Dr. Arthur Evans

Background

Art Evans is a professor in the Department of Sociology at Florida Atlantic University. He received his PhD in sociology from Kansas State University in 1978.  His main areas of expertise are dominant-minority relations and the sociology of sport.  In these areas he has explored larger theoretical processes such as key functionaries, social distance, black athletes in predominantly white environments and the effects of industrialization on emerging minorities.  His current research involves exploring the historical impact of changes in social structure on the African-American middle class.  This study investigates the implication of these changes as they affect intra racial social solidarity and intergroup conflict.

With respect to teaching, Dr. Evans places great stress on helping students to understand that the world does not consist of a reality that everyone perceives in exactly the same way.  He tries to invite students to look at their familiar surroundings as if for the first time.  Doing this allows them to get a fresh view of a world that they have always taken for granted, and to examine their own social landscape with the same curiosity and fascination that they may bring to an alien or exotic culture.  Thus, he sees sociology as a window on the wider world that lies beyond one’s immediate experience.

During his tenure at FAU, Dr. Evans has served as the Chair of the Department of Sociology and as the Director of Ethnic Studies.  In addition, he has earned several distinguished research and teaching honors, including the Degree of Difference award from the FAU Foundation.

Selected Works

Pearl City, Florida: A Black Community Remembers (with David Lee).  (Boca Raton: University Presses of Florida). September 1990.

"Blacks as Key Functionaries: A Study of Racial Stratification in Professional Sport." in Joseph G. Wells (ed) Sport In Society.  (Thompson Press).  2002: pp. 209-218.

"The Transformation of the Black Middle Class."  Journal of Politics, Culture and Society, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Winter 1992), pp. 211-228.

"The Jim Braddock-Max Schmeling Affair: An Assessment of a Jewish Boycott of a Professional Prize Fight."  Journal of Sport and Social Issues, Vol. 6, No. 2 (Fall/Winter 1982), pp. l-l2.

"The Relationship Between Industrialization and White Hostility Toward Blacks in Southern Cities:  1865-1910."  Urban Affairs Quarterly, Vol. 25, No. 2 (December 1989), pp. 322-341.