Marwin Spiller

Assistant Professor

Bradley Hall 113
(309) 677-2390
mspiller@bradley.edu

Ph.D., Sociology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
M.A., Sociology, Western Illinois University
B.S., Psychology, Western Illinois University

Biography

Marwin Spiller holds a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign and an M.A. in Sociology and B.S. in Psychology from Western Illinois University. Dr. Spiller’s areas of expertise are race, stratification, culture, political sociology, and the sociology of education. He regularly teaches courses on these topics, including Social Inequality; Race, Ethnicity, and Power; and Sociology of Education.

Scholarship

Dr. Spiller has published multiple articles on race, class and political behavior. He has also collaborated with Roderick Land of the University of Utah to complete “A Serious Dialogue: The State of Young Black Males and the Omnipresent Influence of Hip-Hop Culture,” a book chapter in The State of African-American Males in Michigan. Dr. Spiller is currently involved with two ongoing research projects. In the first study, he is exploring patterns of racial and social segregation of online social networks, via Facebook users. The second project is a collaborative study with Dr. Lori Wiebold investigating the life patterns of Black men between the ages of 25 and 40, with a focus on factors that impact the probability of achieving personal life success.
Selected Publications
Spiller, Marwin J. “Voter turnout and the changing effects of socioeconomic status and political attitudes among African American young adults, 1960-1998.”   Forthcoming in Social Science Quarterly. 
Spiller, Marwin J. and Roderick Land. 2010. “A serious dialogue:  The state of young black males and the omnipresent influence of hip-hop culture.”  In The State of African-American Males in Michigan. East Lansing, MI:  Michigan State University Press. 
Spiller, Marwin J. 2007. “Race, class, and the political behavior of African-American young adults, 1960-1998. National Political Science Review 11: 157-176. 

Dr. Spiller has published multiple articles on race, class and political behavior. He has also collaborated with Roderick Land of the University of Utah to complete “A Serious Dialogue: The State of Young Black Males and the Omnipresent Influence of Hip-Hop Culture,” a book chapter in The State of African-American Males in Michigan. Dr. Spiller is currently involved with two ongoing research projects. In the first study, he is exploring patterns of racial and social segregation of online social networks, via Facebook users. The second project is a collaborative study with Dr. Lori Wiebold investigating the life patterns of Black men between the ages of 25 and 40, with a focus on factors that impact the probability of achieving personal life success.

Selected Publications

  • Spiller, Marwin J. “Voter turnout and the changing effects of socioeconomic status and political attitudes among African American young adults, 1960-1998.”   Forthcoming in Social Science Quarterly. 
  • Spiller, Marwin J. and Roderick Land. 2010. “A serious dialogue:  The state of young black males and the omnipresent influence of hip-hop culture.”  In The State of African-American Males in Michigan. East Lansing, MI:  Michigan State University Press. 
  • Spiller, Marwin J. 2007. “Race, class, and the political behavior of African-American young adults, 1960-1998. National Political Science Review 11: 157-176. 

Service

Dr. Spiller has worked in the university community as well as with various organizations and communities within Peoria. He recently moderated a panel discussion as part of Illinois Central College’s Annual African-American Male Conference, which explored the relationship between hip-hop culture and educational success. He also delivered the keynote address at Peoria’s 26th Annual Dr. Martin L. King, Jr. Commemorative Service and Leadership Awards Ceremony.