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Foster Kamanga

Assistant Teaching Professor

Dr. Foster Kamanga is a critical sociologist, and his research examines how the distribution of power within and across civil society, private, and state institutions function to produce class, gender, racial/ethnic, and sexual inequalities. Guided by theories of New International Political Economy, he also investigates how the complex network of transnational corporations, transnational states, the world culture-ideology of consumerism, and their intersections produce and reproduce inequalities locally and/or globally. His additional area is education. Dr. Kamanga focuses on strategies of instruction design, planning, classroom delivery, and assessment.

 

Area of Expertise

Dr. Kamanga's research and teaching expertise is in social inequalities, social statistics, ethnography, comparative and historical methods, classical and contemporary sociological theories, global/transnational studies, urban and community studies, social movements, political sociology, sociology of work, and occupations.

Education

PhD, Sociology, University of Nevada, Las Vegas

MEd, International Education, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

BA, History and Education Humanities, University of Malawi – Chancellor College

License/Certifications

Graduate Mentorship Certification Program, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2023–2024)

Courses

SOCI 239 Introduction to Social Research I
SOCI 249 Inequalities
AST 249 Inequality: Race, Class, and Gender in Comparative Settings
SOCI 330/530 Transnational/Global Studies

Community Engagement

  • Panelist — The Strategies for Thriving in the Thesis/Dissertation Process Workshop. (August 7, 2024)
  • Member – Scholars Strategy Network, Nevada Chapter (2022–present)
  • Interviewed by Nevada Public Radio (NPR) reporter. “Costs and Consequences of Traffics Fines and Fees in Nevada.” The data was used in the 2021 amendment of AB116 bill by the Nevada State legislature. (April 2021)
  • Interviewed by Nevada Currents. “Costs and Consequences of Traffics Fines and Fees in Nevada.” (February 2021) 

Research/Special Projects

Dr. Kamanga is currently working on a research project entitled "Development vs. Neocolonialism Debates Reconsidered: Financialization on the Farmland in the Sugar Industry in Malawi."

Publications/Presentations

  • Brents, B. G., McMahan, V., Kamanga, F. C, Underwood, M., Howard, R., Ball, A., Sagun, R., and Sahuc. D., (2023). “The Political Economy of Pleasure.” In Routledge Handbook on Sexuality, Gender, Health and Rights, The Choreography of Sex. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003278405-34 DOI: 4324/9781003278405-34
  • Barbara, G. B., McMahan, V., Underwood, M., Howard, R., Kamanga, F. C, Sahuc, D., Sagun, R., Ball, A., (2023). “What does pleasure mean in Western culture?”. In Routledge Handbook of Sexuality, Gender, Health and Rights. Taylor & Francis DOI: 10.4324/9781003278405-34
  • Garcia, L. M., Vanderlaan, J., Kamanga, F. C., & Graham-Wood, B. A. (2023). Content Analysis of Water Birth Policies with Implications for Practice and Research. Nursing for Women's Health. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nwh.2023.02.006
  • Vanderlaan, J., Kamanga, F. , & Garcia, L. M. (2022). Challenges to Interdisciplinary Consensus for Evidence-Based Practice with Water Immersion for Labor and Birth: A Systematic Review of Scholarly References. Health Sciences Review.
  • Kamanga, F. C., Smercina, V., Brents, B. G., Okamura, D., & Fuentes, V. (2021). Costs and consequences of traffic fines and fees: A case study of open warrants in Las Vegas, Nevada. Social Sciences, 10(11), 440. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci10110440
  • Smercina, V., Kamanga, F. C., & Brents, B. G. 2021. Costs and Consequences of Traffic Fines and Fees in Nevada. Federal Sentencing Reporter. 34(2-3), pp. 196-197
  • Kamanga, F. C., Experiences of Religious Minorities in Public High Schools in the Pioneer Valley: The Case of Jehovah's Witnesses. (2016). Master's Capstone 182. https://scholarworks.umass.edu/cie_capstones/182

Professional Affiliations and Memberships

  • The American Sociological Association (2017 – Present)
  • Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) (2018 – Present)
  • Problem Solving Sociology (2019 – Present)

Awards

Outstanding Academic Achievement Award, Alliance of Professionals of African Heritage, University of Nevada, Las Vegas (2024)