He has previously conducted research on identity work among dog owners, constructions of masculinities in the music world, the attainment of adulthood among musicians, and an ethnographic study of a regional men's movement.
He is currently working on two projects. The first is a qualitative study of fathers examining the extent to which social class, race, ethnicity, and employment in particular job sectors influence the work-family interface. The second is an ethnographic project on constructions of masculinities a men’s religious movement.
Description: Pursuing the dream of a musical vocation—particularly in rock music—is typically regarded as an adolescent pipedream. Music is marked as an appropriate leisure activity, but one that should be discarded upon entering adulthood. How then do many men and women aspire to forge careers in music upon entering adulthood? In Destined for Greatness, sociologist Michael Ramirez examines the lives of forty-eight independent rock musicians who seek out such non-normative choices in a college town renowned for its music scene. He explores the rich life course trajectories of women and men to explore the extent to which pathways are structured to allow some, but not all, individuals to fashion careers in music worlds. Ramirez suggests a more nuanced understanding of factors that enable the pursuit of musical livelihoods well into adulthood.
Abstract: Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia, is accessed by over 1.5 billion users each month, yet remains stigmatized in the academic world. Many faculty demonstrate reluctance in allowing students to use Wikipedia as part of their research and writing projects due to the open access nature of the site and have all but banned its use in their courses. In this article, we evaluate implications of our pedagogical decision to embed a Wikipedia editing assignment into our respective undergraduate courses at a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) in South Texas. First, we describe students’ initial reactions to Wikipedia as disrupting the classroom. Second, we examine the outcomes of the assignment in our Latinx students’ recognizing their work on Wikipedia as an act of decolonizing the classroom. In particular, we show the extent to which students a) claim authority, b) develop an ownership of knowledge, c) forge identities as public scholars, and d) develop a civic responsibility through their work on Wikipedia. We conclude with a discussion of recommendations for implementing assignments on digital citizenship in college classrooms, particularly in HSIs.
Abstract: Identity politics have been of considerable interest to the qualitative research tradition as researchers have speculated on the extent to which identity and positionality matter in the field. In this autoethnography, I analyze private writings I composed while studying musicians’ life course trajectories in musical careers, paying particular attention to the methodological implications of my fieldwork decisions. I concentrate on: 1) issues of access, 2) identity politics, and 3) the ethics of relationships in the field. I analyze the extent to which I negotiated several (sometimes conflicting) ways I presented my identity in different settings and among different populations. My presentation of self-strategies – sometimes intentional, other times haphazard – allowed me successful entrée to the music world, though I remained an outsider within. I conclude with methodological implications highlighting the ways researchers’ identities may influence the research process and suggestions for qualitative researchers to consider in future studies.
Abstract: Using interview data from 38 musicians, this study examines the ways in which the transition to adulthood is complicated by aspirations to a nonstandard line of work. Musicians face a recurring set of obstacles as they move into adulthood and respond by enacting various tactics to reconcile these dilemmas. The “on-time” musicians do so by framing emerging adulthood as a time for exploration, while musicians in young adulthood regarded as “off-time” feel more pressure to disengage from musical careers. Those who persist are able to do so by successfully reframing the musician identity as congruent with adulthood. This research illustrates the challenges of attaining adulthood for those on nonstandard paths as well as the ways in which adulthood is achieved by contemporary young adults.
Abstract: Using interview data from twenty-eight men performing in independent rock bands in a college music town, this study examines the consequences informal careers have on constructions of masculinities. First, musicians illustrate the ways in which musical commitment poses challenges to normative masculinities as they move into adulthood. In particular, parents, families, and peers regard musicianhood as lacking the attainment of full adulthood, as well as a lesser achievement of normative masculinity. Second, musicians illustrate the consequences of musical commitment, particularly how they negotiate and construct their masculinities within musical contexts. In general, men use musical worlds as a site to play with innovative gender identities, but continue to be bound by traditional assumptions of culturally-appropriate adult masculinities.
Abstract: Based on interviews with twenty-six dog owners in northeast Georgia, this article examines how people rely on gender norms to organize their relationships with their dogs. Owners use gender norms to (1) select what they consider to be suitable dogs, (2) describe their dogs' behaviors and personalities, and (3) use their dogs as props to display their own gender identities. Although these findings are specific to dog owners, they suggest ways individuals may attempt to display gender in other relationships characterized by a power imbalance.
Book Chapters Ramirez, Michael. 2009. “Dog Ownership as a Gender Display” in Between the Species: Readings in Human-Animal Interaction, edited by Arnold Arluke and Clinton Sanders. Boston: Allyn-Bacon, pp. 53 – 60.
Revised version of “‘My Dog’s Just Like Me’: Dog Ownership as a Gender Display.” Symbolic Interaction 2006, 29(3): 373 – 391.