Spencer Headworth
Associate Professor
// Sociology
Faculty
Research focus:
Law & Society
Office and Contact
PhD, Sociology, Northwestern University
BA, Sociology, Psychology, Bowling Green State University
Courses
SCLA 200: Cornerstones in Constitutional Law
Sociology 328: Criminal Justice
Sociology 411: Social Stratification
Sociology 419: Sociology of Law
Sociology 686: Qualitative Research Methods
Specialization
LAW, SOCIAL CONTROL, INEQUALITY, TRANSPORTATION, ORGANIZATIONS, OCCUPATIONS
Dr. Headworth is the author of Policing Welfare: Punitive Adversarialism in Public Assistance (University of Chicago Press, 2021) and Rules of the Road: The Automobile and the Transformation of American Criminal Justice (Stanford University Press, 2023). His articles appear or are forthcoming in American Sociological Review, Social Forces, Sociological Theory, Law & Society Review, Law & Social Inquiry, Law & Policy, Punishment & Society, and other venues. He has received the ASA Sociology of Law Section’s Distinguished Article Award and Honorable Mention for LSA’s Herbert Jacob Book Prize.
Dr. Headworth’s current research primarily focuses on cars, law, criminal justice, and transportation insecurity. This includes a study of vehicle repossession and its effects funded by the Russell Sage Foundation, as well as an ongoing collaboration with David McElhattan examining legal restrictions on driving privileges.