Curriculum Vitae

Joseph J. Byle
E-mail: jbyle@oakland.edu
Website: http://josephbyle.weebly.com

Education:

PhD in Sociology, 2017

Wayne State University, Detroit, Michigan
 Dissertation Title:
A Narrative Study of Chaldean Refugees & the Myth of Return:
From Chaldean Babylon to the New World
 Advisor:
Dr. Khari Brown

M.A. in Comparative Religion, 2009

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan
 Thesis Title:
A Comparative Analysis of Bridge-Faiths: A Thesis on Messianic Judaism,
Evangelical Feminism, and Unity School of Christianity
 Thesis Advisors:
Dr. Brian C. Wilson (Chair)
Dr. Khari Brown
Dr. Timothy Light

B.A. in Christian Thought, 2001

William Tyndale College, Farmington Hills, Michigan

A.A. in General Studies, 1992

Oakland Community College, Auburn Hills, Michigan
Teaching Experience:

Wayne State University, Detroit Michigan

 Graduate Student Assistant (2015-2016)

Duties:
Taught SOC 2000 Understanding Human Society

 Part time faculty position in the Department of Sociology (2012 – 2014)

Duties:
Taught SOC 2100 Special Topics in Sociology: The Sociology of Detroit

 Worked as GSA in the Office for Teaching and Learning (fall 2013 – fall 2014)
Duties:
1. Conducted Midterm Assessment Plans, (MAPS) which involved writing assessment
reports as well as MAP consultations for faculty
2. Researched best teaching practices and classroom technologies
3. Conducted consultations and workshops on teaching portfolios and the utilization of
various classroom technologies (Blackboard, Wimba, i<clicker, and Respondus)
4. Assisted with focus groups

 Served as a volunteer Teacher Assistant SOC 5870 Family Violence (Fall 2010)

 Developed and presented a model on the causes of Xenophobia

 Presentations:
1. On “Religious Switching: Preference Development, Maintenance, and Change,” an
article by Matthew T. Loveland
2. On “Humanizing the Homeless: Does Contact Erode Stereotypes,” by Tom Knech,
and Lisa M. Martinez

Monroe County Community College, Monroe Michigan

  Adjunct Faculty position
Duties:
Teaching SOC 151 Principles of Sociology both in class and online (winter 2013 – winter
2017)
 Served on the (LAC) Learning Assessment Committee (January 2015 – 2016)

Oakland Community College, Auburn Hills, Michigan

 Adjunct Faculty position
Duties:
Teaching HUM 1750 World Religions
Teaching HUM 2720 Bible (summer 2015 – Present)

Oakland University, Rochester Hills, Michigan

 Special Lecturer
Duties:
Teaching SOC/REL 305 Sociology of Religion
Teaching SOC/AN 331 Racial and Ethnic Relations
Teaching SOC 1000 Introduction to Sociology (winter 2016-Present)

Macomb Community College

 Adjunct Faculty
Duties:
Teaching HUM 1700 Comparative Religion (Winter 2017 – Present)

Western Michigan University, Kalamazoo, Michigan

 Delivered lectures on Islam, Buddhism, and Sacred Art
 Presentations:
1. On “Sociology and the World’s Religions” by Malcolm Hamilton
2. On “The Sacred and the Profane: The Nature of Religion” by Mircea Eliade
3. On “Business of a Biographer” by Catherine Drinker Bowen
4. On “Dark Shamans” by Neil L. Whitehead
5. On “Body of Power Spirit of Resistance” by Jean Comaroff

Awards/Honor Society Memberships:

  3013-2014 Outstanding Adjunct Faculty Award Nomination (Monroe CCC)
 Mary Cay Sengstock Diversity Scholarship
 Pontiac High Scholarship
 Alpha Kappa Delta, The International Sociology Honor Society
 Who’s Who Among American Universities & Colleges
 Alpha Sigma Lambda Honor Society
 The National Dean’s List

Research:
 Publication:
Chaldean Christian Refugees & the Myth of Return: A Narrative Study
Digest of Middle Eastern Studies (DOMES) Vol. 27, Issue 2, DOI: 10.111/dome.12136
 Recent Papers:
1. Unique Methodological Issues/Biases in the Research Process
2. Turf Wars or Harmonious Integration?
A discourse analysis on gentrification in news print
3. Supernatural Agents and the Definition of Religion: An Essay on Frazer vs. Durkheim
4. Sikhism as a bridge-faith
5. Three reports: Karl Marx, Emilѐ Durkheim, and Max Weber

Additional Experience:
 Quality Online Teaching Certification Course Winter 2019 Cohort (Oakland University)
 Substitute Teach for several local school districts, through PESG and Edu Staff
 Presented at the 5th Annual Migration With(out) Boundaries – Michigan State University
Presentation title:
A Narrative Study of Chaldean Refugees and the Myth of Return: From Chaldean
Babylon to the New World
 Presented at the14th Annual CMLLC Graduate Forum Conference – Wayne State
University
Presentation title:
A Narrative Study of Chaldean Refugees and the Myth of Return: From Chaldean
Babylon to the New World
 Served on the Detroit Sociologist newsletter team (2014 – 2015)
 Presented at the 2011 Michigan Sociological Association’s annual conference
Presentation title:
Bridge-Faiths, Navigating Through Atypical Intersections
Conferences/Workshops
 5th Annual Migration With(out) Boundaries – Michigan State University
 14th Annual CMLLC Graduate Forum Conference – Wayne State University
 MSA 2015 Annual Conference: Sociology & Civic Engagement
 NCSA 2015 Annual Meeting: New Visions of Human Flourishing
 Nilanjana Dasgupta’s 2015 Luncheon/Talk: Mind Bugs: The Nature of Implicit Prejudice
& Stereotypes
 2014 Fall Symposium Re: The City (Wayne State University)
 Empowering Students to Learn: Eighth Annual 2014 Conference on Teaching and
Learning (Oakland University and the University of Windsor)
 Valerie Purdie Vaughn’s 2014 Luncheon/Talk: Reducing Stereotype Stress
 Annual Adjunct Faculty 2014 Workshop (Monroe County Community College)
 Humanities Center Faculty Fellow Conference 2012: The Post-Racial Era?
 Michigan Sociological Association 2011 Annual Meeting: Navigating Intersectionality

Special Interests:
 Teaching Sociology/Comparative Religions/Religious Studies
 Studies in racial and ethnic inequality and the sociology of religion
 The Chaldean religious persecution and exodus out of Iraq
 The Myth of Return
 Examining bridge-faiths through the lens of Rational Choice theory and specifically
through certain propositions made by Rodney Stark and Roger Finke, in their book, “Acts
of Faith Explaining the Human Side of Religion”