Robert Spivey

Dr. Michael Spivey is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, where he has served since the 1999–2000 academic year. He earned his B.S. and M.A. in Sociology from Central Michigan University and his Ph.D. in Sociology from York University in Toronto, Canada.

Dr. Spivey specializes in qualitative methods, ethnographic research, contemporary Indigenous studies and critical and interpretive theories. While at York, he conducted applied ethnographic research for the government of Ontario to inform modernization programs among nine Ojibwa tribes. From 1993 to 1994, he conducted ethnographic research with the Pee Dee Tribe in South Carolina during their state recognition efforts. His book, Native Americans in the Carolina Borderlands: A Critical Ethnography, was published in 2000 and selected as Best Ethnographic Read of the Year by the Qualitative Faculty Group at the University of Georgia.

He has also led applied studies in Robeson County, including research for the Department of Labor’s Youth Opportunity Grant Program. Dr. Spivey developed and led study abroad programs, taking students on four academic tours of Europe. Before his academic career, he worked as a professional guitarist, singer and signed songwriter in Nashville, Tennessee from 1976 to 1982.