James Cook — Curriculum Vitae
James M. Cook, Ph.D.
207-706-6056 | jamescook@realsociology.com
ORCid: 0000-0003-3705-8540 | Google Scholar: Profile | Vitae: Printable PDF
Professional Expertise
Curriculum design, teaching and training, quantitative and qualitative research, data management, visualization, and reporting, strategic, administrative, and project management, non-profit leadership, community organizing and development, arts organization, civic engagement, shared governance, staff and volunteer supervision, peer review, meeting facilitation and documentation, event planning and production, public speaking, anti-oppression advocacy.
Research Foci
Political sociology, civic and community organization, social media research, social network analysis, sociology of gender
Work History
Founder and Facilitator, The Audacity Civic Arts, 2024-
Midcoast Community Chorus Board of Trustees. 2021-, Acting Chair 2022, Chair 2023-
University of Maine at Augusta, tenured professor of sociology, 2011-2024
Duke University tenure-track professor of sociology, 2000-2006
Education
University of Arizona, Ph.D., Sociology, 2000. Dissertation: "The Social Structure of Political Behavior: Action, Interaction and Congressional Cosponsorship."
University of Arizona, M.A., Sociology, 1996.
Oberlin College, B.A., Sociology, 1993
North Rose-Wolcott High School, Wolcott NY, 1989
Peer-Reviewed Publications
Clemens, Elisabeth and James M. Cook. 1999. "Politics and Institutionalism: Explaining Durability and Change." Annual Review of Sociology 25: 441-466.
Cook, James M. and Kristie A. Taylor. 2000. "National Power on the Local Stage: How Cable Captured Congress and Cornered Cities." Sociological Perspectives 43: 651-670.
McPherson, Miller, Lynn Smith-Lovin and James M. Cook. 2001. "Birds of a Feather: Homophily in Social Networks." Annual Review of Sociology 27: 415-444.
Cook, James M. 2005. "Filling Structural Holes: Social Networks in the Introductory Course." Teaching Sociology 33: 170-180.
Cook, James M. 2011. "Gender, Voting, and Cosponsorship in the Maine State Legislature." New England Journal of Political Science 6: 2-30.
Cook, James M. 2016. "Are American Politicians as Partisan Online as they are Offline? Twitter Networks in the U.S. Senate and Maine State Legislature." Policy & Internet 8(1): 55-71.
Cook, James M. 2016. "Gender, Party, and Presentation of Family in the Social Media Profiles of 10 State Legislatures." Social Media + Society 2(2): 1-11.
Cook, James M, 2016. "Twitter Adoption in U.S. Legislatures: A Fifty-State Study." Proceedings of the 2016 International Conference on Social Media & Society. DOI: 10.1145/2930971.2930982.
Cook, James M. and Dawn Plourde. 2016. "Do Scholars Follow Betteridge's Law? Questions in Journal Article Titles." Scientometrics 108(3): 1119-1128.
Cook, James M. 2017. "Twitter Adoption and Activity in US Legislatures: A 50-State Study." American Behavioral Scientist 61(7): 724-740.
Cook, James M., Carrie Hill and Jennifer Chase. 2018. “From Offline Politics to Online Action: Social Media Adoption and Communication by the Legislators, Lobbyists, and Business Groups of Maine.” In Sub-National Democracy and Politics through Social Media (Mehmet Zahid Sobacı and İbrahim Hatipoğlu, eds.). Heidelberg, Germany: Springer.
Duguay, Ashley, Todd Loughead and James M. Cook. 2019. "Athlete Leadership as a Shared Process: Using a Social Network Approach to Examine Athlete Leadership in Competitive Female Youth Soccer Teams." The Sport Psychologist 33(3): 189-202.
Gurnack, Anne M., and James M. Cook. 2021. "Polish Americans, Political Partisanship and Presidential Elections Voting: 1972-2020." European Journal of Transformation Studies 9(2): 30-39.
Rubinsky, Valerie, and James Cook. 2023. "More than Two… but not Right Now: Interpretations and Responses to Covid-19 Measures on Reddit for Two Communities of Consensual Non-Monogamy." Sexuality & Culture 27(3): 1-22. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-022-10056-w.
Cook, James M. 2023. “Social Media and Heroism.” Encyclopedia of Heroism Studies, Scott Allison et al. (eds). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-17125-3_79-1.
Hartwig, Jadyn, Jared Kendrick, Ghonwa Ahmad, James Cook, Douglas B. Matthews, and Pravesh Sharma. 2025. “Exploring User Experiences with Amanita Muscaria: A Thematic Analysis of Reddit Online Forum.” Substance Use and Misuse (Accepted for Publication February 2025).
Other Publications and Research Products
Cook, James M. 2006. "The Social Logic of Politics: Personal Networks as Contexts for Political Behavior (Book Review)." Social Forces 84: 1844-1845.
Cook, James M. 2013. “Usability Study of the Website of the Maine State Legislature: Final Report.” Institutional research report distributed to the executive offices of the Maine State Legislature.
Cook, James M. 2013 (Principal Author). UMA Civic Engagement Strategic Plan.
Cook, James M. 2015-2017. Column author for Kennebec Journal’s College Connection. 500-word solicited newspaper column. Titles:
“Is Your Professor Paid Off?” May 23, 2017
“Alternative Facts Aren’t Fake; They’re Real.” March 28, 2017
“To Avoid Fake News, Forget Reputation and go Straight to the Source.” February 8, 2017
“President Trump Insults Maine Residents, but is he Right?” December 13, 2016
“This Election, do we Show Up or Crumble?” October 20, 2016
“A Glimpse of Maine Senate Races via Social Media.” September 13, 2016
“This Quirky Little Social Law Could End your Life.” July 12, 2016
“American Culture Gets it Wrong: Limits are Real.” June 7, 2016
“When Mainers Act Like Rats (And Why That’s a Good Thing).” May 10, 2016
“In Games and Codes, What are the Gender Limits?” March 29, 2016
“Interdisciplinarity Reaps a Rich View of Maine Politics.” February 17, 2016
“African Immigrants to Maine are Young, Educated, and Integrating.” January 7, 2016
“In Crime Debates, Let’s Use Facts vs. Fears.” November 24, 2015
“Hammers, Numbers, and Stories: What Good is a Social Science Degree?” October 13, 2015
“Examining Temptation, Ethics, and the University.” September 3, 2015
“Do the Math: How Partisan is the Maine Legislature?” July 22, 2015
“How Relations Affect Maine Leadership PACs.” June 9, 2015
“Women and Men at the State House: Is there a Difference?” April 16, 2015
“Why Does Augusta get a Bum Rap on Crime? It’s a City Thing.” April 7, 2015
Cook, James M. 2016. “2016 Voter Registrations and 2014 General Election Voter Turnout: Local Variation in the State of Maine.” Community research prepared for the League of Women Voters.
Cook, James M. 2019. “Talking Donald Trump: A Sociolinguistic Study of Style, Metadiscourse, and Political Identity (Book Review).” Presidential Studies Quarterly 49(2): 483-484.
Gruzd, Anatoliy, Philip Mai, Raquel Recuero, Ángel Hernández, Chei Sian Lee, James Cook, Jaigris Hodson, Bree McEwan, and Jill Hopke. 2020. “An Introduction to the 2020 Conference on Social Media and Society: Diverse Voices – Promises and Perils of Social Media for Diversity.” SMSociety ’20: International Conference on Social Media and Society July: 1-4.
Smith, Sally and Cook, James M. 2022. “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Student Experience.” Community research prepared for the Five Towns Community School District.
Cook, James M. 2022 and 2023. “Gender Pay Gaps and Gender Segregation at UMA.” Institutional research for shared governance units of the University of Maine at Augusta.
Cook, James M. 2023. “Social Science General Education Assessment Report.” Institutional research for the social science program, the Office of Institutional Research, and the Assessment Committee.
Cook, James M., Elizabeth Powers, BJ Kitchin, and Richard Lumb. 2024. “UMA Student Worker Experience Project: Report of Findings.” Institutional research report distributed to UMA shared governance groups and the University of Maine System Board of Trustees.
Presentations
“Identity in Online Social Context: Mapping Community Connections Surrounding r/Bisexuality on Reddit.” University of Maine at Augusta Research Colloquium series, November 2024.
“Bisexuality in Social Media Context: Mapping Connections Between the Communities Surrounding r/Bisexuality on Reddit.” 3rd International Bisexuality+ Research Conference, October 2024.
“What Good is a Community Chorus?” Keynote speech, First Fig performing arts fundraiser, Camden Maine, June 2024.
“Triune Sociocultural Graphs of Bisexual Identities in a Social Media Environment.” 2023 Bisexual+ Research, Activism, and Community Conference, September 30 2023.
“What does your Professor want from you?” UMA Trail Blazer Workshop for at-risk undergraduates, November 2021.
“10 Habits of Highly Effective Students.” UMA Trail Blazer Workshop for at-risk undergraduates, October 2021.
“The Hidden Curriculum of a College Education.” UMA Trail Blazer Workshop for at-risk undergraduates, September 2021.
“The Impact of Homophily on Achieving Corporate Diversity.” Leadership Lyceum, Chicago IL, February 2021.
“Democracy and Authoritarianism in America: How to Protect one and Prevent the Other.” Democracy & Authoritarianism Speaker Series, Ferry Beach Center, Saco ME, October 2020.
“Social Network as Biography,” Groundwork Reunion Art Jam, October 2020.
“Rebuilding Trust in the Current Environment.” Democracy & Authoritarianism Speaker Series at Ferry Beach Center, Saco ME, January 2020.
“Watch, Swim, or Surf: Data and Civic Engagement Involvement.” Connect Learning in Community Knowledge Conference, Augusta ME, October 2019.
“Nonmonogamy Online: Comparing Content and Structure of Polyamory and Swinging Communication over Social Media.” Social Media & Society 2019 International Conference in Toronto, Canada, July 2019.
“Gender, Party, and the Kavanaugh Nomination: American State Legislators on Twitter.” Social Media & Society 2019 International Conference in Toronto, Canada, July 2019.
“Gender, Party, & the Kavanaugh Nomination.” Research and Pedagogy Colloquium Series, UMA Augusta, April 2019.
“Measuring Community in Political Networks.” VIT University, Tamil Nadu, India, August 2018.
“A Moving Average of Our Associates.” Groundwork VII, East Wakefield, NH, April 2018.
“Safety Net: Online Behavior Management Strategies.” University College 2016 Faculty Institute, Augusta, ME, May 2017.
“Applying the Principles of Community Engagement to the Practice of Community Gardening,” with Laura Kate Corlew. 2017 Eastern Psychological Association Conference, Boston, MA, March 2017.
“Discrimination and the Ku Klux Klan in Maine,” with Lorien Lake Corral. Maine Community Forum, Augusta ME, February 2017.
“Social Threat, Social Media and Political Campaigns: 2016 Election Season Trends.” Lewiston Wisdom Lunch, Lewiston, ME, October 2016.
Interview on gubernatorial politics, The Maine Event (MPBN TV), September 2016.
“Fears, Data and the 2016 Maine Elections.” Maine Credit Union League, Bangor, ME, September 2016.
“Twitter Adoption in U.S. Legislatures: A Fifty-State Study.” 2016 International Social Media & Society Conference in London, UK, July 2016.
“Beyond the Course by 2030: Redesigning State University Education as an Open Structure of Learning Objects.” University College 2016 Faculty Institute, May 2016.
“Going Outside: We Tied Our Courses to a Garden, a Foreign Policy Conference, and Statuary Hall, and Thrived.” University College 2016 Faculty Institute, May 2016.
“Access Delayed is Access Denied: Equality of Information in the Age of Social Media.” League of Women Voters New England Leadership Conference, Wells, ME, April 2016.
“Faculty Panel: Research Across the Disciplines.” Research and Pedagogy Colloquium, University of Maine at Augusta, February 2016.
“Social Media and Politics.” Maine Calling (MPBN Radio), December 2015.
“Online Education in the Year 2030.” Research and Pedagogy Colloquium, University College at Rockland, October 2015.
“The Sociology of Social Media.” Maine Calling (MPBN Radio), September 2015.
“Stages of Teaching and Learning Social Media Analytics.” International Communication Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico, May 2015.
“Open Maine: Making Politics Social.” Research and Pedagogy Colloquium, University of Maine at Augusta, April 2015.
“When Friendship Gets Fuzzy: Tie Formation and Role Performance Among Teddy Bears Online.” Social Media & Society International Conference, Toronto, Canada, September 2014.
“When is Online On Task? Matching Social Media to Teaching Style and Learning Outcomes.” University of Maine System Faculty Institute, May 2014.
“Making Connections: Twitter Networks of the Maine State Legislature.” New England Political Science Association Conference, Woodstock VT, April 2014.
“Choosing a teaching career after the PhD,” with Lorien Lake-Corral. Harvard University Department of Sociology, April 2014.
“Beat the ‘Suite: Free Alternatives for Social Media Analytics.” Social Media Breakfast Central Maine, Thomas College, Waterville ME, February 2014.
“Twitter Talk in the U.S. Senate.” Social Media and Society Conference, Dalhousie University, Nova Scotia, September 2013.
“Your Course is a Network, Not a Line: Implementing a Graphic Syllabus Online.” New England Regional Sloan-C Conference on Online Learning, Portland ME, October 2012.
“Domains, Ceilings and Escalators: Committee Gender Composition and Legislative Leadership in the State House.” New England Political Science Association Conference, Portsmouth NH, April 2012.
“OccupyPanel: Four Professors, Four Views on the Occupation Movement.”, Organizer and Discussant, University of Maine at Augusta, November 2011.
“Occupy Wall Street: Student and Legislative Voices.” Organizer and Discussant, University of Maine at Augusta, October 2011.
“Is a Corporation a Person?” Constitution Week Lecture, University of Maine at Augusta, September 2011.
Courses Developed (first year in parentheses)
Analyzing Social Media (2013)
Basic Research Methods (2019)
Business and Politics in American Society (2001)
Collective Behavior and Social Movements (1999)
Criminology (2011)
Cultivating Community: The Garden Seminar (2014)
Introduction to Research Literacy (2024)
Introduction to Sociology (1997)
Introduction to the Social Sciences (2024)
Learning and the College Community (2022)
Political Investigation (2024)
Political Networks (2000)
Political Sociology (2002)
Research Methods in the Social Sciences (2014)
Social Bases of Politics (2001)
Social Media Certificate (2012)
Social Networks (2012)
Social Problems (2011)
Social Science Capstone (2018)
Sociology of Gender (2014)
Sociology of Women (1996)
Modalities Taught
In Person at Campuses and Centers (1997-2024):
University of Arizona: Tucson and Nogales
Duke University: Durham
University of Maine at Augusta: Augusta, Bangor, Brunswick, Ellsworth, Rockland
Asynchronous Online (2012-2024)
Synchronous Online (2016-2024)
Maine State Prison, Maximum Security Education Unit (2018-2024)
Awards
Maine Campus Compact Leadership Award (Social Science Program), 2022
Meritorious Achievement Award for the College of Arts and Sciences, 2016-2017
Office of Civic Engagement Outstanding Faculty Service Award, April 2012
University of Arizona Sociology Program Political Action Award, 1998
National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, 1994-1996
Service and Leadership
Institutional Research and Research Support
UMA Student Worker Pay Project, Principal Investigator and Chair (2022-2024)
UMA Gender Pay Gap and Segregation Project, Principal Investigator (2021-2023)
Institutional Review Board (2022-2024)
UMA Research Colloquium, Principal Organizer and Chair (2023-2024)
Social Science General Education Assessment Workgroup, Principal Investigator and Chair (2021-2023)
Research and Pedagogy Colloquium Series, Organizer and Moderator (2011-2020)
Advocating Wicked Scholarship in Maine Committee, Chair (2014-2016)
Extracurricular Education
UMA Quantitative Learning Support Task Force, Chair (2024)
Maine Policy Scholars Faculty Advisor (2015-2020, 2023-2024)
UMA Maine Policy Scholars Selection Committee (Chair, 2016-2024)
UMA Student Research Conference Organizing Committee (2016-2024)
UMA Student Research Conference Moderator and Discussant (2016-2024)
Hiring and Review
Social Science & Education Peer Group Chair (2023-2024)
UMA Student Conduct Board (2015-2016, Chair 2016)
UMS System Conduct Board (2021-2024, Chair 2022-2024)
Provost’s Committee on Faculty Hiring (2020-2021)
Social Science Communications Hiring Committee (2018-2019)
Social Science Hiring Committee Chair (2013-2014, 2017-2018)
Library Hiring Committee (2013)
Institutional Research Hiring Committee (2012-2013)
Computer Information Systems Hiring Committee (2012-2013)
Curricular Reform
UMA – Maine State Prison Policy and Audit Review Team (2023-2024)
General Education Workgroup on Social Science (2023-2024)
General Education Workgroup on Quantitative and Computer Literacy (2023-2024)
Social Science General Education Assessment Workgroup, Chair (2021-2023)
Social Science Program of the Future Grant, PI & Project Manager (2019-2020)
Psychology Degree Development Committee (2018–2019)
Bridge Year Dual Enrollment Program Oversight Committee (2015-2018)
Administrative Service
Social Science Program Secretary (2011-2024)
Diversity Committee, Steering Committee (2023-2024)
UMA AFUM Secretary (2022-2024)
Sabbatical Committee (2020-2021, Chair 2020)
Bookstore Advisory Committee (2019)
Annual Theme Colloquium Committee (2017-2018)
Interdisciplinary Studies Council (2015-2016)
Policy Leadership
Faculty Senate (2014, 2017-2020, 2022)
Shared Governance Review Committee (Chair 2020-2021)
Faculty Senate Unified Accreditation Committee (2019-2020)
Board Policy 214 Task Force (2018)
UMA-University College Consolidation Committee (2013)
Civic Engagement and Community Organizing
Founder and Facilitator, The Audacity Civic Arts (2024-)
Campus Voter Registration Leader (2012,2016,2020)
Augusta Assembly Co-Organizer (2018-2020)
Midcoast Community Chorus, Board Member (2021), Vice Chair (2022), Chair (2023-)
Five Town Community School District DEI Task Force (2021-2022)
Historical DEI Research Consultant, Watts Hall Community Players (2021)
Co-Founder and Facilitator, Midcoast Maine Indivisible (2017-2021)
Founder, Bangor Indivisible (2017)
UMA Augusta Community Garden Coordinator and Advisor (2015-2022)
UMA Bangor Community Garden Coordinator and Advisor (2017-2019)
Civic Engagement Advisory Committee (2017-2019)
Convocation Speaker (2014)
Moderator, Augusta Mayoral Debate (2014)
Civic Engagement Strategic Planning Committee, Chair (2012-2013)
Office of Civic Engagement Advisory Group (2011-2014)
Research Peer Review
Conferences
International Social Media & Society Conference Chair (2022)
International Social Media & Society Working Papers Chair (2020)
International Social Media & Society Conference Program Committee (Fall 2018-2020)
Association of Internet Researchers Program Committee (2018-2019)
26th International World Wide Web Conference Program Committee (2017)
Books
Social Structure by Jon Eastwood (Polity)
Introduction to Criminology by Anthony Walsh (Sage)
Selling Social Media by Daniel Faltesek (Bloomsbury)
Social Media Freaks by Dustin Kidd (Westview)
Grants
Canada Research Chairs
National Science Foundation
Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada
Journals
American Journal of Sociology
American Sociological Review
Cogent Social Sciences
Humanities and Social Sciences Communications
Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication
Journal of Experimental Psychology
Journal of Interactive Marketing
Journal of Politics
Nature Climate Change
Nature Human Behavior
Policy & Internet
Politics & Gender
Quantitative Science Studies
Review of Policy Research
Review of Religious Research
Sage Open
Social Forces
Social Media + Society
Social Science Research
Sociological Forum
Sociological Spectrum
The Sociological Quarterly
Professional Memberships
American Sociological Association