Jason Jimerson, Ph.D.

• Ph.D., University of Chicago – Chicago, IL
• M.A., University of Virginia – Charlottesville, VA
• B.A., Earlham College – Richmond, IN

2002

Adult play, basketball, theory, organizations, criminal justice and criminology

“How do people get things done?” is the question that I find most interesting. My research has focused on explaining how adults play games, such as basketball, without authorities, such as coaches or referees. More recently, I have become interested in how adults make music in improvisational settings, such as at blues and jazz jams. I teach Introduction to Sociology, Sociology of Sport, Sociological Theory, and Organizations. As the director of criminal justice, I teach Criminology, Criminal Justice, and Corrections. I also take students to prisons, jails, and other correctional facilities every year, where they often speak with prisoners. My goal is to produce graduates who can “get things done” in criminal justice, non-profits, business, philanthropy, and life in general. My students’ success is my success.

My colleagues and I deliver sociology courses that enable students to gain skills that serve them well after graduation. For example, students learn practical skills, like survey design, statistical analysis, and data reporting, which employers value.

Students move intellectually from the abstract to the applied, from the classroom to the court. First, students learn about the history, scope, and regulations of the criminal justice system, with an emphasis on the U.S. Constitution. Second, they learn about cops, courts, and corrections. Third, students learn about criminals and their crimes. Fourth, they work as interns in criminal justice organizations. Ultimately, they learn how the system is supposed to work and how it does work.

Honors and Awards

2001 ASA Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award, IU Sociology Dept.
1994 Robert Park Lectureship Award
1993 Dorothy Danforth Compton Fellow
1992 Trustee Fellow
1990 Commonwealth Fellow

Grants

Runkle Faculty Development Grant Recipient
Rinker Endowment for Faculty Excellence Grant Recipient

Selected Scholarship

Documentary
Shirts and Skins, written by Jason Jimerson and directed by Ronald Osgood, was shown on WTIU: Bloomington, Indiana’s PBS television station in 2002 and 2003, and broadcast on WFWA in Fort Wayne, Indiana in September, 2003.

Articles
Jimerson, Jason B. and Oware, Matthew. 2006. “Telling the Code of the Street: An Ethnomethodological Ethnography.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 35(1): 24-50
Jimerson, Jason B. 2001. “A Conversation (Re)Analysis of Fraternal Bonding in the Locker Room.” Sociology of Sport Journal 18(3): 318-339
Jimerson, Jason B. 1999. “’Who Has Next?’ The Symbolic, Rational, and Methodical Use of Norms in Pickup Basketball.” Social Psychology Quarterly 62(2): 136-156
Jimerson, Jason B. 1996. “Good Times and Good Games: How Pickup Basketball Players Use Wealth-Maximizing Norms.” Journal of Contemporary Ethnography 25(3): 353-371
Baker, Wayne E. and Jason B. Jimerson. 1992. “The Sociology of Money.” American Behavioral Scientist 35(6): 678-693