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Jessamin Birdsall, Ph.D.Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology
On Faculty since 2024
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- Education
- Biography
- Areas of expertise
- Selected publications
- Professional affiliations
- Courses taught
- Research
Regent College
- Graduate Diploma in Christian Studies, 2024
Princeton University
- Ph.D., Sociology and Social Policy, 2021
Princeton University
- M.A., Sociology, 2017
Harvard University
- B.A., Sociology, 2010
Dr. Birdsall holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and Social Policy from Princeton University. Her research interests lie at the intersection of religion, race and ethnicity, social boundaries, and inequality. Current projects explore white evangelical political engagement in the US and evangelical attitudes towards racial diversity in the UK.
Prior to teaching at Wheaton, Dr. Birdsall spent two years at Regent College, integrating theological study with her sociological training and serving as a Scholar-in-Residence. Dr. Birdsall has previously worked in program development and research and evaluation for non-governmental and faith-based organizations in Delhi and London. She and her husband also served at L'Abri Fellowship in England.
A Third Culture Kid, Dr. Birdsall grew up between Japan and the US. She is passionate about bringing sociological insight and biblical truth together to understand and address pressing contemporary issues around identity, inter-group relations, church life, and political engagement.
- Religion
- Evangelicalism
- Race and ethnicity
- Immigration
- Inequality
- Qualitative methods
- Applied sociology
- Healing the divides: How every Christian can advance God's vision for racial justice and unity (with Jason Roach). 2022. Good Book Company.
- "The Meaning of 'Woke" is Changing." Premier Christianity. July 2022.
- "Comfort, Fear, and Hospitality: Reflections on My Time with Trump Voters" in Keeping the Faith: Reflections on Politics & Christianity in the era of Trump & Beyond. 2020. Middletown, DE: KTF Press LLC.
- "Evangelicals, Race & the Gospel" Evangelicals Now. December 2017.
- "White Evangelicals for Trump" Books and Ideas. November 2016.
- American Sociological Association
- Society for the Scientific Study of Religion
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Introduction to Sociology
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Sociology of Religion
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Social Life of Cities
Dr. Birdsall's research interests lie at the intersection of religion, race and ethnicity, social boundaries, and inequality. She has conducted research in the US, US, India, and Fiji.