Abigail Kolb
Associate Professor
678-839-6326
akolb@westga.ed u
Pafford Social Science Building - Room 238
My research is multidisciplinary, and has focused on the intersection of race, class, and gender inequalities within the criminal justice system. Specifically, I have focused on the unique issues that women and men of color face in corrections, their corporeal experiences within the carceral system, and their individual and collective mechanisms of agency.
In addition, I have worked as a clinical and forensic social worker for over a decade, with various populations - primarily with sexual offenders - and research sex offender treatment.
Beyond my research, I serve as the Site Director for Prison Education Programs at Hays State Prison (Level V; maximum security), and teach courses there, as well. At this facility, the University of West Georgia (UWG) has implemented a 4-year Bachelor of Interdisciplinary Studies program. We are currently in our second semester with our inaugural cohort of scholars.
- 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
- CRIM-1100 (Intro to Criminal Justice)
- CRIM-2000 (Survey of Criminology)
- CRIM-2245 (Juvenile Delinquency)
- CRIM-4200 (Violent Crime)
- CRIM-4231 (Women & Criminal Justice)
- CRIM-4255 (Youth, Crime and Community)
- CRIM-4279 (Race and Crime)
- CRIM-4280 (Sex Offenders)
- CRIM-4284 (Senior Capstone)
- CRIM-4293 (Correctional Programs)
- CRIM-4295 (Sex Offenders)
- CRIM-5280 (Sex Offenders )
- CRIM-6000 (Principles of Criminology)
- CRIM-6623 (Crime and Social Inequality)
- CRIM-6999 (Different Serial Killers)
- CRJU-4500 (Management of Forensics)
- XIDS-2100 (Intro to Social & Human Servic)
Summer 2024 Sections
- CRIM-4200 (Violent Crime) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-4295 (Sex Offenders) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-5280 (Sex Offenders) Section: E04 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
Spring 2024 Sections
- CRIM-4255 (Youth, Crime and Community) Section: 51 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
Fall 2023 Sections
- CRIM-2000 (Survey of Criminology) Section: 51 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- XIDS-2100 (Intro to Social & Human Servic) Section: 51 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
Summer 2023 Sections
- CRIM-4279 (Race and Crime) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-4295 (Sex Offenders) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
Spring 2023 Sections
- CRIM-4279 (Race and Crime) Section: 02 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-4284 (Senior Capstone) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
Fall 2022 Sections
- CRIM-4231 (Women & Criminal Justice) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-4284 (Senior Capstone) Section: E02 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-4293 (Correctional Programs) Section: 01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
Summer 2022 Sections
- CRIM-1100 (Intro to Criminal Justice) Section: E02 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-4200 (Violent Crime) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
Spring 2022 Sections
- CRIM-1100 (Intro to Criminal Justice) Section: 03 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-4280 (Sex Offenders) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRJU-4500 (Management of Forensics) Section: 80E eMajor Courses External Resource
- CRIM-5280 (Sex Offenders ) Section: E05 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-6000 (Principles of Criminology) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
Fall 2021 Sections
- CRIM-1100 (Intro to Criminal Justice) Section: E03 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-2245 (Juvenile Delinquency) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-6623 (Crime and Social Inequality) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
Summer 2021 Sections
- CRIM-2245 (Juvenile Delinquency) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-4279 (Race and Crime) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
Spring 2021 Sections
- CRIM-2000 (Survey of Criminology) Section: 02 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-2245 (Juvenile Delinquency) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-4279 (Race and Crime) Section: E01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
Fall 2020 Sections
- CRIM-2000 (Survey of Criminology) Section: 02 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-4279 (Race and Crime) Section: 01 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-4280 (Sex Offenders) Section: E02 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
- CRIM-6999 (Different Serial Killers) Section: E03 external Syllabus via Concourse External Resource
Kolb, A.F. (2024). Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Sex Offenders: A Treatment Guide.Taylor & Francis: London, UK. ISBN: 978-1032586960 [View Publication External Resource]
Schweighoffer, A., Piche, L., & Kolb, A. (Forthcoming, 2024). Assessing child sexual exploitation material offenders. In L.A Craig, L. Dixon, & T.A. Gannon (Eds.). The Wiley Handbook of What Works in Offender Rehabilitation: An Evidence-Based Approach to T
Kolb, A. (224). Two steps forward, one step back: An overview of inequality in the criminal (in)justice system from 1704 to the present. In P. Pitman-Brown, & T. Parsons (Eds.). Introduction to Social Justice.
Christopher, Kelley; Kolb, Abigail; and Parsons, Tiffany A. (2022) [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., & 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]
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. (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. (2012). Are you Down?: Power relations and gender reconstruction among Latina gang members in Los Angeles. Journal of Gang Research, 20(1): 19-32.
Race, class, and gender inequality in the criminal justice system
Qualitative research; sex offender treatment; race, class, gender, and crime; criminal justice system