Piedmont Profile: Todd Platts
Dr. Todd Platts has an unusual claim to fame: he is the first to publish academic research on the sociology of zombies. The “zombie professor,” as some are starting to know him, hopes to inspire students to learn more about sociology and to gain a greater appreciation for what social science does.
“Many students think that sociology is just people talking about their opinions,” he explains, “but, actually, it requires a lot of rigor and data.” Sociology is a science, he insists, and sociologists consider themselves scientists.
His own work is a good example of this. While he chose an unconventional topic to study, his methods of researching and his in-depth analysis ultimately earned him his Ph.D. from the University of Missouri. Even now, he is writing a paper that is a statistical analysis of zombie film production over time, and he is co-authoring a paper about slasher films that he will present in Denmark this winter. He also has a forthcoming book chapter charting the evolution of the zombie in popular culture.
This is Platts’ first year teaching at PVCC, and his voice brims with enthusiasm as he discusses his many plans for enriching the PVCC community. He is no stranger to teaching—he has taught at the University of Missouri, Moberly Area Community College, Harrisburg Area Community College and the University of Southern Mississippi—but he is determined to keep his courses fresh and bring new ideas into his classroom. He is creating new lectures, experimenting with different teaching techniques, and putting together a library of videos as a resource for his classes. He also wants to help develop textbooks that are more affordable for students and expand PVCC’s course offerings in sociology.
One of the initiatives he is most passionate about is his goal to re-start the Volunteer Club at PVCC. He urges anyone who is interested to contact him about volunteer opportunities with the club. He is also helping develop a grant in hopes of bringing a poverty simulation experience to PVCC campus, which would help students understand some of the issues surrounding poverty and the experiences of people who are in poverty.
In short, Platts is a man with a lot of plans for his time at PVCC, and he hopes that this will be the first of many years in which those plans will come to life.
