Dr Victoria Alexander
Senior Lecturer
Qualifications: AB (Princeton); AM, PhD (Stanford)
Email: v.alexander@surrey.ac.uk
Phone: Work: 01483 68 6978
Room no: 16 AD 03
Further information
Biography
VICTORIA ALEXANDER joined the Sociology Department in 1996 as the Foundation Fund Lecturer in Economic Sociology. She was previously Associate Professor of Sociology and Core Faculty in the Organizational Behavior PhD Program at Harvard University.
She is Vice-Chair of the European Sociological Association’s Research Network on the Sociology of the Arts. She was a Visiting Academic at the Skoll Centre, Saïd Business School, Oxford University, for the academic year 2005-06.
Research Interests
Dr Alexander's research has been in the intersection of the sociology of the arts and the sociology of organisations. She also does work in visual sociology.
She has studied the funding of art museums, the use of information technology in museums, cultural policy in comparative perspective, sociology of the arts, and visual sociology.
She has recently been engaged on an ESRC-funded project, "Investigating Practice and Process in Integrating Methodologies: A Demonstrator Project Drawing on Empirical Studies of Strategies for Managing 'Vulnerabilities'" (2003-05), with Jo Moran-Ellis (PA), Ann Cronin, Jane Fielding & Hilary Thomas (Department of Sociology, University of Surrey). This project looked at the methodological aspects of multi-methods projects using a substantive focus on the concept of vulnerability. Dr Alexander's specific focus in the project was a visual exploration of vulnerability in the built environment.
Her areas of expertise include: Organizational theory (neo-institutional theory, economic sociology, organizational culture, nonprofit management), Sociology of art, Sociology of culture (empirical), Museums, Cultural policy, Visual sociology, and Mixed methods.
Publications
Journal articles
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(2010) 'Review of Backstage at the Revolution: How the Royal Paris Opera Survived the End of the Old Regime'. University of Chicago Press American Journal of Sociology, 116 (1), pp. 323-325.doi: 10.1086/655672Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/715785/
- . (2008) 'Cultural Organizations and the State: Art and State Support in Contemporary Britain'. Sociology Compass, 2 (5), pp. 1416-1430.
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(2007) 'State support of artists: The case of the United Kingdom in a new labour environment and beyond'. ROUTLEDGE JOURNALS, TAYLOR & FRANCIS LTD JOURNAL OF ARTS MANAGEMENT LAW AND SOCIETY, Luneburg, GERMANY: 37 (3), pp. 185-200.Full text is available at: http://epubs.surrey.ac.uk/577/
- . (2006) 'Triangulation and integration: Processes, claims and implications'. Qualitative Research, 6 (1), pp. 45-59.
Books
- . (2005) Art and the State: The Visual Arts in Comparative Perspective.
- . (2003) Sociology of the arts. Wiley-Blackwell
- . (1996) Museums and Money: The Impact of Funding on Exhibitions, Scholarship and Management. Indiana Univ Pr
Book chapters
- . (2010) 'Public Institutions of “High” Culture’'. in Hall JR, Grindstaff L, Lo M-C (eds.) Handbook of Cultural Sociology Routledge , pp. 368-377.
- . (2008) 'Mixed Methods'. in Gilbert N (ed.) Researching social life 3rd edition. Sage Publications Ltd , pp. 125-144.
- . (2008) 'The analytic integration of qualitative data sources'. in Alasuutari P, Brannen J, Bickman L (eds.) Handbook of social research methods Sage , pp. 572-584.
- . (2008) 'Analysing Visual Materials'. in Gilbert N (ed.) Researching social life 3rd edition. Sage Publications Ltd , pp. 462-481.
- . (2008) 'The Analytic Integration of Qualitative Data Sources'. in Alasuutari P, Bickman L, Brannen J (eds.) The SAGE Handbook of Social Research Methods Sage Publications Ltd , pp. 572-584.
- . (2007) 'Enterprise Culture'. in Bailey JR, Clegg SR (eds.) International Encyclopedia of Organization Studies Sage Publications (CA) Volume 2, pp. 445-446.
- . (2007) 'A Delicate Balance: Museums and the Marketplace'. in Sandell R, Janes RR (eds.) Museum Management And Marketing Taylor & Francis , pp. 400-405.
Teaching
Dr Alexander currently teaches Sociology of Art and Organisational Analysis at the undergraduate level and Documentary Analysis at the MSc level. She supervises PhD students in the areas of the arts, cultural and economic sociology, and organisations.
PhD Supervision
Dr Alexander supervises PhD students in the areas of the arts, cultural sociology, economic sociology, and organisations.
Professional Activities
International Management Boards:
Vice-Chair, European Sociological Association’s Research Network on the Sociology of the Arts, 2007-present.
Executive Board Member, International Sociological Association's Research Council 37, Sociology of Art, 1998-2002.
Elected Council Member, American Sociological Association’s Section on the Sociology of Culture, three-year term, 1997-1999.
Other Recent Professional Activities:
Chair, Best Article Award Committee, American Sociological Association’s Section on the Sociology of Culture, 2009.
Co-Convenor, 2 day-courses: 'Multi-Methods Research Workshop – Synergies & Tensions', organised and run by Jo Moran-Ellis, Victoria Alexander, Ann Cronin, Jane Fielding and Hilary Thomas, University of Surrey, 13 and 20 July 2005.
Organiser: Two Regular Sessions on "Popular Culture," American Sociological Association's Annual Meeting, San Francisco, 14-18 August, 2004.
Organiser: Special Session, "The Comparative Study of Cultural Organizations," American Sociological Association's Annual Meeting, Toronto, 9-13 August, 1997.
Reviewer for American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Ethnic and Racial Studies, Poetics, Social Forces, Sociological Research Online, Sociological Theory, and Visual Communication, and proposals for the ESRC and the National Science Foundation (US).
Editorial Activities
Member, Advisory Board, International Journal of Politics, Culture and Society, 2006-present.
Member, Editorial Board, Poetics: Journal of Empirical Research on Literature, the Media and Arts, 1997-present.
Contributing Editor, American Journal of Sociology, 1998-2000.
Book Review Co-Editor: Sociological Research Online. 1996-97.
