Shannon Streisel

I am currently a criminology PhD candidate at the University of Delaware where I work as a research assistant at the Center for Drug and Health Studies. I have passion for disseminating the knowledge I have gathered (and continue to gather!) through various domains -- research products, teaching, and service to the community. Please feel free to explore my site to see these different aspects of my graduate career!

My Research Interests

My research focuses on different aspects related to one main topic: substance use, particularly substance use by the criminal justice population, or folks who have been involved in the criminal justice population. Therefore, as you explore my research products, you will see that I have a wide range of knowledge related to both practical and theoretical knowledge (e.g. evidence-based practices, as well as recovery and desistance theories). When studying recovery and desistance, I focus on how human agency and identity plays a role in these complicated, nonlinear processes. I also take a critical look at how drug policy has formed over the past century in the United States, as well as comparing other countries' strategies to addressing drug use. Because of this interest in history and comparative drug policy, I focus on how drug use from a social constructivist lens. As part of this approach, my research tends to focus on how to destigmatize drug use and how perceptions of people who use drugs impacts outcomes.

A summary of my research interests:

• Recovery and desistance processes
• The role of human agency in behavioral change
• Comparative drug policy
• Law and society, specifically through the lens of social construction

Teaching

I have a strong passion for teaching and I make sure to bring this passion with me to the (virtual) classroom. I am dedicated to presenting my students with knowledge about the criminal justice system, law, and society. I choose to engage in critical pedagogy, encouraging students to develop and enhance their own critical thinking as it relates to criminology. This is evidenced in both my syllabi and student testimonials -- both of which are available in this section of my website. For more information on my teaching philosophy and course materials, please contact me through email.

Awards & Honors

• 2020 Frank Scarpitti Graduate Student Award, UD
• 2019 Graduate Student Summer Research Award, UD
• 2019 Woman of Promise, UD
• 2016 Dean’s Academic Excellence Award, TCNJ
• 2016 Phi Beta Kappa