Megan Collins, Ph.D.

Dr. Megan Collins
Megan Collins, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology

Contact Information

Office: 308 G.R. Woolfolk Social & Political Science Building
Phone: (936) 261-3220
Email: mecollins@pvamu.edu

Teaching/Research Area of Interest

  • Media
  • Popular Culture
  • Culture
  • Suicide
  • Theory
  • Open Educational Resources in Higher Education

Education

  • Ph.D., Sociology, Texas A&M University (2014)
  • MS, Sociology, Texas A&M University (2010)
  • BA, Sociology, Southwestern University (2008)

Undergraduate Courses Taught (Selection)

  • General Sociology
  • Social Problems
  • Social Deviance
  • Sociology of Addiction
  • Social Theory
  • Social Inequality
  • Senior Seminar

Graduate Courses Taught (Selection)

  • Social Movements
  • Contemporary Social Theory
  • Urban Sociology
  • Role of the Media
  • Sociology of Gender

Selected Research Activities

  • Collins, M., Mitchell, N. & Nojeim, M. (2020). “Eliminating the Excuse: Using Free Course Materials to Improve Student Success in CORE Curriculum
  • Courses.” Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice, 20(5).
  • Collins, M. (2019). “Class Privilege in Mass Media.” The International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society. Thousand Oaks: SAGE. (peer-reviewed)
  • Collins, M. (2019).  “Marxist and Neo-Marxist Theories.” The International Encyclopedia of Mass Media and Society. Thousand Oaks: SAGE. (peer-reviewed)
  • Collins, M. (2018). The New Narcissus in the Age of Reality Television. New York: Routledge
    Available Here: https://www.routledge.com/The-New-Narcissus-in-the-Age-of-Reality-Television/Collins/p/book/9780367332952

The New Narcissus Book Cover

Selected Service Activities

  • Co-Chair, Open Educational Resources Initiative PVAMU (May 2019 – present)
  • Undergraduate Program Coordinator, Sociology (January 2019 – present)
  • Program Coordinator, Sociology (August 2016 – December 2018)
  • Member, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Field of Study Advisory Committee – Sociology, Austin, TX (June 2018 – present)
  • Reviewer, Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board Open Educational Resources Grant Program (August 2020 – present)
  • Primary Advisor, Sociology Club PVAMU (January 2015 – present)
  • Member, Graduate Academic Council PVAMU (September 2017 – August 2019)
  • Assistant Secretary, Faculty Senate PVAMU (May 2016 – May 2017
  • Faculty Senator, Faculty Senate PVAMU (May 2015 – May 2017)

Grants

  • Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) Open Educational Resources Grant (OERGP). “Social Problems.”$8,000 (January 2019 – May 2021)

Recent Conference Presentations

  • Texas A&M Chancellor’s Summit on Academic Technology, College Station, TX (September 2020)
    “Eliminating the Excuse: Using Free Course Materials to Improve Student Success in CORE Curriculum Courses.”
  • Texas A&M Chancellor’s Summit on Academic Technology, College Station, TX (September 2020)
    “Prairie View A&M University’s OER Initiative Success.”
  • Association of American Colleges and Universities, Washington D.C. (January 2020) 
    “Free is My Favorite Flavor: The Use of Free Digital Resources (OER) in General Studies Courses”
  • Southern Political Science Association, San Juan, Puerto Rico (January 2020)
    “Removing the Excuse: Adopting Open Educational Resources in Social Sciences Courses”
  • Conference of the Society for Philosophy and Technology, College Station, TX (May 2019)
    “Texted to Suicide: Anomie and the New Narcissus in the U.S.”