Jeff Cates Vita

Phone: (208) 426 3406
jeffcates@boisestate.edu

Education

University of Tennessee 2021
Master of Arts: Sociology
Specialization: Political Economy
GPA: 4.0

Boise State University 2019
Bachelor of Science: Sociology
GPA: 3.8

College of Western Idaho 2017
Associate’s Degree: Liberal Arts

Honors, Grants and Achievements

Mary Phipps Shepard Graduate School Fellowship ($1000) Fall 2020-Spring 2021

J. Wallace & Katie Dean Graduate Endowment Fellowship ($10,000) Fall of 2019

Honorable Mention (3rd place) President’s Writing Award Fall 2019

Dean’s list with Highest Honors Spring of 2019

Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program ($2,800) 2018

Dean’s list with Highest Honors Spring of 2018

Dean’s List with Honors Spring of 2017

Publications

Cates, J. (May, 2021). Poverty Delivered: Predatory Inclusion in the Rent-to-Own Industry. Contexts: Sociology for the Public: Volume 20: Iss. 2, pg. 24-29

Cates, J. (May, 2019). Poverty Delivered: How Rent-to-Own Businesses Make the Poor Poorer. Boise State University. McNair Scholars Journal: Volume 14: Iss. 1, Article 7

Teaching Experience

Graduate Teaching Associate, Introduction to Sociology 120, University of Spring 2021 Tennessee, Knoxville

Primary instructor
Developed fully online asynchronous course
Lead online discussion groups
Design and administer exams
Design and administer weekly assignments
Promptly answer students’ emails

Graduate Teaching Associate, Introduction to Sociology 120, University of Fall 2020 Tennessee, Knoxville

Primary instructor
Developed fully online asynchronous course
Lead online discussion groups
Design and administer exams
Design and administer weekly assignments
Promptly answer students’ emails

Graduate Teaching Assistant, Introduction to Sociology 120, University of Fall 2019 Tennessee, Knoxville

Give weekly presentations
Lead group discussions
Design and administer exams
Grade essay assignments
Promptly answer student’s emails
Take attendance

Teaching Assistant, Sociological Theory I 301, Boise State University Spring 2019

Grade weekly assignments
Developed and gave 45-minute presentation on the social theories of Thorstein Veblen
Actively participate in group discussions once a week
Promptly answer student’s emails
Regularly held office hours for an hour once a week

Learning Assistant, Impact of Materials on Society, employed by Fall 2018 the Department of Material Sciences and Engineering, Boise State University

Lead group discussions
Teach students how to navigate and understand peer-reviewed literature
Grade assignments
Take attendance

Teaching Assistant, Racial and Cultural Minorities 305, Boise State University Spring 2018

Grade student outlines of scholarly articles
Grade students’ exegeses of scholarly articles
Actively participate in group discussions twice a week
Promptly answer student’s emails
Regularly held office hours for an hour twice a week
Guest Lecturer, Sociology 101, College of Western Idaho Spring 2013-Fall 2016
The Structure of Capitalism (x12),
Solutions for Global Hunger (x3),
Technological Unemployment (x3)

Guest Lecturer, Sociology 102, College of Western Idaho Spring 2013-Fall 2016

The Structure of Capitalism (x5)
Solutions for Global Hunger (x5)
Technological Unemployment (x4)

Guest Lecturer, Intellectual Foundations 100, College of Western Idaho Fall 2016

Developing Creativity
Solutions for Global Hunger

Teaching Assistant, Sociology 101, College of Western Idaho, Spring 2013-Fall 2016

Student Mentor
Co-create active learning activities
Help develop quizzes, exams, and assignments
Grade discussion boards

RESEARCH EXPERIENCE

Graduate Research Assistant, University of Tennessee, Knoxville Spring & Summer 2020

Collaborative Engagement: Enhancing Community-University Capabilities through Social Science Research
Analyzed and coded quantitative data
Analyzed and transcribed qualitative data
Wrote a detailed report of the findings

Research Fellow, McNair Scholars Program, Boise State University 2018-2019

Poverty Delivered: How Rent-to-Own Businesses Make the Poor Poorer
Took daily field notes for 35 months
Conducted in-depth, qualitative interviews
Analyzed and transcribed qualitative data
Performed extensive literature review
Presented research at multiple conferences
Wrote and published a research article

Defenders of Elitism: How Neoliberalism Causes Students to Defend the Undermining of Higher Education
Conducted in-depth, qualitative interviews
Analyzed and transcribed qualitative data
Performed extensive literature review
Presented research at multiple conferences
Wrote a research article

Pedagogy for Sale: How Neoliberalism Reduces Student’s Academic Freedom
Conducted in-depth, qualitative interviews
Analyzed and transcribed qualitative data
Performed extensive literature review
Presented research at multiple conferences
Wrote a research article

Research Assistant, College of Western Idaho 2016

Pedagogy or Punishment: Faculty and Student Perceptions of Syllabi Late Work Policies
Conducted in-depth, qualitative interviews
Analyzed and transcribed qualitative data
Presented research at the Southwest Social Science Annual Conference

RELEVENT EXPERIENCE

Research mentor, Intermountain Social Research Laboratory, Fall 2018-Spring 2019 Boise State University
Mentored a group of students through year-long process of conducting original, qualitative research in small and large groups
Critiqued and provided feedback on research proposals, individual/group research instruments, interview processes, research papers, and oral presentations

DIGITAL CREATIONS

YouTube channel: Jeff Cates
I combine images, music, speeches, lectures and interviews by prominent social critics to develop videos meant to entertain, inspire, educate, and organize, to help invoke social change.

27,088 unique views on personal channel
281 subscribers
Created 30 videos (listed here)

CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS

2019 Oral presentation, co-presentation with scholar Michelle Fretwell, Naturalizing Inequality: How Neoliberal Higher Education Engineers Elitism, Idaho Conference for Undergraduate Research, Boise State University, Boise, ID

2019 Oral presentation, Debt Delivered: How Rent-to-Own Businesses Further Indebt the Poor, Idaho Conference for Undergraduate Research, Boise State University, Boise, ID

2019 Oral presentation, co-presentation with Dr. Arthur Scarritt and scholar Michelle Fretwell, “Degrees in Bigotry: How Universities turn Prejudice into Profit”, Pacific Sociological Association (PSA) Conference, Oakland, CA.

2019 Roundtable presentation, “Poverty Delivered: How Rent-to-Own Businesses Make the Poor Poorer,” Pacific Sociological Association (PSA) Conference, Oakland, CA.

2018 Oral presentation, “Poverty Delivered: How Rent-to-Own Businesses Make the Poor Poorer”, McNair Summer Research Symposium,
Boise State University, Boise, ID

2018 Poster presentation, “Poverty Delivered: How Rent-to-Own Businesses Make the Poor Poorer,” Idaho Conference for Undergraduate Research, Boise State University, Boise, ID

2018 Oral presentation, “Pedagogy for Sale: How Neoliberalism Reduces Student’s Freedom,”
Undergraduate Research Conference, Boise State University, Boise, ID

2018 Roundtable session, “Pedagogy for Sale: How Neoliberalism Reduces Student’s Freedom,”
Pacific Sociological Association (PSA) Conference, Long Beach, CA

2018 Poster presentation, “Poverty Delivered: How Rent-to-Own Businesses Make the Poor Poorer,” National Conference for McNair Scholars, University of Maryland, College Park, MD

2016 Poster presentation, “Pedagogy or Punishment: Faculty and Student Perceptions of Syllabi Late Work Policies”, Southwest Social Science Annual Conference, Las Vegas, NV