Biography
Michael J. Lorr is a Professor of Sociology at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Lorr took his Ph.D. in Urban Studies from University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and earned his M.A. and B.A. degrees in Sociology from DePaul University in Chicago. He specializes in urban, environmental and cultural sociology. Dr. Lorr has two defined research programs: the first on the subcultures of punk rock and skateboarding and the second on urban sustainability and “greening.” His work on subcultures has recently appeared in Skateboarding: Subculture, Sites, and Shifts edited by Kara-Jane Lombard and published by Routledge, Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Humanity and Society, and Journal of Youth and Adolescence.
His work on urban sustainability has recently appeared in Beers, Ciders & Spirits: Craft Beverages and Tourism in the U.S. edited by Carol Kline, Susan Slocum, Christina Cavaliere published by Palgrave Macmillan, The Greening of Everyday Life: Challenging Practices, Imagining Possibilities edited by John Meyer and Jens Kersten published by Oxford University Press, Neoliberal Chicago edited by Larry Bennett, Roberta Garner, and Euan Hague published by University of Illinois Press, and Nature & Culture.
Dr. Lorr regularly teaches Introduction to Sociology, Community Sociology, Media & Society, Sustainable Cities and Environmental Justice, Exploring Community Leadership, Sociological Practicum in Community Leadership, and Community Leadership Capstone Seminar. In service to the community, the Department of Sociology Engaged Department Initiative, and the Community Leadership Program, Dr. Lorr is a member of the IDEAL advisory board for the West Michigan Environmental Action Council, a member of and representative for the United Nations/Grand Rapids Regional Center of Expertise on Education for Sustainable Development, and a member of Arbor Circle’s Ambassador Circle. Dr. Lorr is an alumnus of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) and enjoys mountaineering and other outdoor pursuits in his spare time.
Links to Dr. Lorr’s recently published work:
Chicago: Neoliberal City
http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/47cbh4ct9780252040597.html
Urban Sustainability and the Greening of Neoliberal Chicago
http://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/47cbh4ct9780252040597.html
Greening Lifestyles, Homes, and Urban Infrastructure in Chicago, IL, and Jacksonville, FL
https://global.oup.com/academic/product/the-greening- of-everyday- life-9780198758662?cc=us&lang=en&
Skateboarding as a Technology of the Collective: Kona Skatepark, Jacksonville, Florida, USA
https://www.routledge.com/Skateboarding-Subcultures-Sites-and-Shifts/Lombard/p/book/9781138829824
More Than Just a Soundtrack: Toward a Technology of the Collective in Hardcore Punk
http://jce.sagepub.com/content/42/3/320
Defining Urban Sustainability in the Context of North American Cities
http://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/nature-and-culture/7/1/nc070102.xml
Education
- Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
- M.A., DePaul University
- B.A., DePaul University