Lee A. Smithey isAssociate Professor of Sociology and Coordinator of thePeace and Conflict Studies Programat Swarthmore College, located outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. He studies social movements, conflict transformation, and strategic nonviolent action. Born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee (Belfast's sister city), he holds undergraduate degrees in sociology and music from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia and an M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Texas at Austin. He is a former Chair of the Peace, War, and Social Conflict section of the American Sociological Association.