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| Centre College Faculty | |
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Telephone: 859-238-5248 |
| Sarah Goodrum is an assistant professor of sociology at Centre College. Prior to joining the faculty in 2003, she was a National Institute of Mental Health postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Behavioral Science at the University of Kentucky. Goodrum’s teaching and research interests include criminology, sociology of law, sociology of emotions, and research methods. She has had articles published in Sociological Inquiry and Sociological Focus. Her most recent research, which was funded by a grant from the National Institute of Justice, examined criminal justice workers' (e.g., detectives, prosecutors, and victim services counselors) management of their and victims' sadness with a focus on a particular group of victims, people who had lost a loved one to murder (bereaved victims). The findings revealed that criminal justice workers perceived bereaved victims as emotionally burdensome. This emotional burden emerged for two reasons: the tremendous depth of bereaved victims’ sadness and workers’ inability to alleviate that sadness through their expressions of sympathy and case work. The article discusses the strategies workers used to manage that emotional burden. Future work will consider the bereaved victims’ perspective. Goodrum seeks to involve students in hands-on research through course assignments that require the collection and analysis of qualitative and quantitative data. These experiences teach students the power of sociological understanding in everyday life and the research skills gained prove helpful in a range of careers and disciplines, including law, medicine, marketing, social services, anthropology, and sociology. Goodrum holds a B.A. degree in Sociology from Texas A&M University and M.A. and Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Texas at Austin.
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