Rebecca L. Som Castellano
Bio
Rebecca L. Som Castellano is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Boise State University. She earned her Ph.D. in Rural Sociology at The Ohio State University, her M.A. in Sociology from the University of Kentucky and her B.A. in interdisciplinary studies from Fairhaven College at Western Washington University. Her areas of expertise include rural sociology; the sociology of food and agriculture; environmental sociology; and gender and stratification. For her work, she has been awarded several national awards, including a USDA National Needs Fellowship. Her research has been funded through a range of grants, including the American Sociological Association, the United States Department of Agriculture, and Mountain West CTR-IN Program for Clinical and Translational Research.
Scholarship
Community engagement is an essential component of my scholarship. My current research projects include examining the experiences of Latina farmworkers in Southern Idaho, where my collaborators and I have actively worked with community partners to engage in long term research aimed at highlighting the lived experiences of women who are essential to our agriculture and food system. Other current research focuses on land use change, including concern with the development of farm land and sagebrush steppe in Idaho. Again, this work involves engaging with interdisciplinary scholars and community partners in the design of research questions, the development of research instruments, and the communication of research findings. Other examples of community engaged work include a community action research project I conducted at the Duck Valley Indian Reservation, where Tribal members worked with me to develop research questions, instruments and products focused on local food system needs and concerns. In addition to engaging with community partners in the design and implementation of research, I also work to collaborate on the communication of research, including working with the Idaho Humanities Council, the Idaho Food Bank, and the Idaho Hunger Relief Task Force in bringing research findings to local events and policy and programs.
Learn More about this Community-Serving Scholar’s Work
Faculty page: https://www.boisestate.edu/sociology/adjunct-faculty/faculty-staff/rebecca-som-castellano/