Biography and expertise
My interest in sociology can be traced back to high school in Chicago, where it served as an intellectual context for the fascinating social and cultural changes taking place in the 1960s. I majored in sociology all the way through my doctorate at the University of California at San Diego. My wife, Polly, and I raised three children while I taught at the University of Houston for 30 years and chaired the Department of Sociology. We moved to Wimberley in 2010 to engage in the rich intellectual fervent being generated at Texas State University and to enjoy the peaceful, small town/country lifestyle of the Texas Hill Country.
Education
Doctorate Degree
PhD in Sociology
Univ of California-San Diego, 1980
Master's Degree
MA in Sociology
Arizona State University, 1975
Bachelor's Degree
BA in Sociology-Anthropology
Illinois State University, 1969
Teaching Interests
Research Interests
Featured grants
- Kotarba, Joseph A (Principal). Analysis of the 2-1-1 Texas Information and Referral Network Website and Area Information Center data, The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs, State, $52000. (Funded: 2014). Grant.
- Kotarba, Joseph A. Toward a Vision of Diversity in Science and Society, Committee for Equity and Access, Texas State University, $5000. (Funded: April 25, 2018 - May 3, 2018). Grant.
- Kotarba, Joseph (Principal), Wyvagg, Jonathan (Co-Principal). A Needs Assessment Study for the Texas Veterans Commission, TVC, State, $95000. (Funded: August 2015 - June 2016). Grant.
- Kotarba, Joseph (Principal). Symbolic Interactionist Takes on Music: The Couch-Stone Symposium, The Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction, Private / Foundation / Corporate, $20000. (Funded: 2014). Grant.
- Kotarba, Joseph A (Principal). John Johnson Lecture, Texas State University, University Lecturers Committee, $3500. (Funded: 2013). Grant.
Featured scholarly/creative works
- Director, Sociological Views on "Systems".
October 1, 2023 - May 2024.
Showings:
- College of Liberal Arts. January 1, 2023 - May 1, 2024 Internet system, Texas State University.
- Kotarba, J. A. (2023). Exploring Team Dynamics During the Development of a Multi-Insitutional Cross-Disciplinary Translational Team: Implications for Potential Best Practices. Journal of Clinical and Translational Science, 6(October), 1–7.
- Kotarba, J. A. (2023). Music. In The Oxford Handbook of Symbolic Interaction. London, UK: Oxford University Press.
- Kotarba, J. A., & Melnikov, A. (2023). Existential Sociology. In Routledge International Handbook of Existential Human Science (pp. 12–22). Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
- Kotarba, J. A. (2023). Music in the Course of Life. New York, NY, U.S.A.: Routledge.
Featured awards
- Award / Honor Recipient: Plenary Session Presentation, European Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction. June 2024 - Present
- Award / Honor Recipient: Chair, Meet the Author Panel. 2026
- Award / Honor Recipient: The oH Project: Oral Histories of HIV/AIDS in Houston..., The Woodson Research Center at Rice University. 2017 - May 2026
- Award / Honor Recipient: Keynote Address, European Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction. June 2024 - 2024
- Award / Honor Recipient: “Local Authors Celebration” Wimberley, Texas Village Library (multi-media display), Wimberley Village Library Board of Directors. October 14, 2023
Featured service activities
- Reviewer / Referee
The Fulbright Scholar Program
- Member
Athletic Advisory Council
- Member
Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects
- Other
Science, Knowledge, and Technology Section of the ASA (2024-present)
- Member
Retirement and Benefit Programs Committee
- Chair
Friends of Woodcreek Foundation