A Voice for Urban Citizenship

Meet Anna Maria

Author. Professor. Researcher. Urban Citizen.

Anna Maria Bounds is Assistant Professor in Sociology at Queens College, City University of New York, USA. She holds a Ph.D. in Urban and Public Policy from The New School. Her first book, Bracing for the Apocalypse: An Ethnographic Study of New York's ‘Prepper’ Subculture, is a rich ethnography that explores the rise of urban preppers in her city. Her research interests focus on urban ethnography, city subcultures, city tourism, and public space. She teaches courses on urban sociology and social science research methods. She has also earned an M.A. in Writing from Old Dominion University.

During the pandemic, her sheltering-in-place hobbies included overanalyzing the contents of bookcases during virtual meetings, half-hearted decluttering and daydreaming about pet ownership. Now, that we are all free, she’s rediscovered her first love, bicycling.

Bracing for the Apocalypse:
An Ethnographic Study of New York’s ‘Prepper’ Subculture

Increasing American fear about terrorism, environmental catastrophes, pandemics, and economic crises has fueled interest in “prepping”: confronting disaster by mastering survivalist skills.

Press

Making space in our minds and our hearts for the good stuff is the only way forward.”

— Anna Maria Bounds