Faculty > David Dickens

Dr. Dickens' areas of specialization include critical and postmodern theory, qualitative methods, culture, and development. Dr. Dickens joined the UNLV Department of Sociology in 1984 and has published research in Symbolic Interaction, 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 Critical Theory
SOC 701 – Logic of Social Inquiry
SOC 795 – Seminar on Postmodernism
SOC 497/697– Television as a Social Problem
SOC 724 – Contemporary Sociological Theory

Contact Dr. Dickens:
Office location: CBC-B 240
Email: david.dickens@unlv.edu


Books
 Las Vegas: The Social Production of an All-American City







Postmodernism and Social Inquiry (also translated into Chinese and Korean)

Current Research Projects

Economies of Fascination: Las Vegas and Dubai
This collaborative project (with Dr. 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 I propose 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 I offer 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.