Dr. Bill Lovekamp

INTRODUCTION

Spring 2024 COURSE SYLLABI

SOC 3620

SOC 4240

SOC 4700

My EIU Story

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Dr. Lovekamp has been in the Department of Sociology, Anthropology, and Criminology at EIU since 2005.

Education & Training

Ph.D., Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (2006)
M.A., Western Illinois University (1998)
B.A., Illinois College (1996)

Frequently Taught Courses

Introduction to Sociology; Research Methods; Social Problems (Honors); Social Movements, Crowds, and Violence (Senior Seminar); Sociology of Disasters; Sociology of Popular Culture; Sociology of Social Movements; Current Issues in Sociology

Research & Creative Interests

Dr. Lovekamp's research emphasis is disaster preparedness, recovery, and social vulnerability of diverse human populations. He has also recently published about various aspects of cemeteries and the importance of maintaining and archiving cemeteries as a means of disaster planning. His research has been published in various outlets such as The International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters, The Association of Gravestone Studies Quarterly, Markers, Teaching Sociology, Natural Hazards Observer, and The Journal of Criminal Justice Education.

He co-produced a documentary film in 2017 called "Nature's Fury and the Human Spirit: The Charleston and Mattoon Tornado 26 May, 1917" that commemorates the 100th anniversary of the May 26, 1917 Mattoon-Charleston (Coles County) Tornado. The documentary regularly airs on the local PBS television station, WEIU-TV.

He published a new book in 2019 called "Cemeteries and the Life of a Smoky Mountain Community". "In one of the few studies to draw upon cemetery data to reconstruct the social organization, social change, and community composition of a specific area, this volume contributes to the growing body of sociohistorical examinations of Appalachia. The Authors herein reconstruct the Cades Cove community from circa 1818 to 1939, whose demise can be traced to the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. By supplementing a statistical analysis of Cades Cove's twenty-seven cemeteries, completed as a National Park Study (#GRSM-01120), with ethnographic examination, the authors reconstruct the community in detail to reveal previously overlooked social patterns and interactions, including insight into the death culture and death-lore of the Upland South. This work established cemeteries as a window into (proxies of) communities, demonstrating the relevance of socio-demographic data presented by statistical and other analyses of gravestones for Appalachian Studies, Regional Studies, Cemetery Studies, and Sociology and Anthropology." (Palgrave MacMillan Publisher book summary)

Professional Affiliations

Alpha Kappa Delta, American Sociological Association, Gender and Disaster Network, Illinois GIS Association, Illinois Sociological Association, International Sociological Association's Research Committee on Sociology of Disasters (ISA RC39), Midwest Sociological Society, American Red Cross.

Office Hours

Tuesday & Thursday 9:00-11:00 am

Publications

Foster, Gary S. & William E. Lovekamp. (Forthcoming). “Family Cemeteries of the Upland South as Time

Journeys.” in Time Journeys, edited by Stanley D. Brunn. Springer Publishing.

Foster, Gary S, & William E. Lovekamp. 2022. “Cemeteries as Wildlife Habitats: Conservation and Management Issues.” Association of Gravestone Studies Quarterly 42(3):10-12.

Haney, Timothy J. and William E. Lovekamp (Editors). 2019. Innovative Teaching Techniques and

Practices in Hazards and Disaster Studies: II. Volume (37)1. International Journal of Mass

Emergencies and Disasters www.ijmed.org

Lovekamp, William E. 2019. “Foreword” pp. i-iii in The Sociology of Disaster: Fictional Explorations of

Human Experiences, by Thomas E. Drabek. Routledge.

Foster, Gary S. and William E. Lovekamp. 2019. Cemeteries and the Life of a Smoky Mountain Community: Cades Cove Under Foot. New York: Palgrave Macmillan.

Soboroff, Shane D., William E. Lovekamp, and Robert B. Jenkot. 2019. Social Status and the

Effects of Legal Concealed Firearms on College Campuses. Journal of Criminal Justice Education

30(3):376-388. https://doi.org/10.1080/10511253.2018.1520270

Foster, Gary S. and William E. Lovekamp. 2018. “Identity Denied: Gravestones as Collectibles.” Association of Gravestone Studies Quarterly 42(3):23-29.

Haney, Timothy J. and William E. Lovekamp (Editors). 2018 Innovative Teaching Techniques and

Practices in Hazards and Disaster Studies. (36)3. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters

www.ijmed.org

Haney, Timothy J. and William E. Lovekamp. 2018. “On the Margins, No More: Teaching and

Learning as a Core Concern of Disaster Scholarship.” International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters 36(3):208-219.

Craig, Cameron Douglas and William E. Lovekamp, with Heaven Richey, producers. 2017.

“Nature’s Fury and the Human Spirit: The Charleston and Mattoon Tornado 26 May,

1917” Tempestas et Caelum Films.

Lovekamp, William E. 2017. “1917 Coles County Tornado” curated exhibit, Booth Library North Narthex,

Eastern Illinois University.

Lovekamp, William E. 2017. “1917 Coles County Tornado” curated exhibit, Coles County Historical Society Museum.

Lovekamp, William E., Gary S. Foster, and Steven Di Naso. 2017. “Inventory of Cades Cove Cemeteries.”

Investigator’s Scientific Study Final Research Report #1. U.S. National Park Service, Great Smoky

Mountains National Park, GRSM-01120.

Lovekamp, William E. and Gary S. Foster. 2017. “A Sociological Reconstruction of Cades Cove

Cemeteries.” Investigator’s Scientific Study Final Research Report #2. U.S. National Park Service, Great

Smoky Mountains National Park, GRSM-01120.

Lovekamp, William E., Steven M. Di Naso, and Gary S. Foster. 2017. “Mapping Cades Cove Cemeteries.”

Investigator’s Scientific Study Final Research Report #3. U.S. National Park Service, Great Smoky

Mountains National Park, GRSM-01120.

Lovekamp, William E., Shane D. Soboroff and Michael D. Gillespie. 2017. “Engaging Students in Survey

Research Projects across Methods and Statistics Courses.” Teaching Sociology 45(1):65-72.

Lovekamp, William E., Gary S. Foster and Steven M. Di Naso. 2016. “Protecting the Dead – Cemetery

Preservation and Disaster Planning.” Natural Hazards Observer 40(6):4-9.

Foster, Gary S., William E. Lovekamp and Donald H. Holly, Jr. 2016. “The Old Kelley Cemetery: A Cold

Case of Grave Concern.” Association of Gravestone Studies Quarterly 40(2):3-9.

Foster, Gary S. & William E. Lovekamp. 2015. “Disasters and Cemeteries: A Clarion Call for Matters of

Grave Urgency.” Association of Gravestone Studies Quarterly 39(3):14-19.

Foster, Gary S., William E. Lovekamp, Steven M. Di Naso & Grant Woods. 2015. “The Cast Iron Grave

Cover: A Case of Mistaken Identity and Identity Found.” Markers 31:52-67.

Fordham, Maureen, William E. Lovekamp, Deborah S.K. Thomas and Brenda D. Phillips. 2013.

“Understanding Social Vulnerability.” pp. 1-29 in Social Vulnerability to Disasters, 2nd edition, edited by

D. S. K. Thomas, B. D. Phillips, W. E. Lovekamp & A. Fothergill. London: CRC Press.

Lovekamp, William E. 2013. “Chapter 17: Social Change and Empowerment” Instructor’s Manual and

Test Bank, Social Vulnerability to Disasters, 2nd edition, edited by D. S. K. Thomas, B. D. Phillips,

W. E. Lovekamp & A. Fothergill. London: CRC Press.

Lovekamp, William E. & Sudha Arlikatti. 2013. “Social Change and Empowerment.” pp. 447-472 in Social

Vulnerability to Disasters, 2nd edition, edited by D. S. K. Thomas, B. D. Phillips, W. E. Lovekamp & A.

Fothergill. London: CRC Press.

Lovekamp, William E. & Joseph E. Trainor. 2013. “30 Years of Dissertation Trends in Disaster Studies.”

HazNet 5(1):11-14.

Thomas, Deborah S.K., Brenda D. Phillips, William E. Lovekamp & Alice Fothergill. 2013. Social

Vulnerability to Disasters, 2nd edition, London: CRC Press.

Lovekamp, William E. & Sara K. McMahon. 2011. “I Have a Snickers Bar in the Trunk of My Car: Student

Narratives of Disaster Risk, Fear, Preparedness, and Reflections on Union University.” International

Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters 29(2):132-148.

Lovekamp, William E. 2010. “Promoting Empowerment: Social Change in Disasters.” pp. 367-381 in

Social Vulnerability to Disasters, edited by Brenda D. Phillips, Deborah Thomas, Alice Fothergill & Lynn

Blinn-Pike. London: CRC Press.

Lovekamp, William E. 2009. Review of Response to Disaster: Fact versus Fiction and Its Perpetuation. 3rd

Edition, Henry W. Fischer, III. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters 27(1):96-98.

Lovekamp, William E. 2008. “Gender and Disaster: A Synthesis of Flood Research in Bangladesh.” pp. 99-

116 in Women and Disasters: From Theory to Practice, edited by Brenda D. Phillips & Betty Hearn

Morrow. Philadelphia: Xlibris.

Lovekamp, William E. 2008. Review of The Sociology of Katrina: Perspectives on a Modern Catastrophe

by David L. Brunsma, David Overfelt, & J. Steven Picou. Contemporary Sociology 37(3):260-261.

Lovekamp, William E. & Michelle L. Tate. 2008. “College Student Disaster Preparedness.” International

Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters 26(2):70-90.

Lovekamp, William E. 2004. Review of Heads Above Water by Alice Fothergill. American Journal of

Sociology 111(4):1259-1260.