UNC Asheville Professor Karin Peterson Receives Prestigious Sociology Award

Karin Peterson, UNC Asheville assistant professor of sociology, recently received the Distinguished Contribution to “Sociological Perspectives” Award from the Pacific Sociological Association. The award is given once every two years for outstanding work published in the Association’s journal, “Sociological Perspectives.” Peterson’s article, “Discourse and Display: The Modern Eye, Entrepreneurship and the Cultural Transformation of the Patchwork Quilt,” was published in 2004.

Peterson, who joined the UNC Asheville faculty in 1999, is assistant professor of sociology. Her research focuses include the sociology of art and the bridge between sociology, economics and cultural studies. Peterson studied extensively in Paris and holds sociology degrees from the Universite de Paris and an advanced degree from the Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales, where she completed a thesis on Parisian art dealers. She also holds a doctorate in sociology from the University of Virginia.

The Pacific Sociological Association was established in 1929 to promote sociological research and instruction on the west coast. Membership now includes professors and students from across the Northern Hemisphere.

Media Contact:

• Jill Yarnall, UNC Asheville Public Information Assistant Director, 828/251-6526