Dr. Shannon Anderson
Associate Professor
Director of Strategic Health Initiatives
Department: Sociology and Public Health
Office: 304 Trout Hall
540-378-5104
slanderson@roanoke.edu
Degrees
B.A., Tulane University 1994
M.A., Ph.D., University of Virginia 2007
Research & Teaching Interests
Dr. Shannon Latkin Anderson joined the Department of Sociology and Public Health at Roanoke College in 2010. Now serving as Director of Strategic Health Initiatives, Anderson's role at the college has expanded beyond her teaching and research into developing and managing partnerships with organizations in our local health ecosystem. Anderson teaches courses in the core of the sociology major, such as Introduction to Sociology and Social Theory. In 2017-2018, Roanoke College introduced its new Public Health Studies program, with Anderson as Coordinator, working not only with students and faculty here on campus, but connecting with local health institutions and organizations as well. More recently, Anderson collaborated with colleagues at the college and at Carilion Clinic (the major health system in the Roanoke Valley and the region's largest employer) to develop a partnership with an emphasis on non-clinical opportunities. This focus is a novel one but one that creates new opportunities for students and faculty to grow their skills through internships and research, and also to contribute in meaningful ways to the overall health of our region. Given her experience working in clinical research at the University of North Carolina Medical School in the early years of her career, this opportunity to introduce the study of population health through a social science lens is one Dr. Anderson relishes. Before arriving in Salem, Anderson taught at the University of Virginia, Washington and Lee University, and Hollins University.
Prior to coming to Roanoke College, Dr. Anderson spent time as a doctoral and postdoctoral fellow with the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia, where she completed her doctorate and served as a lecturer. During this time Anderson's research was in comparative historical sociology, with a focus on ethnic and national identity. Her book, Immigration, Assimilation, and the Cultural Construction of American National Identity, examined the relationship between immigration and other social factors with stories of national identity over the course of the twentieth century. The narrative arc is provocative, with a key finding suggesting that high levels of immigration precede resurgences of nativist national identities and politics. In our current historical moment there are significant resonances in political discourse with those from the first quarter of the twentieth-century.
Here on campus Anderson is activley involved in one-on-one research with students, advising especially in the areas of public health and other health professions, and participating in events focusing on social and health issues. Though much of her work deals with difficult and sometimes frustrating issues, Anderson reminds students repeatedly that her excitement about teaching in applied fields is that social change can happen only when we understand the underlying causes of problems. Problem-solving is a key focus in any course, study, or aspect of life, and building the knowledge and skills and mindset to take on challenges is central to Anderson's pedagogy.
Books
Immigration, Assimilation, and the Cultural Construction of American National Identity. 2015. New York: Routledge.
Recent Publications
"Enriching surgical residency training through the liberal arts" The American Journal of Surgery, Nov. 30, 2020.
"The Immigration Question Remains: Unison or Harmony?" The Richmond Times-Dispatch, May 28, 2016.
"Understanding the New Nationalism" The Virginian-Pilot, July 24, 2016.
Available as a Media resource for the following topics
Public health: HIV, autism, women's health, general (covid, health disparities, health care systems, etc.)
Public health education (undergraduate)
Sociology: race, ethnicity, national identity
Community partnerships
Health equity
Community based learning
Community well-being
Examples:
- American identity
- Autism and society (not biomedical)
- Immigration and assimilation
- Gender and sexuality
- Sexual assault
- Intimate partner violence
- Social determinants of health
- International service learning
Willing to speak to professional, social or civic groups on
Public health: HIV, autism, women's health, general (covid, health disparities, health care systems, etc.)
Public health education (undergraduate)
Sociology: race, ethnicity, national identity
Community partnerships
Health equity
Community based learning
Community well-being
Examples:
- American identity
- Autism and society (not biomedical)
- Immigration and assimilation
- Gender and sexuality
- Sexual assault
- Intimate partner violence
- Social determinants of health
- International service learning