James Hawdon

James E. Hawdon is an American sociologist, academic, and author. He is a professor of sociology and a director for the Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention at Virginia Tech.

Hawdon is most known for his work on sociology, deviance cycles and cyber intolerance. Among his authored works are publications in academic journals, as well as books such as The Causes and Consequences of Group Violence: From Bullies to Terrorists and Marijuana in America: Culture, Political, and Medical Controversies.

Hawdon is the recipient of the Wayman Mullins Award from the Society for Police and Criminal Psychology. He is an associate editor of the American Journal of Criminal Justice.

Education Hawdon completed his BA in sociology from Pennsylvania State University. He completed his MA and PhD in sociology at the University of Virginia.

Criminology Hawdon's criminology research has contributed to the identification of the social factors that contribute to crime as well as social responses to crime. His early research used data from several neighborhoods in South Carolina to analyze how community organizations and police-community relations affect crime rates, finding that community organizations can help reduce crime by increasing social capital and improving citizen perceptions of policy legitimacy. In later research, he investigated how communities responded to mass tragedies. In studies of communities that suffered mass tragedies, including school shootings at Virginia Tech and in Jokela and Kauhajoki Finland, he and his colleagues found that incidents such as school shootings can evoke strong emotions and unify communities to restore their compromised sense of security through shared moral emotions. Furthermore, his study established that the surge in solidarity is sustained by participating in community-focused events, and this heightened solidarity helps both community recovery and the wellbeing of community members even a year after the tragedy. In related research, he explored the link between fear of different types of crimes and community solidarity, illustrating that fear of routine street crimes decreases solidarity, whereas concern over collective-targeted crimes like school shootings enhances community solidarity. In a collaborative study with Matthew Costello, he conducted a criminological analysis to identify factors linked to participation in online attacks and offered recommendations to aid in the identification, mitigation, and prevention of online hate creation and dissemination. In research with colleagues Thomas Dearden and Katalin Parti, he investigated the factors that lead to engaging in cybercrimes, finding strong support for Institutional Anomie Theory. They also conducted research on cybercrime victimization among businesses, suggesting that larger companies, those that do not have separate Wi-Fi networks for visitors and employees, and those lacking stringent data storage policies are significantly more likely to experience cybercrime victimization compared to other companies.

Cyber intolerance Hawdon's cyber intolerance research has provided insights into the role of social media platforms and other factors facilitating online hate speech and extremism. His research on hate material exposure among Finnish youth emphasized the significance of fostering positive online behavior and minimizing negative online conduct to preserve social trust. In his cross-national examination of youth and young adults' exposure to hate materials online, his study established significant variations across countries and presented evidence supporting the potential effectiveness of anti-hate speech laws in reducing such exposure. Furthermore, he investigated the disparities in exposure to online hate material targeting sexuality and found that individuals residing in the southern United States and rural areas are more susceptible to such targeting based on sexual orientation. In 2021, his study advanced the understanding of cyberhate by introducing Ronald Aker's Social Structure-Social Learning Theory (SSSL), shedding light on the social factors influencing its production. The research also emphasized the importance of acknowledging political rhetoric's role in the generation of online hate, urging policymakers to consider this aspect when addressing the issue.

Drug use and deviance cycles Hawdon's drug research offers a comprehensive analysis of deviance cycles and their correlation with social and economic shifts in American society. His early research contributed to understanding how policy rhetoric influences the creation, sustenance, and termination of moral panics related to drug policies, ultimately concluding that President Reagan skillfully incited a public moral panic concerning drug policies. In related research, his book Drugs and Alcohol Consumption as a Function of Social Structure: A Cross-cultural Sociology provides insights into how rationalization and modernization influence drug and alcohol consumption patterns across diverse cultures and social structures, offering information for designing policies and interventions to reduce drug use and related harms. His book Encyclopedia of Drug Policy explored the dimensions of the War on Drugs, employing academic perspectives to examine subjects encompassing Mexican kingpins, Colombian cartels, narco-terrorism, heroin production, and governmental spending. His 2022 book, Marijuana in America: Culture, Political, and Medical Controversies, offers an exploration of medical, legal, historical, and cultural issues surrounding cannabis in the United States and the modern world. In a collaborative study with Robert Todd Perdue, his study emphasized the inadequacy of current data on novel psychoactive drug (NPD) abuse and proposed the use of big data for predictive analysis to address emerging NPD challenges through improved data collection and analysis.

Awards and honors 1988 – Bierstedt Award in Sociology, University of Virginia 2005 – Adele Mellen Prize for Contributions to Scholarship 2013 – Excellence in Research Award, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences 2018 – Wayman Mullins Award, Society for Police and Criminal Psychology 2022 – Doctorate Honoris Causa, University of Turku 2023 – Excellence in Outreach and International Initiatives Award, College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences 2023 – Fulbright-University of Turku Scholar Award, Fulbright Finland Foundation 2024 – Virginia Association of Criminal Justice Educators Safe Society Leadership Award 2025 - Southern Criminal Justice Association Outstanding Educator Award