Christopher J. Schneider

Christopher J. Schneider (born April 16, 1979) is an American-born sociologist and associate professor of sociology at Brandon University.^[2] Schneider's research and commentary have been featured in hundreds of news reports across North America^[3][4][5] including the New York Times^[6] and the Vancouver Sun.^[7]

Educational background

Schneider received his B.A. summa cum laude in 2002 from Northeastern Illinois University, with a major in sociology and a minor in criminal justice. Schneider was selected as the NEIU 2002 spring commencement speaker ^[8] He received an M.A. in Sociology with a concentration in Criminology in 2004 from Northern Illinois University^[9] Schneider continued his graduate studies in Justice Studies at Arizona State University. In 2008, he graduated from ASU with a Doctoral Degree in Justice Studies.^[10]

Appointments and positions

While studying toward his M.A. he was an instructor at NIU. From 2004-2008 Schneider was a part-time instructor and a teaching assistant at ASU. After receiving his PhD in Justice Studies in 2008, Schneider began his career as an assistant professor of sociology at the University of British Columbia, Okanagan campus where he taught for six years.^[5] In 2014, Schneider relocated to Wilfrid Laurier University where he was granted tenure and promoted to the position of Associate Professor of Law & Society. He relocated to Brandon University in 2015 where he is presently an associate professor of sociology^[10]

In November 2016, Schneider will hold the Public Visiting Scholar position in the Department of Criminology at WLU, a position offered to a scholar with "innovative research with public appeal" ^[11] He has also been invited to hold the Endowed Chair of Criminology and Criminal Justice position at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada. The Endowed Chair at STU is "offered to a scholar with a well-established record of research." ^[11]

Schneider is a member of various editorial boards, e.g.,,^[12] including the Editorial Board of The Annual Review of Interdisciplinary Justice Research (IJR),^[13] Canada's only interdisciplinary journal of justice studies.^[14]

Areas of research

Schneider's research is qualitative and focuses on how developments in media and technology contribute to changes in social interaction and social control.^[5][15] His book Policing and Social Media illustrates the process by which new information technology—namely, social media—and related changes in communication formats have affected the public face of policing and police work in Canada.^[15] A review in Maclean's Magazine called the book "surprisingly populist".^[16] According to Tom Sandborn in a review published in the Vancouver Sun "Schneider has done a fine job with this study, and anyone in Canada who cares about policing, privacy, civil liberties and personal freedom should read it"^[17] Policing and Social Media reached No. 1 on Amazon’s list of Hot New Releases in Canadian politics the last week of March 2016.^[18]

His work has also focused on the impact of social media on crime related matters including vigilante justice^[19][20][21] and crowd sourced-policing efforts online.^[20][22] Much of this research has examined the role of social media in relation to the 2011 Vancouver Stanley Cup riot^{[19][20][23][24][25]} Some of this research is cited in Policing Canada in the 21st Century: New Policing for New Challenges a 2014 Council of Canadian Academies report that addresses the external and internal challenges facing Canada’s police.^[26] Other related research has explored the impact of social media on policing and police work in Canada^{[27][28][29][30]}

Schneider's research has also focused on popular culture and social control. Some of this work has examined the relationships between media and popular culture including the framing and censorship of rap music,^[31][32] technology and control of student cheating^[33] and the use of mobile phone ringtones as individual ways to manage identity^[34][35] Other work in the area of popular culture has explored celebrity news coverage and TMZ^[36][37]

Other areas of research include public criminology,^[23] public sociology^[38][39] and "e-public sociology"^[40] a form of public sociology that involves publishing sociological materials in online accessible spaces and subsequent interaction with publics in these spaces.^[40][41] Schneider's co-edited book The Public Sociology Debate: Ethics and Engagement more broadly explores the practice of public sociology and moral judgements for sociologists concerned with social justice issues^[42]

Publications

Books

• Schneider, C.J. (2016). Policing and Social Media: Social Control in an Era of New Media. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books | Rowman & Littlefield.
• Hanemaayer, A., & Schneider, C.J. (eds) (2014). The Public Sociology Debate: Ethics and Engagement. Vancouver, BC: University of British Columbia Press.
• Altheide, D., & Schneider, C.J. (2013). Qualitative Media Analysis Second Edition. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
• Aguiar, L., & Schneider, C.J. (eds) (2012). Researching Amongst Elites: Challenges and Opportunities in Studying Up. London: Ashgate.

Journal articles and book chapters

Schneider has published and/or presented more than 50 academic papers (i.e.., journal articles and book chapters). The following list of publications is a sample of his more recent work:

Selected journal articles

• Schneider, C.J. & Simonetto, D. (2016). Public Sociology on Twitter: A Space for Public Pedagogy?. The American Sociologist 1-13. doi: 10.1007/s12108-016-9304-2
• Schneider, C.J. (2016). Police Presentational Strategies on Twitter in Canada. Policing & Society: An International Journal of Research and Policy 26(2): 129-147.
• Schneider, C.J. (2015). Public Criminology and the 2011 Vancouver Riot: Public Perceptions of Crime and Justice in the 21st Century. Radical Criminology Issue 5, Summer: 21-45.
• Schneider, C.J. & Trottier, D. (2013). Social Media and the 2011 Vancouver Riot. Studies in Symbolic Interaction 40: 335-362.
• Schneider, C.J. & Trottier, D. (2012). The 2011 Vancouver Riot and the Role of Facebook in Crowd-Sourced Policing. BC Studies, no 175: 57-72.
• Schneider, C.J. (2011). Constructing the Student Culprit. Cultural Studies Critical Methodologies, 11(5), 434-445.
• Schneider, C.J. (2011). Popular Culture, Rap Music, Bitch and the Development of the Censorship Frame. American Behavioral Scientist, 55: 36-56.
• Schneider, C.J. (2009). The Music Ringtone as an Identity Management Device. Studies in Symbolic Interaction 33: 35-45.

Selected book chapters

• Schneider, C.J. (2015). Meaning Making Online: Vancouver's 2011 Stanley Cup Riot. In Michael Dellwing, Scott Grills and Heinz Bude, editor, Kleine Geheimnissee: Alltagssoziologische Einsichten (trans: Little Secrets: Everyday Sociological Insights), Springer, Germany: 81-102.
• Schneider, C.J. (2015). Police Image Work in an Era of Social Media: YouTube and the 2007 Montebello Summit Protest. In Daniel Trottier and Christian Fuchs, editors, Social Media, Politics and the State: Protests, Revolutions, Riots, Crime and Policing in an Age of Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, Routledge: 227-246.
• Schneider, C.J. (2014). Social Media and e-Public Sociology. In Ariane Hanemaayer and Christopher J. Schneider, editors, The Public Sociology Debate: Ethics and Engagement, University of British Columbia Press: 205-224.
• Schneider, C.J., Hanemaayer, A., & Nolan, K. (2014). Public Teaching as Service Sociology. In A. Javier Trevino and Karen McCormack, editors, Service Sociology and Academic Engagement, Ashgate: 177-190.
• Schneider, C.J. (2012). Examining Elites Using Qualitative Media Analysis: Celebrity News Coverage and TMZ. In L. Aguiar and Christopher J. Schneider, editors, Researching Amongst Elites: Challenges and Opportunities in Studying Up, Ashgate: 103-119.
• Schneider, C.J. (2012). Interacting with News Media Journalists: Reflections of a Sociologist. In Phillip Vannini, editor, Popularizing Research: Engaging New Genres, Media, and Audiences, Peter Lang: 216-220.

Selected awards

• Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction (SSSI) Early-in-Career Award (2016) ^[11][43]
• Distinguished Academics Award (2013) presented by the Confederation of University Faculty Associations of British Columbia^[42][44]
• Award for Teaching Excellence and Innovation (2011) presented by the University of British Columbia^[42][45][46]
• Public Education Through Media Award (2010) presented by the University of British Columbia^[3][47][48]
• Teaching Honour Roll Award (2008-2014; six consecutive awards) presented by the University of British Columbia^[49][50]
• Best Graduate Student Paper Award (2002) presented by the American Society of Criminology Division on Critical Criminology^[51][52]

Selected addresses

• Keynote Address, “Policing Canada in an Age of New Media,” British Columbia Law Enforcement Diversity Network Forum at The Justice Institute of British Columbia, New Westminster, British Columbia, November 4, 2015.^[53]
• Keynote Address, “A Decade of Public Sociology: Pitfalls, Possibilities, and Promises,” Where is Sociology Now Conference at Bishop's University, Sherbrooke, Quebec, October 3, 2014.^[54]
• Keynote Address, “Crime, Media, and Fear,” Building Healthy Communities: Combating Fear and Stigma, John Howard Society, Kelowna, British Columbia, September 26, 2012^[55]
• Keynote Address, “Social Media and Crime: Beyond Borders and Barriers” CrimeStoppers Provincial Training Conference, Kelowna, British Columbia, May 14, 2011^[56]
• Keynote Address, “Social Media: The End of Society?” Okanagan College Employee Learning Conference, Kelowna, British Columbia, August 25/26, 2010^[57]
• Commencement Address, “Tomorrow's Vision: Success and the Future” Northeastern Illinois University Spring Graduation Speaker, Chicago, Illinois May 19, 2002^[8]

Personal life

Schneider is a fan of the Chicago Cubs baseball team having thrown a ceremonial first pitch at a Cubs Major League Baseball spring training game in 2005.^[58][59] Schneider is a cousin of American gay activist and author Dan Savage ^[60] He is a fan of all kinds of music especially heavy metal music and has interacted with members of Metallica,^[61] Anthrax,^[62] and Hatebreed^[63] He has an English Bulldog named Deuce.^[59]

References