Isaac Kimmel

Cohort

2017

Subfields

Cultural Sociology, Political Sociology, Qualitative Methods, Sociology of Religion, Theory

Profile

Isaac Kimmel is a doctoral candidate in sociology at Notre Dame and a graduate affiliate of the Center for Information, Technology, and Public Life at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Isaac’s research synthesizes insights from cultural sociology, legislative studies, and political communication to advance our understanding of the evolution of social problems in American public discourse. Isaac’s dissertation, entitled “Congressional Candidates Constructing COVID: Strategic Communication and Social Problems”, relies on qualitative analysis of 2020 congressional candidates’ Twitter accounts to illuminate the influence of political pressures on COVID-19 as a cultural object, with the aim of using COVID-19 as a case study on the values, frameworks, and priorities that animate contemporary political discourse more broadly. Isaac’s other projects focus on the role of collective memory in boundary-work, especially with regard to race, and on the Catholic moral imperative to practice epistemic humility and combat systemic racism.

Isaac holds an MA in sociology from Notre Dame and a BA in philosophy from the Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. He anticipates finishing his PhD in 2023.