Sharon Elise, Ph.D.
Professor of Sociology and Department ChairCSU, San Marcos, San Marcos, California, USA
Telephone: (760) 750-4165
E-Mail: selise@csusm.edu
2007-08 Chair, Search Committee for Critical Race Studies position
Coordinator, Ethnic Studies Program
Coordinator, MA in Sociological Practice
CSU San Marcos Representative to Council for Affirmative Action
& Board Member, CSUSM Chapter, California Faculty Assoc.
COURSES
Fall 07 SOC 313 Race & Ethnic Relations
SOC 373 Race, Gender & Work
Spring 08 SOC 313 Race & Ethnic Relations
SOC 463 Seminar in White Privilege
SOC 467 Critical Race Theory
EDUCATION
1990 Ph.D. Sociology, University of Oregon
Routes to Teenage Motherhood: African, Native & Euro-Americans
1982 M.S., Sociology, University of Oregon
1975 B.A., History, Third College, University of California San Diego
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2005 “How Whites Play Their rAce Card: Drylongso Stories Reveal ‘the Game,’” Sociological Perspectives, Vol. 47: 4, 45 pages.
1995 Chapter, "Teenaged Mothers: A Sense of Self." In Female-Headed Households: African American Women's Perspectives, Editor Bette J. Dickerson, Sage Press: Race and Ethnic Relations Series, pp. 53-79.
1994 Chapter, "Women of Color: In Search of Gender." In (1994) anthology, Gender: Multicultural Perspectives, editor Judith Gonzalez, Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt Publishing Company.
1992 "Spike Lee Constructs the New Black Man: Mo'Better," (coauthored with Dr. Adewole Umoja). Western Journal of Black Studies Volume 16 (2).
1992-6 Co-Managing Editor: Wazo Weusi: A Journal of Black Thought. Editorial collective comprised of Black faculty and students at Fresno State University. Target audience: Black community members.
Published Volumes:
Building a Black Agenda
Blacks in the Diaspora
Cuba: Facing Down Imperialism
RESEARCH PROJECTS
1995 – present “Race, Identity, and Community: Blacks in San Diego County.” Qualitative interviews of a multicultural sample of Black residents of San Diego County including immigrants from Africa, South America and the Caribbean. Ongoing project includes continuous identification of participants, intensive (1-2 hours) interviews, and data analysis.
2006 extended to include representations of Blackness, and explorations of Black race and identity in Latino context.
2003–4 “Black Student Retention Study, CSU San Marcos,” (principal investigator) with Garry Rolison, for the African American Advisory Council, CSU San Marcos.
2005 Community Research Partners, Trainings in Focus Group Research Methods for use by Community Researchers for Investigations of Barriers to Black Health, (co-investigator) with Garry Rolison, for the North County African American Health Coalition & Vista Community Clinic.
SELECTED POETRY
2007 “Untitled,” Inaugural edition, San Diego Poetry Annual.2007.
A woman is ironed between these lines
She presses past this page and leans into the margin
Her hands folded over the edge of this paper
Where she disappears
2005 “The Sun Rose Again,” in Sunshine/Noir, City Works Press, San Diego.
The sun rose again, sent shimmers across waves
That crested and washed the debris of shells and bottles
And old beach gear upon the sand
Spread flat and damp below treacherous
Cliffs that chip in chunks, send squirrels flying
Mansion dwellers shooting concrete pilings
Down to solid ground 8 stories below homes
Look down across the beach and out to the pacific
Lean into wind and away from the highway
Where tourists and valley visitors, surfers and muscled cyclists,
Old men with dogs, power walkers goose stepping to cds,
Runners indecent in open flapped trunks
Stream in both directions
Past cafes and coffee shops, thrift stores and boutiques,
Restaurants with patios open to splashing waves and seagulls
Where clerks and waitresses snub the clientele to show
How little they need them and their money, spent freely
While Mexican busboys and gardeners and maids keep
It all clean for such little money they live
Crowded in two bedroom duplexes, spilling out into driveways
Crammed with fix it yourself cuz you don’t have the money
And make it yourself cuz you don’t have the money projects
Neighborhoods packed and temporary between mansions
Springing up stucco and spreading high and wide for
Panoramic ocean views
In a place where some people just don’t see each other
See each other, see each other
Even in the democracy of grocery store lines where
Inequality lies in the gaze and hello shared or not and with whom
Even clerks save smiles and little “what a day I’ve had” gossip
For people who speak English, haven’t bothered to learn or won’t
Use a little como esta ustedes? And que bonita la niña!
Or meet the open dark eyes with a smile,
These are not “beach people,” (who were always black and brown)
Those are designated by bleached blond hair and skin that reddens and
Cracks in the sun, these are those others who live on other streets in
Crowded homes, whose women walk clusters of children, hands linked
To school and from school, pushing a stroller with old wobbly tires,
Wearing slippers and scarves and shawls, their bodies covered
Contrast to the business suits and tennis outfits of soccer moms.
These are not the children who come to the park to play, or
Spend the night with friends, or gossip on the computer chat line.
They will meet later in my college classroom and they still will not speak
Or smile, will not choose any other for group projects,
For life will stay strangers under the same shimmering sun, lives
Eroding and chipping away in chunks, spilling down the cliff to the ocean floor.
