Dr. Christopher Wellin

Teaching Interests & Areas

Chris Wellin is a sociologist whose teaching and research interests focus on critical gerontology; the study of work and occupations; and qualitative/interpretive research methods. Wellin has done ethnographic studies in diverse settings and communities, including technical theatre, factory work, and paid caregiving, especially for older people facing chronic illness and disability. Wellin's project has been to document and theorize informal, often tacit, work skills and their implications for the social organization of work and formal systems of authority. His publications have appeared in such outlets as Current Research on Occupations and Professions; Teaching Sociology; Qualitative Sociology; Journal of Aging and Social Policy; and the Handbook of Ethnography. A report summarizing ethnographic research on paid caregiving was commissioned by a committee of the National Academy of Sciences. He edited and contributed two chapters to the (2018) book, Critical Gerontology Comes of Age, published by Routledge (New York & London).