Deb Lowry (Sociology) | University of Montevallo

Dr. Deborah Lowry earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from Michigan State University in 2008, completing a dissertation that wove together her interests in demography, the sociology of aging and the life course, and social changes in contemporary China. Following a postdoctoral research fellowship at the University of Michigan Population Studies Center, Dr. Lowry found a professional home in the classroom and has spent the past fourteen years engaging students in the study of social life. Her teaching emphasizes the application of critical reasoning and systems thinking to real-world issues, encouraging students to develop the skills to use sociological insights to inform decision-making, deepen their understanding of human behavior, and improve quality of life. She is the author of Aging and the Life Course: Social and Cultural Contexts.

Dr. Lowry is currently co-editing a volume that explores how social media is shaping, and being shaped by, family dynamics across the life course. She is also developing a new course on the sociology of science, knowledge, and technology, which explores how scholarship and scientific knowledge are socially produced, validated, and shaped by cultural and institutional contexts.