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Faculty Bio

Gil Gillespie

Gilbert W. Gillespie, Jr.

Senior Research Associate

340 Warren Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-7801
Email: gwg2@cornell.edu
Phone: (607) 255-1675

Training

Ph.D. 1987 Cornell University (Sociology)
M.S 1977 University of Nebraska at Omaha (Sociology)
B.S. 1967 Iowa State University (Farm Operation)

Areas of Interest

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» community sociology
» applied sociology

Research

In my research program, I aim to better understand the social aspects of the interrelations among agriculture, communities, the food system, and the environment. Current areas of interest include how small-scale food processing, small-scale cooperatives, and farmers' markets contribute to rural community development; how changes in the dairy industry impact rural communities; and how social structure affects family food decision-making.

My future work will build on my current program, but will focus more on collaborative efforts with grassroots and other community groups. My goal is to help them take advantage of opportunities and deal with problems through participatory research, while, at the same time, contributing to social scientific knowledge.

Selected Publications

Gillespie, G. W. and Peter R. Sinclair. 2000. "Shelves and Bins: Varieties of Qualitative Sociology in Rural Studies." Rural Sociology 65(2): 180-193.

Lyson, T. A., Amy E. Guptill, and G. W. Gillespie. 2000. "Community Engagement and Dairy Farm Performance A Study of Farm Operators in Upstate New York." Research in Rural Sociology and Development 8: (forthcoming).

Harper, D. and G. Gillespie. 1997. "Give and take among the rural poor." International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 17(3/4): 102-129.

Gillespie, G. W. 1995. "Sustainable agriculture and prospects for rural community development in the U.S. research." Rural Sociology and Development, 6: 167-191.

Lyson, T. A. and G. W. Gillespie. 1995. "Making more milk on fewer farms: Neoclassical and neostructural explanations of changes in dairy farming." Rural Sociology, 60(3): 493-504.