David Dickens
Professor of Sociology
Department of Sociology
Biography
David Dickens' areas of specialization include critical and postmodern theory, qualitative methods, culture, and development. Dickens joined the UNLV department of sociology in 1984 and has published research in Symbolic Interaction, Postmodernism and Social Inquiry, Sociological Perspectives, Studies in Symbolic Interaction,Gaming Research and Review Journal, and the International Journal of Comparative Sociology.
Recent Courses Taught
- SOC 795 — Seminar on Postmodernism
- SOC 795 — Seminar on Critical Theory
- SOC 701 — Logic of Social Inquiry
- SOC 497/697 — Celebrity Culture
- SOC 724 — Contemporary Sociological Theory
Current Research Projects
- Economies of Fascination: Las Vegas and Dubai
This collaborative project (with Heiko Schmid of the University of Heidelberg, Germany) examines the similarities and differences between Las Vegas and Dubai as commodified spectacles. - Theorizing the Postmodern Transition
In this research he proposes a conceptualization of contemporary society as one of transition between modern, industrial and postmodern, postindustrial society based on the neo-Marxist theory of late capitalism and Durkheim's concept of anomie. - Critical Theory of Postmodernism
Here he offers an updating and reconceptualization of aspects from the Frankfurt School of critical theory. Particular emphasis is placed on contemporary changes in political economy as well as the culture industry.
Books
- Las Vegas: The Social Production of an All-American City
Wiley-Blackwell Publishing, January 2000. Also translated into Chinese and Korean.
