I am a sociologist living, working, writing, and teaching in central Kentucky. In 2017 I completed my Ph.D. at the University of Notre Dame where I was a member of the Center for the Study of Religion and Society and completed coursework in religion, gender, culture, and education.
My research concentrations focus on the sub-fields of religion, gender, and material culture. My first book, preliminarily titled Gendered Gospels: Male Power and Women’s Voice in Evangelical Community Life is under contract with Rutgers University Press. My ongoing research agenda expands my attention to the intersection of religion, gender, and culture to a global frame with emphasis on faith based humanitarian work in non-western contexts, especially southeast Asia.
RESEARCH INTERESTS
Sociology of Religion
Material and Visual Culture
Sociology of Gender
Visual Methods
Sociology as Pedagogy
EDUCATION
2017
Ph.D. Sociology, University of Notre Dame
2005
B.A. Sociology, Bethel College
selected publications and presentations
“Wesleyan (Anti)Feminism: A Religious Construction of Gender Equality.” Religions. 2018, 9(4), 97.
“A Deeper Look: Feminism and the Christian Church,” Asbury University (November 2017)
“Gendered Gospel, Ungendered Mission: Identity Construction at Two Evangelical Seminaries,” Doctoral dissertation (defended November, 2016)
“Red Light Rescue: The Anti-Trafficking Movement in Thailand” (with David R. Swartz), Asbury University (September 2017)
“Al Mohler’s Pulpit: Embodied Masculinity and Socialization,” Society for the Scientific Study of Religion, Newport Beach, Cal. (October 2015)
“’This is My Father’s World’: American Evangelical Ambivalence toward Climate Change” M.A. thesis, University of Notre Dame (2009)
