Alissa Ruth
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SHESC Bldg TEMPE, AZ 85287
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Mail code: 2402Campus: Tempe
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Alissa Ruth is an educational social scientist and faculty member in the School of Human Evolution and Social Change. As the director of strategic initiatives, she creates, implements, and researches cutting-edge educational programming. Broadly stated, Ruth’s research focuses on structural inequalities faced by historically underserved students -- including students of color, immigrant and first-generation students -- within the United States and how those individuals overcome obstacles for upward social mobility. For example, a past project investigated how undocumented immigrant youth, utilized connections in high school to figure out how to get into college.
Ruth’s current research interests include innovative teaching pedagogies that improve students’ learning outcomes, how educational institutions shape belonging and communities, cultural understandings of public education, and the post-graduation success of first-generation college students. She also promotes and studies pedagogies that support undergraduate and graduate students learning high quality, systematic research methods. For instance, she has published papers on course-based undergraduate research experiences in the social sciences and online undergraduate research opportunities.
Before joining ASU in 2007, Ruth taught English as a Second Language at the University of Guanajuato in Guanajuato, Mexico for two years and is certified in student-centered teaching pedagogies. She has 20 years of higher education experience including research, teaching, advising, study abroad, curriculum design, and online program/course development. Additionally, Ruth is highly engaged in mentoring students and community members on various college and career pathways.
- Ph.D. Anthropology, Arizona State University 2014
- M.S. Justice Studies, Arizona State University 2007
- B.A. Anthropology, University of Florida 1999
Diversity Issues in Higher Education, First-Generation Students, Critical/Inclusive Pedagogy, Ethnographic and Qualitative Methods, College Student Belonging and Wellbeing, Immigration and Education, 1.5 Generation Immigrants with a regional focus in US Southwest, Mexico/Latin America
See google scholar for full list.
Ruth, A., A. Brewis, C. SturtzSreetharan, A. Wutich & C. Stojanowski. (2022). Effectiveness of Online Social Science Undergraduate Research Experiences: Exploratory Evidence. Frontiers in Education, https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2022.849908
Ruth, A., K. Mayfour, T. Sangaramoorthy, BMKJ. Brayboy, M. Beresford, A. Brewis, HR. Bernard, M. Glegziabher, J. Hardin, K. Harper, P. Mahdavi, JG. Snodgrass, C. SturtzSreetharan, A. Wutich. (2022). Teaching Ethnographic Methods for Cultural Anthropology: Current Practices and Needed Innovation. Teaching Anthropology, 11(2):59-72. https://doi.org/10.22582/ta.v11i2.634
Beresford, M., A. Wutich, A. Brewis, M. du Bray, A. Ruth, R. Stotts & C. SturtzSreetharan. (2022). Coding Qualitative Data at Scale: Lessons Learned for Large Coder Teams Based on 18 Studies. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, https://doi.org/10.1177/16094069221075860
Ruth, A., A. Brewis & C. SturtzSreetharan. (2021). Effectiveness of Social Science Research Opportunities: A Study of Course-based Undergraduate Research Experiences (CUREs). Teaching in Higher Education. https://doi.org/10.1080/13562517.2021.1903853
Ruth, A., C. SturtzSreetharan, A. Brewis & A. Wutich (2020). Structural Competency of Pre-Health Students: Can a Single Course Lead to Meaningful Change? Medical Science Educator. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40670-019-00909-9
Cadenas, G., N. Lynn*, E. Cantú, T. Spence* & A. Ruth. (2020). A Programmatic Intervention to Promote Entrepreneurial Self-efficacy, Critical Behavior, and Technology Readiness among Underrepresented College Students. Journal of Vocational Behavior February 116 (Part A):103350. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jvb.2019.103350
Ruth, A. & E. Estrada. (2019). DACAmented Homecomings: A Brief Return to Mexico and the Reshaping of Bounded Solidarity among Mixed-Status Latinx Families. Hispanic Journal of Behavioral Sciences. May 43(2): 145-165 https://doi.org/10.1177/0739986319843112
Ruth, A., E. Estrada, S. Martinez-Fuentes & A. Vazquez-Ramos. (2019). Soy de aqui, Soy de alla: DACAmented Homecomings and Implications for Identity and Belonging. Latino Studies. Fall 17(3): 304-322 https://doi.org/10.1057/s41276-019-00197-9
Ruth, A., A. Wutich & A. Brewis. (2019). A Model for Scaling Undergraduate Research Experiences: The Global Ethnohydrology Study. International Journal of Mass Emergencies and Disasters. March 37(1): 25-34
Ruth, A. (2018). Attaining the College Dream: The Effects of Politics on the Social Capital of First-Generation Undocumented Immigrant Students. Human Organization. March: 77(1) https://doi.org/10.17730/1938-3525.77.1.22
Ruth, A., A. Brewis, D. Blasco & A. Wutich. (2018). Long-term Benefits of Short Term Research-Integrated Study Abroad. Journal of Studies in International Education. https://doi.org/10.1177/1028315318786448
Ruth is currently working on the following projects:
- Access, Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education This project seeks to understand what various interventions and mechanisms can promote pathways for successful higher education and skill development, specifically for historically underrepresented and underserved students.
- Methods4all- This projects has three objectives: to 1) bring methods training to Ph.D. students; 2) make social science research methods accessible to a broad audience; 3) build a scholarly community to support methods research and learning in cultural anthropology.
Past Projects:
- Social Entrepreneurship and Career Pathways Study This multi-year project, supported by the Cisco Fund, an advised fund of Silicon Valley Community Foundation, focused on studying the educational and career development of underserved high school and community college youth, in relation to their exposure to social entrepreneurship curriculum.
- Intergenerational Family Dynamics in a New Era of Immigration This multi-year, multi-faceted research project examines various legal, economic, political, social and familial dimensions of today’s Mexican immigrants who have lived a majority of their lives in the United States.
Courses
2023 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 799 | Dissertation |
ASB 792 | Research |
ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
ASB 592 | Research |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
2023 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 799 | Dissertation |
ASB 792 | Research |
2023 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
ASB 799 | Dissertation |
ASB 792 | Research |
ASB 592 | Research |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 455 | Practicum for Soc Sci |
ASB 394 | Special Topics |
ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
2022 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 799 | Dissertation |
ASB 792 | Research |
ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
ASB 592 | Research |
ASB 484 | Internship |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 484 | Internship |
ASB 421 | Education and Society |
ASB 394 | Special Topics |
ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
2022 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
ASB 799 | Dissertation |
ASB 792 | Research |
ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
2022 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
ASB 799 | Dissertation |
ASB 792 | Research |
ASB 592 | Research |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 484 | Internship |
ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 484 | Internship |
ASB 455 | Practicum for Soc Sci |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
2021 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 799 | Dissertation |
ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
ASB 592 | Research |
ASB 421 | Education and Society |
ASB 394 | Special Topics |
2021 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
ASB 799 | Dissertation |
ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
2021 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
ASB 799 | Dissertation |
ASB 792 | Research |
ASB 592 | Research |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
ASB 102 | Intro to Cultural Anthropology |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 584 | Internship |
2020 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 799 | Dissertation |
ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
ASB 592 | Research |
ASB 322 | Peoples of Latin America |
ASB 322 | Peoples of Latin America |
2020 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
ASB 799 | Dissertation |
ASB 792 | Research |
ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
2020 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
ASB 493 | Honors Thesis |
ASB 799 | Dissertation |
ASB 792 | Research |
ASB 592 | Research |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 590 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 790 | Reading and Conference |
ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
ASB 102 | Intro to Cultural Anthropology |
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 322 | Peoples of Latin America |
ASB 584 | Internship |
2019 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
ASB 499 | Individualized Instruction |
ASB 492 | Honors Directed Study |
ASB 102 | Intro to Cultural Anthropology |
2019 Summer
Course Number | Course Title |
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SSH 403 | Cross-Culturl Stds Global Hlth |
SSH 403 | Cross-Culturl Stds Global Hlth |
ASB 443 | Cross-Culturl Stds Global Hlth |
ASB 443 | Cross-Culturl Stds Global Hlth |
2019 Spring
Course Number | Course Title |
---|---|
ASB 102 | Intro to Cultural Anthropology |
2018 Fall
Course Number | Course Title |
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ASB 102 | Intro to Cultural Anthropology |
Ruth has overseen cutting-edge curricular projects including online programs, undergraduate research, and study abroad programs. An example of a project she managed was ASM 246 Human Origins--an open, digitally enabled course for ASU’s Global Freshman Academy.