methods
SOC 402 - Crime & Delinquency
Recent Publications:

Books:

"The New Buddhism:  Some Empirical Findings" in American Buddhism Transformed (forthcoming University of Hawaii Press).
Social Problems [7th ed.], New York: Harper Collins, 1999.
The Criminal Elite: The Sociology of White Collar Crime [4th edition], New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998.
"Subculture and Deviant Behavior in the Organization Context" research in the sociology of organizations (1998) pp. 3-33 (with Linda L. Ramos).
Articles and Reviews:
"The New Buddhism," Buddhism in America Conference, Harvard University, 1997.
"Buddhism and Economic Development: The Case of Korea" Korea Fulbright Forum: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Korea 12, May 1996. pp. 41-52
Respectable Crime, in Joseph Sheley (ed.) Handbook of Criminology, Second Edition (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1995) pp. 249 to 270.
Review of Joachin J. Salvelsberg, Constructing White Collar Crime: Rationalities, Commonalities and Power American Journal of Sociology, January 1995 pg. 1094-1096.
"Motivation and Opportunity: Understanding the Causes of White-Collar Crime," in White Collar Crime [3rd edition], edited by Gilbert Geis, Robert Meir, and Lawrence Salinger, New York: The Free Press, 1994.
"The Theory of White Collar Crime," in White Collar Crime Reconsidered, edited by Kip Schlegel and David Weisburd, Boston: Northeastern University Press, 1992.
Crime and Money: Motivation and Opportunity in a Monetarized Economy," American Behavioral Scientists 6, July 1992 pg 827-836.
Review of "Occupational Crime" in Contemporary Sociology 20 March, 1991 pg 273-274.
Recent Public Presentations:
"The Social Foundations of American Zen," Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, St. Louis, MO., October 29, 1995
"Money and Criminality: Motivation, Opportunity and the Computer Revolution," Society for the Study of Social Problems, Pittsburgh, PA, August 20, 1992.
"Theories of White Collar Crime: From Sutherland to the 1990s," presented at the Sutherland Conference on White Collar Crime, Indiana University, Spring 1990.