Abigail Kolb

Associate Professor
Department of Civic Engagement and Public Service University College

678-839-6326
akolb@westga.edu

Pafford Social Science Building - Room 238

Download curriculum vitae for Abigail Kolb in MS Word
Abigail Kolb
  • B.S., Bachelor of Social Work, University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2005
  • M.S., Master of Science - Clinical Social Work, Columbia University, 2006
  • PhD, Doctor of Philosophy - Criminology, Simon Fraser University, 2015

Spring 2023 Sections

Fall 2022 Sections

Summer 2022 Sections

Spring 2022 Sections

Fall 2021 Sections

Summer 2021 Sections

Spring 2021 Sections

Fall 2020 Sections

Summer 2020 Sections

  • CRIM-2245 (Juvenile Delinquency) Section: E01
  • CRIM-4279 (Race and Crime) Section: E01

Spring 2020 Sections

  • CRIM-1100 (Intro to Criminal Justice) Section: E02
  • CRIM-2245 (Juvenile Delinquency) Section: 01
  • CRIM-4279 (Race and Crime) Section: 01

Fall 2019 Sections

  • CRIM-2245 (Juvenile Delinquency) Section: E01
  • CRIM-4279 (Race and Crime) Section: 01
  • CRIM-4280 (Sex Offenders) Section: E02

Christopher, Kelley; Kolb, Abigail; and Parsons, Tiffany A. (2022) "“’My walk matches my talk’: An exploratory study of a moral rehabilitation program for incarcerated women.”," The Journal of Public and Professional Sociology: Vol. 14 : Iss. 1 , A [View Publication External Resource]

Kolb, A. (2021). “Just Listen, People!”: Narrative as Resistance in Criminological Research. In J.A. Schlosser (Ed.) Prison Stories: Women Scholars’ Experiences Doing Research Behind Bars (pp. 67-84). Lanham, MD: The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing G

Kolb, A. & Palys, T. (2012). Are you Down?: Power relations and gender reconstruction among Latina gang members in Los Angeles. Journal of Gang Research, 20(1): 19-32.

Kolb, A. & Palys, T. (2016). Homegirls, Hoodrats and Hos: Co-constructing gang status through discourseand performance. International Journal for Crime, Justice, and Social Democracy, 5(4): 29-44. doi:10.5204/ijcjsd.v5i4.334. [View Publication External Resource]

Kolb, A. & Palys, T. (2018). Playing the part: Pseudo-families, wives, and the politics of relationships in women’s prisons in California. The Prison Journal, 98(6), 678-699. doi: 10.1177/0328855. [View Publication (PDF)]

Kolb, A., Palys, T., & Green, A. (2019). “When You’re Out, You’re Not Really Out”: Exiting Strategies among Gang-Affiliated Chicanas. The Journal of Public and Professional Sociology, 11(2), Article 4. [View Publication External Resource]

Race, class, and gender inequality in the criminal justice system

My research is multidisciplinary, and focuses on the intersection of race, class, and gender inequalities within the criminal justice system. Specifically, I focus on the unique issues that women of color face in corrections, their corporeal experiences within the carceral system, and their individual and collective mechanisms of agency. In addition, I am currently conducting research on clinical treatment with sexual offenders. Over the past year, Ms. Kelly Christopher (Criminology), Dr. Tiffany Parsons (Sociology), and I have been working on developing a four year degree program for incarcerated individuals. The Department of Education recently granted UWG access to Second Chance Pell Grants to become the first university in Georgia to offer a four-year college degree program for incarcerated women!