Biography

Dr. Perez is an associate professor of sociology with specializations in environmental justice, health and illness, and the sociology of risk. He was trained in quantitative survey research and secondary data analysis, but developed skills in mixed-methods research approaches in recent years that include field observations, interviews, and focus groups. A unifying theme throughout his career is the entwined configuration of health, risk, and society, with a focus on environmental and health issues through constructionist and social justice frameworks. Currently, his research focuses on perceptions of green infrastructure (“greening”) and processes of community change and environmental gentrification in South Wilmington, DE (Sponsored by the Delaware Sea Grant College Program with funds from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration [NOAA] Office of Sea Grant, U.S. Department of Commerce, under NOAA grant number NA22OAR4170094).

In his 19th year as a faculty member in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at UD, he regularly teach introductory sociology (Honors and non-Honors). Further, he has significant experience teaching quantitative sociological research methods, social statistics, and data analysis, and recently has focused on teaching courses that he created (Sociology of Diagnosis SOCI375 and Environment and Health SOCI335). In fall 2022, he created and taught a new course for the UD Honors College called “Deconstructing Definitions: The Medicalization of Society” as part of a new initiative to serve incoming Honors undergraduates. He also offers other core courses in the department (e.g., Sociology of Risk and Environmental Sociology).