Dr. Jill Harrison

Jill Harrison
Department, Office, or School
Department of Sociology
  • Professor

Dr. Jill Hume Harrison is a Professor of Sociology at Rhode Island College. She holds a B.A. from Wells College, an M.A. from George Mason University, and a Ph.D. from the University of New Hampshire. Her research focuses on the intersection between mental health and crime. Her work has been published in several journals, including Women in Criminal JusticeInternational Review of Modern SociologyCorrections CompendiumContemporary Issues of Criminology in the Social SciencesInternational Journal of CrimeCriminal Justice and the Law, and Sage Research Methods. In her most recent work, she interviewed high risk inmates to examine the relationship between trauma and recidivism. For over 7 years, she led a meditation program for inmates at the Adult Correctional Institutions of Rhode Island and continues to offer on-site programming and classes to inmates and correctional staff. She also served on the drug prevention coalition in Jamestown, RI and currently serves on the town’s juvenile hearing board. She is also a court appointed special advocate for children under state care. In her book, Writing for the Criminal Justice System (Springer 2017), the focus is on formal writing skills and cultural competency across many platforms within the criminal justice spectrum, from law enforcement incident reports to grant writing. Her most recent book, Critical Thinking: Developing the Intellectual Tools for Social Justice (Routledge 2020) engages critical thinking techniques as tools for social and economic justice. She peer reviews journal articles for the Community Mental Health Journal and the Journal for Offender Rehabilitation.

Dr. Harrison continues to offer undergraduate and graduate students an international service learning course during pre-spring terms. The most recent project focused on the issue of food security through sustainable gardening and hydroponics with children and staff at an orphanage/school in Conocoto, Ecuador where children’s parents are often incarcerated from policies related to drug trafficking, use, and domestic violence. She has presented research on these projects at the International Technology, Development and Innovation Conference in Valencia, Spain in 2016-2018  and has published research on incarcerated women in Ecuador in the journal Sociologists Without Borders.

Dr. Harrison teaches courses in criminal justice and sociology.

The international service learning course is offered in the pre-spring term - listen to student testimonials here.

Education

B.A., Wells College

M.A., George Mason University

Ph.D., University of New Hampshire

Courses

JSTD 466 Seminar in Justice Studies
SOC 207 Crime and Criminal Justice
SOC 309 The Sociology of Delinquency and​ Crime
SOC 318 Law and Society
SOC 342 Women, Crime and Justice
SOC 345 Victimology
SOC 450 Topics
SOC 501 Professional Writing for Justice Services
SOC 509 Advanced Criminological Theory​