Jason S. Ulsperger

Dr. Jason Ulsperger is an award-winning sociologist and author whose work examines deviance, crime, ritual, grief, and institutional harm. His book The 53: Rituals, Grief, and a Titan II Missile Disaster received the Stanford M. Lyman Distinguished Book Award. He earned degrees from the University of Central Arkansas, Arkansas State University, and Oklahoma State University. A professor at Arkansas Tech University, he holds Faculty of Excellence Awards in teaching, scholarship, and service. His publication record includes approximately 80 scholarly and professional works. Grounded in Structural Ritualization Theory, his research explores how formal organizations normalize deviance, obscure accountability, and produce lasting human consequences. He is co-author of Elder Care Catastrophe: Rituals of Abuse in Nursing Homes and is completing Family Breakdown: Rituals and the Production of Social Harm.