Education
2021 (exp.) North Carolina State University, Sociology – Ph.D.
Dissertation Title: A Comparative Historical Analysis of Incorporation, Agricultural Development and Cuba’s Social Metabolic Order, 1898-2016
Dissertation Committee: Stefano B. Longo (chair), Sarah Bowen, Thomas E. Shriver, and Michelle Schroeder-Moreno
2013 Illinois State University – M.A. Sociology
Thesis: The (Lack of) Political Power Behind the Economic Outcomes of Los Locataios in the Informal Economy of El Monstruo, Mexico City
Thesis Advisors: Thomas Burr (co-chair) and Maura Toro-Morn (co-chair)
2011 University of Houston-University Park – B.A. Sociology and Anthropology
Areas of Research and Teaching Interest
Environmental Sociology, Agri-Food Systems, Development, Social Movements, Qualitative Research, and Latin America and the Caribbean
Refereed Journal Articles
Smolski, Andrew R. and Matthew Lorenzen. Forthcoming. “Violence, Capital Accumulation, and Resistance in Contemporary Latin America: An Introduction.” Latin American Perspectives.
Smolski, Andrew R., Javier Sethness Castro, and Alexander Reid Ross. 2018. “Exile and Incorporation During Revolution: Mexico and Russia from 1910 to 1924” Capital & Class. doi: 10.1177/0309816818759229.
Honorable Mention: PEWS Terence K. Hopkins Student Paper Award, 2019
Pensado-Leglise, Mario del Roble and Andrew R, Smolski. 2017. “An Eco-Egalitarian Solution to the Capitalist Consumer Paradox: Integrating Short Food Chains and Public Market Systems” Agriculture. 7(76). doi:10.3390/agriculture7090076.
Torres Salcido, Gerardo, Mario del Roble Pensado Leglise and Andrew R. Smolski. 2015. ‘Public Markets in Mexico City. Social and Political relationships in food distribution’ Development in Practice 25(3): 295-305. doi: 10.1080/09614524.2015.1016481.
Journal Issues
Lorenzen, Matthew and Andrew R. Smolski (eds.). Forthcoming. “Violence and Contemporary Capital Accumulation in Latin America” Latin American Perspectives
Official Publication: January 2021
Book and Film Reviews
Cordero Oceguera, Emilia, Daniela García Grandón and Andrew R. Smolski. Forthcoming. “Two Stories about Extractivism.” Latin American Perspectives
Smolski, Andrew R. 2019. “Class Struggle and Violence in Latin American Cities.” Latin American Perspectives. doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/0094582X19860470.
Smolski, Andrew R. 2016. “Review of Killing Trayvons: An Anthology of American Violence, edited by Jeffrey St. Clair, Kevin Alexander Gray, and JoAnn Wypijewski and Dixie Be Damned: 300 Years of Insurrection in the American South by Neal Shirley and Saralee Stafford” Race & Class 58(2):104-108.
Smolski, Andrew R. 2016. “An academic object for decolonization: Review of El pensamiento filosófico latinoamericano, del Caribe y “latino” [1300-2000]” in Postcolonial Studies 19(3):365-357.
Smolski, Andrew R. 2015. Review of Grabbing Back: Essays against the Global Land Grab, edited by Alexander Reid Ross, in Development in Practice 25(3):442-443.
Manuscripts in Submission
‘Intersectionality and the Matrix of Spatial Inequality at New York City’s Farmers Markets’ with Jacob R. Rutz and Francesco Tiezzi at Food, Culture & Society
‘Capitalism and Sustainability: An Exploratory Content Analysis of Frameworks in Environmental Political Economy’ with Timothy P. Clark, Jason S. Allen, Heather Sanchez, and John Hedlund at Social Currents
‘Case Studies in the Sociology of Absence and Emergence: Anarcho-Populism in Russia and Mexico at the Turn of the 20th Century’ with Javier Sethness and Alexander Reid Ross at Critical Sociology
Journal Issues in Preparation
García Grandón, Daniela, Andrew R. Smolski and Joana Salem Vasconcelos (eds.) “The Agrarian Question as an Ecological Question in Latin America” Latin American Perspectives
Public Sociology
Garzon, Lariza and Andrew R. Smolski. 2020. “Episcopal Farmworker Ministry and disaster response to COVID-19.” Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development. 9(4): 191-196. doi: https://doi.org/10.5304/jafscd.2020.094.002.
Smolski, Andrew R. 2019. “FOIA and Waiting on Transparency.” CounterPunch 26(4): 26-33.
Smolski, Andrew R. 2019. “Stemming the Exploitation of Immigrant Farm Labor.” Contexts 18(2):70-doi: https://doi.org/10.1177/1536504219854727.
Smolski, Andrew R. 2018. “Sociology for positive, social change” online at Technician, December 3rd. http://www.technicianonline.com/opinion/article_9b8824bc-f773-11e8-8771-97ca742f4912.html.
Smolski, Andrew R. 2018. “Why Raleigh needs a stronger commitment to urban agriculture” in News & Observer, October 16th – p. 9A.
Smolski, Andrew. 2017. “Capital’s Hunger in Abundance” online at Jacobin, March 29th. https://jacobinmag.com/2017/03/food-production-hunger-waste-agriculture-commodity-capitalism.
Allen, Jason and Andrew Smolski. 2016. “Food Justice is Class War” online at Jacobin, September 22nd. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/09/agriculture-ecology-food-justice-farmworkers-local-climate.
Smolski, Andrew. 2016. “The New York Times Reports Mexico” in CounterPunch 23(4):28-30.
Smolski, Andrew. 2016. “Militarizing the War on Drugs” in CounterPunch 23(2):29-31.
Smolski, Andrew. R. 2015. “A People’s History of Mexican Constitutions” in CounterPunch 22(3):11-15.
Smolski, Andrew. 2014. “The Slow Death of Mexico City’s Public Markets” online at CounterPunch, October 28th. https://www.counterpunch.org/2014/10/28/the-slow-death-of-mexico-citys-public-markets/.
Smolski, Andrew R. 2014. “Privatizing Mexico” online at Jacobin, October 9th. https://www.jacobinmag.com/2014/10/privatizing-mexico.
Conrad, Ashley, Alyssa Curran, Phillip Dawson, Tim Glaza, Lauren Karplus, Greg King, Amber Madden, Dane Myers, Ambuj Neupane, Nancy Ouedraogo, Elizabeth Rardin, Katies Saunders, Robyn Savacool, Carolyn Schulte, Danielle Shtraus, Kate Slisz, Andrew Smolski, Luke Tervola, and Jenna Williams. 2011. ‘Reducing Our Waste in Bloomington-Normal, IL’, Community Project Design and Management Reports – Sociology. 3. https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/cpdmsoc/3/.
Research Experience
Present Rural Advancement Foundational International – USA
Project: Navigating Financial and Mental Health Crises
Principle Investigator: Laketa Smith
Position: Research Team Lead
Responsibilities: IRB protocol development, interview protocol development, data collection, data analysis with qualitative coding, publication development, conference and workshop presentations
Present Center for Environmental Farming Systems and World Food Policy Center
Project: COVID-19 and the NC Food System
Principal Investigator: Abbey Piner and Dara Bloom
Position: Graduate Research Assistant
Responsibilities: IRB protocol development, secondary data collection, interview data collection, content analysis protocol development, data analysis, interview protocol development, publication development
2016 North Carolina State University
Project: Advancing Marine Sociology: An Examination of the Interactions between Social Institutions and Marine Systems in a Caribbean Context
Principle Investigator: Stefano B. Longo
Position: Graduate Research Assistant
Responsibilities: literature review, logistics, Spanish interpreter
2011 Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development
Project: Reducing Our Waste in Bloomington-Normal, IL
Principle Investigator: Joan Brehm
Position: Graduate Research Assistant
Responsibilities: survey construction and delivery, data input, project presentation
2010 Center for Drug and Social Policy Research
Project: “Pathways and Turning Points: A Life-Course Analysis of Cessation within a Mexican-American Elderly Male Sample Population”
Principle Investigator: Alice Cepeda
Position: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Responsibilities: transcribing, coding, and analyzing interviews in English and Spanish
Grants and Fellowships
2020 Seed Grant
Project Title: An investigation of the relationship between farm household health and safety, economic security, labor allocation and animal welfare in North Carolina’s pasture-based pork and dairy operations
PIs: Francesco Tiezzi, Michael D. Schulman, and Andrew R. Smolski
Institution: NC Agromedicine Institute
Funded Amount: $4,999.00
2018-2020 Center for Environmental Farming Systems’ Graduate Fellowship
Institution: North Carolina State University
Funded Amount: $10,000
2019 Sustainability Fund
Project Title: Professional Development in Racial Equity for a Sustainable Food System Workshop
PIs: Wen Rivero, Emilia Cordero, Timothy P. Clark, Andrew R. Smolski and Francesco Tiezzi
Institution: North Carolina State University
Funded Amount: $897.59
2019 Latin American Perspectives Visiting Fellowship, 2019
Project Title: From Rift to Restoration in Mexico and Cuba: Comparing
Sustainable Agriculture in Contrasting Political-Economic Opportunity Structures of the Modern World-System
Institution: University of California at Riverside
Funded Amount: $3,292
2018 Arthur B. Moss Graduate School International Travel Grant
Institution: North Carolina State University
Funded Amount: $400.00
Honors and Awards
2019 Honorable Mention, Political Economy of the World-System’s Terence K. Hopkins Student Paper Award
2019 North Carolina State University Graduate Student Association Excellence in Classroom Teaching Award
2018 North Carolina State University Graduate Student Association Travel Assistance Award
2013 Illinois State University/American Sociological Association Distinguished Sociology Graduate Student Award
Invited Talks
2019 ‘Sustainable Agriculture and Agrarian Structure in Mexico and Cuba’ for Latin American Perspectives, Latin American Studies, and the University of California at Riverside’s Library in Riverside, California, 2019
Conference Papers Presented
2020 ‘Extensive Agriculture and the Social Metabolism of Neo-Colonial Cuba, 1898-
1958’ at the Rural Sociological Society Graduate Student Conference – Online
2019 ‘A Mixed-Method Analysis of Intersectional Inequality at New York City’s Farmers’ Markets’ with Jacob C. Rutz and Francesco Tiezzi at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society in Richmond, Virginia
2019 ‘Cuba, Agriculture, and World-Ecology: The Missing Exilic Ecological Regime, 1959-1965’ at the Fifth Annual Conference of the World-Ecology Research Network in San Francisco, California
2018 ‘Abolishing Pesticides? The Possibility of Exile and Agroecology’ at Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problems in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
2018 ‘An Institutional Marxist Approach to Food Justice Studies’ with Jason S. Allen at Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society in Portland, Oregon, 2018
2018 ‘An Eco-Egalitarian Solution to the Capitalist Consumer Paradox in the Alternative Agri-Food Network’ at XXXVI International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
2017 ‘Exile and Incorporation During Revolution: Mexico and Russia from 1910-1924’ with Alexander Reid Ross and Javier Sethness Castro at American Sociological Association Annual Meeting in Montreal, Canada
2016 ‘Who does It?: Testing Agency in the Case of United States Ozone Reduction, 1990-1997’ Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting in Atlanta, Georgia
2015 ‘Food Distribution and Socioeconomic Relationships: Mexico City’s Public Markets’ with Gerardo Torres Salcido and Mario del Roble Pensado Leglise at The Midwest Sociological Society Annual Conference in Kansas City, Missouri
2013 ‘Los Locatarios: The Public Markets of Mexico and Development Policy’ at the Midwest Sociological Society Annual Conference in Chicago, Illinois
2012 ‘Re-Historicizing Community Development: The Australian Aboriginal Example’ at The Midwest Sociological Society Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota
2011 ‘A First Look at Social Mechanism Theory’ at Southwest Social Sciences Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada
Conference Panels Organized
2018 ‘Globalizing Food System Inequalities Through Neoliberal States’ with Emilia I. Cordero Oceguera (Chair) and Daniel García Grandón at the International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain
Conference Discussant/Moderator
2019 ‘Land Access and Finance Issues for Farm Operations: Cross-National Perspectives’ at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society in Richmond, Virginia
2018 ‘Post-Capitalist Frameworks: Centering Values in a Just Food System’ at the Annual Meeting of the Rural Sociological Society in Portland, Oregon
Campus/Departmental Talks and Workshops
2020 ‘Qualitative Research: Using NVivo’ for Peer Scholars Event Series at North Carolina State University
2020 ‘Qualitative Research: Getting Started’ for Peer Scholars Event Series at North Carolina State University
2019 ‘Systematic Approaches to Building a Literature Review’ for Peer Scholars Event Series at North Carolina State University
2019 ‘Critical Interdisciplinary Research Design: Combining Social and Animal Sciences’ with Francesco Tiezzi for the Environment and Food Section of the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at North Carolina State University
2019 ‘Mexico’s Food System in Transition: A Sociologically Informed View’ with Tim Kloppe for the North Carolina State University College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Student Association for Interdisciplinary and Global Engagement in Raleigh, North Carolina
Other Scholarly Participation
2020 ‘Red de Estudios Ecológicos y Agrarios de América Latina’ – Workshop with Daniela García Grandón and Joana Salem Vasconcelos at the International Congress of the Latin American Studies Association in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, 2020
2019 ‘Intersectional Inequality and Distance to Farmers’ Markets in New York City’ – Poster Session with Jacob R. Rutz and Francesco Tiezzi at the Center for Environmental Farming Systems’ All-CEFS meeting in Greensboro, North Carolina, 2019
2018 ‘A Capitalist Ecological Crisis, Structural Impediments to Reflexivity, and the Role of Class Power’ – Roundtable at American Sociological Association with Timothy P. Clark, Jason Allen, and Heather Kay Sanchez in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2018
2018 ‘Exile as a Determinant of State (De)Formation During Revolution’ – Poster Session with Alexander Reid Ross and Javier Sethness Castro at North Carolina State University’s Graduate Student Research Symposium in Raleigh, North Carolina, 2018
2017 ‘Socio-Ecological Solidarity and Sanction-Oriented Action in Developing a Just, Ecologically Sustainable Food System’ – Roundtable at Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting in Greenville, South Carolina
2014 ‘Sistemas Agroaliementarios Localizados’ – Electronic forum for RedSIAL-Latin America
Teaching Experience
2015-Present North Carolina State University – Instructor of Record, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Upper-level Courses: Theories of Social Structure (4 semesters)
Lower-level Courses: Jobs and Work (5 semesters), Principles of Sociology (2 semester), Technology in Society and Culture (2 semesters), Social Deviance (1 semester), Current Social Problems (1 semester – Distance Education)
2018-Present Meredith College – Adjunct Sociology Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology
Upper-Level Courses: Sociology of the Border (1 semester)
Lower-level Courses: Deviance and Society (3 semester), Principles of Sociology (1 semester)
2018-2019 North Carolina State University – Distance Education Grader, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Lower-level Courses: Social Problems (1 semester), Principles of Sociology (1 semester), Cultural Geography (1 semester), Community and Health (1 semester)
2014-2017 Lone Star College – Distance Education Instructor, Department of Social/Behavioral Sciences, 2014-2017
Lower-level Courses: Principles of Sociology (2 semester), Minority Studies (3 semesters), Social Problems (2 semester), Marriage and Family (1 semester)
2015 North Carolina State University – Teaching Assistant, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Upper-level Courses: Families and Work (1 semester), Social Research Methods (1 semester)
2011-2013 Illinois State University – Teaching Assistant, Department of Sociology and Anthropology
Lower-level Courses: Human Sexuality (3 semesters), American Family (1 semester)
Service to the Profession
2019-Present Coordinating Editor, Latin American Perspectives
2018-Present Graduate Student Representative, Nominations Committee of the Rural Sociological Society
2020 Committee Member, Rural Sociological Society’s Sociology of Agriculture and Food Research Interest Group Best Student Paper Award Committee
2018 Committee Chair, Marxist Sociology Praxis Award of the Marxist Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association
2012-2013 Member, Social Action Committee of The Midwest Sociological Society
University Service
2016-Present Sustainable Agriculture Graduate Student Association at North Carolina State University
Vice President, 2019-2020
Secretary, 2017-2018
Departmental Service
2020-2021 Graduate Student Representative for the NCSU Sociology Graduate Student Advisory Board
2017-2018 Curriculum Committee Member for Department of Sociology and Anthropology at North Carolina State University
Manuscript Reviewer
Development in Practice; Human Ecology Review, Latin American Perspectives
Membership in Professional Organizations
American Sociological Association
Year joined: 2013
Section Membership: Environmental Sociology and Political Economy of the World-System
Rural Sociological Society
Year joined: 2017
RIG Membership: Sociology of Agriculture and Food and International Development and Studies
Latin American Studies Association
Year joined: 2017
Section Membership: Food, Agriculture, and Rural Studies and Environment
Professional Development
2020 Mental Health First Aid at NC Agromedicine Institute
2020 NVivo Workshop at Duke University
2020 Southern SARE Leadership Team Training: The Trauma of Betrayal in Farm Loss at Rural Advancement Foundation International
2020 Navigating Financial and Mental Health Crises Training at Rural Advancement Foundation International
2019 Center for Environmental Farming Systems Graduate Fellowship Education and Policy Trip – Washington D.C.
2019 Data Matters Short Course Series at National Consortium for Data Science
2019 Silvopasture Workshop at Center for Environmental Farming Systems
2019 Grant Writing Development Series at the Graduate School, North Carolina State University
2018 R for Absolute Beginners, North Carolina State University
2015 Witness for Justice Program Orientation at Legal Aid of North Carolina – Farmworker Unit
2011 Future Faculty Workshop at the Center for Teaching, Learning, and Technology, Illinois State University
2010 Spanish Language Courses at Kukulcan Spanish Language Immersion School, Cuernvaca, Mexico
2009 Global Leadership Program at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
Community Involvement and Outreach
2019 ‘Disparities in Land Access and Strategies for Food Sovereignty’ – Breakout Session with Josie Walker, Alexandra Treyz, Lariza Garzon, Andrew Kang Bartlett, Emilia Cordero Oceguera and Antonio Tovar at Closing the Hunger Gap in Raleigh, North Carolina, 2019
2018 ‘Benefits of Urban Agriculture’ – Presentation to the Environmental Advisory Board for the City of Raleigh, North Carolina
2015-2018 Witness for Justice Volunteer, Legal Aid of North Carolina’s Farm Worker Unit
2016 ‘Andrew Smolski on Mexico’ – Podcast for CounterPunch Radio
2016 ‘Interview with Noam Chomsky’ – Radio Show for KPFT 90.1 FM
2015 ‘Mexican Oil Privatization’ – Radio Show for WORT 89.9 FM
2014 ‘Ayotzinapa’ – Radio Show for KPFT 90.1 FM
2012 ‘The Public Markets of Mexico City’ – Radio Show for KPFT 90.1 FM
2011 ‘Reducing Our Waste in Bloomington-Normal, IL’ – Community Presentation for the
Stevenson Center for Community and Economic Development at Illinois State University, Bloomington-Normal, IL
2008 ‘In Conversation with John Pilger’ – Community Panel at Houston Community College
Languages
English – reading (native); speaking (native); writing (native)
Spanish – reading (fluent); speaking (fluent); writing (fluent)
Portuguese – reading (professional)