Devon Thacker Thomas, Ph.D.
PROFESSOR OF SOCIOLOGY
(She/Her/Hers)
CONTACT INFORMATION
dthackerthomas@fullerton.edu
Voice: 657-278-8416
Fax: 657-278-2001
Dept: 657-278-3531
DEGREES
2013, Ph.D, Sociology, University of Colorado, Boulder
2007, M.A., Sociology, Univesity of Colorado, Boulder
2006, B.A, Sociology, University of Colorado, Boulder
Languages
Learner in Spanish
Learner in American Sign Language (ASL)
BIOGRAPHY
Devon Thacker Thomas received her Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Colorado Boulder. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at California State University, Fullerton. Dr. Thacker Thomas’s doctoral research used qualitative methods to examine: (1) how mandatory arrest laws are understood and experienced; (2) what consequences these laws generate; and (3) how the groups negotiate the consequences resulting from the laws. Her current research focuses on the intersection of mandatory arrest laws and legal marriage statuses in same-sex relationships. In terms of teaching, Dr. Thacker Thomas believes that teaching is purposeful, reflective and inherently includes ensuring that students feel involved, challenged, and productive in their learning. On the last day of each semester, her goal is no different than on the first day: that students will see her as approachable, welcoming, knowledgeable, and, most of all, genuinely interested in each of them.
RESEARCH AREAS
Intimate Partner, Family, and Interpersonal Violence
Gender and Victimization
Law enforcement and the Criminal Justice System
Corrections, penology, and reentry
COURSES REGULARLY TAUGHT
SOCI 366: Deviant Behavior
SOCI 411: Criminology
SOCI 417: Violence against Women and Girls: Global Realities
SOCI 485: Research Applications
Supervision courses: Independent study, MA thesis, Teaching Symposium
PUBLICATIONS
Ramirez, Blanca and Devon Thacker Thomas. 2019. “Mexican Immigrant Women’s Reconstruction of Punishment and Victimhood in Intimate Partner Violence.” Violence against Women https://doi.org/10.1177/1077801219850347
Thacker Thomas, Devon and Jenny R. Vermilya. 2019. “Framing ‘Friend’: Media Framing of ‘Man’s Best Friend’ and the Pattern of Police Shootings of Dogs.” Social Sciences 8(4):107.
Thacker Thomas, Devon, Eileen T. Walsh, Bern M. Torr, Anthony S. Alvarez, and Maria C. Malagon. 2018. “Incorporating High-Impact Practices for Retention: A Learning Community Model for Transfer Students.” Journal of College Student Retention: Research, Theory & Practice https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1521025118813618
Thacker Thomas, Devon, Berna M. Torr, and Eileen T. Walsh. 2017. “Experiential Learning: Benefits for Hispanic and First-Generation College Students.” International Journal of Learning, Teaching, and Educational Research 16(5):102-117.
Thacker Thomas, Devon and Laura L.B. Border. 2017. “Diversity as a Threshold Concept: Graduate Student Teachers’ Experiences Negotiating Liminality in the Postsecondary Classroom.” Practice and Evidence of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education 12(2):185-204.
Hillary Potter and Devon Thacker Thomas. 2012. “I Told You That’s How They Are”: Responses to White Women in Abusive Intimate Relationships with Men of Color.” Deviant Behavior 33:469-491.
Devon Thacker Thomas and Laura L.B. Border. 2011. “A Study of Graduate Student Consultant Programs Reveals Misalignment in Program Rationales, Program Content, Activities, and Perceived Benefits.” Studies in Graduate and Professional Student Development 14:37-51.
SCHOLARLY WORK
Devon Thacker. 2011. “Differential Sentencing in Intimate Partner Violence: A Study of Case Dismissal for Men and Women in Boulder County.” Prepared for the Domestic Violence Research Team, Boulder County Community Justice Services.
Devon Thacker. 2011. “Honor Suicide.” Pp. 722-723 in Encyclopedia of Women in Today's World edited by Mary Zeiss Stange, Carol K. Oyster, and Jane E Sloan. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Devon Thacker. 2010. “Incest.” Pp. 474-476 in Encyclopedia of Victimology and Crime Prevention edited by Bonnie S. Fisher and Steve P. Lab. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Devon Thacker. 2010. “Anna Marie Zwanziger.” Pp. 653-654 in Women and Crime: Encyclopedia of People and Issues edited by Vickie Jensen and Karren Baird-Olson. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Devon Thacker. 2010. “Joyce Ann Brown.” Pp. 341-343 in Women and Crime: Encyclopedia of People and Issues, edited by Vickie Jensen and Karren Baird-Olson (Eds.). Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Devon Thacker. 2010. “Mary Flora Bell.” Pp. 310-312 in Women and Crime: Encyclopedia of People and Issues, edited by Vickie Jensen and Karren Baird-Olson. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Devon Thacker. 2008. “Molly Blackburn.” Pp. 72 in Encyclopedia of Gender and Society, edited by Jodi O’Brien. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.