I am a PhD candidate in sociology at the University of Kansas. My interdisciplinary research uses qualitative methods to study social and environmental problems in rural and (sub)urban places. With funding from the National Science Foundation (Award #1946941), I am currently completing dissertation research with hop farmers operating in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and across the Midwest. This project studies the practices of these unique farmers as a case example to better understand the generalizable relationships between agricultural innovation, technological change, and environmental outcomes. My next project will examine the links between environmental outcomes and labor/owner inequalities in high-labor food production.
Research
Do Farmers Know Better?
Project Summary
This project examines farmer-driven innovation, and whether such innovation results in environmentally sustainable or socially beneficial outcomes for farmers and agricultural landscapes. Using qualitative methods, I work with hop farmers in the US who are involved with innovating their own implements and/or operating their own breeding programs. This arrangement allows me to ask the simple question: do farmers know better? This research reveals how environments, social values, scientific knowledge, and financial pressures play into these farmers' practices and show that situating farmers as research experts can produce more sustainable futures.
2021. Comi, Matt Seeds, Chemicals, and Stuff: The Agency of Things in (un)just agriculture regimes Environmental Justice in the Anthropocene Ed. Melinda Laituri, Stacia Ryder, Katharyn Powlen. Routledge. [In Print]
2020 Comi, Matt "Other agricultures of scale: Social and environmental insights from Yakima Valley hop growers" Journal of Rural StudiesDOI:10.1016/j.jrurstud.2020.10.041
Sustainability and Digital Agriculture
Project Summary
This research stream examines the paired social and environmental results of emerging digital agriculture practices in large commodity industries. Drawing on qualitative research with midwestern agricultural professionals working in the corn and soy industries, this work examines the myriad biological, mechanical, and social technologies that "lock-in" large commodity farmers into unsustainable practices. By taking a relational approach to understanding "sustainability" and "digital agriculture" my research critically engages with the meanings of these practices and identifies potential methods for increasing farmer autonomy and improving sustainability in agricuture.
Related Grants and Awards
2019. American Sociology Association (ASA) Robert Boguslaw Award for Research on Technology and Humanism
Related Publications
2020. Comi, Matt "The distributed farmer: Rethinking US Midwestern precision agriculture techniques." Environmental Sociology. DOI:10.1080/23251042.2020.1794426
2019. Comi, Matt "'The right hybrid for every acre': Assembling the social worlds of corn and soy seed selling in conventional agricultural techniques." Sociologia Ruralis 59(1) pp 159-176. DOI: 10.1111/soru.12227 *Recipient, ASA Robert Boguslaw Award
Food, Culture, and Community Resilience
Project Summary
This research stream examines the links between food, culture, and community resilience in rural and (sub)urban places. My research examines multiple levels of the food production chain and this research specfically examines moments, people, and places where food consumption occur. Recent work in this area draws from event-based participant observation in rural Kansas to identify ways shared food at community fairs can produce conviviality and resilience in flagging small towns throughout the rural US Midwest.
Related Grants and Awards
2019. Association for the Study of Food and Society (ASFS) Alex McIntosh Paper Award
Related Publications
2021 Comi, Matt and Ruth Stamper. "Chicken Noodle Night: Conviviality, Resilience, and Food at the Vinland Fair." Food Culture and Society Special Issue ed. Bonnie Miller. [Forthcoming]
Teaching
Philosophy
My academic trajectory centers on two goals: 1) to more clearly understand the relationship between humans and their environments and 2) to help create more equitable futures for people on a warming planet. My teaching is directly informed by these goals and focuses on creating accessible and equitable spaces where students gain skills to critically engage with the world and solve social and environmental problems. To do this I focus on project based learning: approaching students as collaborators involved in making knowledge. I am prepared to teach a range of courses in sociology and environmental studies.
Areas Prepared to Teach
Environment + Society
Critical Environmental Justice
Human Dimensions of Climate Change
Critical Agri-Food Studies
Science and Technology Studies
Theory
Research Methods
Experience
Courses Previously Taught
Introduction to Sociology
Social Problems
Understanding Kansas Landscapes [Interdisciplinary Environmental Research Methods]
Courses Assisted
Varieties of the Human Experience [Intro to Cultural Anthropology]
Field Ecology
Environmental Studies Senior Capstone
Other Pedagogical Experience
Research Mentor. Haskell Environmnetal Research Studies [HERS] Program *
Graduate Writing Consultant. KU Writing Center
Office of Multicultural Affairs Safe Space Training