Newswise — Cornell College Associate Professor of Sociology Erin Davis is available for interviews related to transgender and gender identity topics.

She teaches courses and thoroughly studies cultural diversity and social inequalities, focusing on gender, sexualities, bodies, and identities.

"Transgender issues have become a way for public debate around what are appropriate gender expressions and what kinds of gender identities and presentations of self, should and will be allowable in the public sphere," Davis said.

Her expertise is important at a time when many hold discussions about bathroom legislation regulating which facilities individuals should use based on gender identity.

EXPERT BIO:

Professor Davis’ courses explore cultural diversity & social inequalities, focusing on gender, sexualities, bodies, and identities. Many courses include guest speakers (such as a spoken word poet/performing artist; health care policy analyst, or director of a LGBTQA Resource Center), involve field trips or off-campus travel, and/or incorporate public sociology projects. Her courses are often collaborative: intro sociology students work with geology students to research the lifecycle of a consumer object and Sociology of the Body students and Human Anatomy students participate in field trips to the Rare Books Room at UI and to the BodyWorlds exhibit in Minneapolis to explore different perspectives on the body. Professor Davis also works closely with students on their research, sponsoring student research presentations at the Iowa Sociological Association meetings, and the Midwest Sociological Society meeting.

Academic History:PhD in Sociology, University of Virginia, 2002Dissertation: Overcoming Gender: Transsexualism and the Gender ParadigmMA in Sociology, University of Virginia, 1996Thesis: The Sexual Search: The Changing Role of Intimate Relations in Marital TimingBA in Sociology and Religion, New College of Florida, 1993Thesis: Whose Morality? Public Polarization of American Culture

Courses Taught:Sociological ThinkingGender DiversityCulture, Gender, and Public Policy in JapanFamilies and Family PolicySexualitiesGender Differences and InequalitiesSelf and IdentitySociology of the BodyResearch Design and Data Analysis

Publications:Davis, Erin. 2009. "Situating ‘Fluidity’: (Trans) Gender Identification and the Regulation of Gender Diversity,” GLQ. 15 (1):97-130.Davis, Erin and Lisa Friel. 2001. “Adolescent Sexuality: Disentangling the Effects of Family Structure and Family Context. ” Journal of Marriage and Family. 63 (August 2001):669-681.Davis, Erin. 2001. Review of Transmen and FTMs: Identities, Bodies, Genders and Sexualities, by Jason Cromwell, Contemporary Sociology, 30: 256-257.Davis, Erin. 2000. Review of Travesti: Sex, Gender and Culture among Brazilian Transgendered Prostitutes, by Don Kulick, Contemporary Sociology, 29: 384-385Select Presentations and Invited Lectures

“Lessons from Ferguson” Panel Discussion for KCRG-TV9’s “Ethical Perspectives in the News”,” Cedar Rapids, IA, 2014“Women’s Involvement in Strategy Boardgaming: Challenges and Possibilities.” The 10th Congress of Qualitative Inquiry, Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. 2014.“Sharpening the Sociological Imagination through Multi-Disciplinary Collaborative Course Projects.” Midwest Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Omaha, Nebraska. 2014.“Feminism and Social Justice in the 21st Century.” Panel Discussion with Aparna Thomas, Johanna Schuster-Craig and Shannon Reed, Feminist Symposium, Cornell College 2014"Symbols of Hate: When an Image is More than an Image." Campus Event sponsored by the Diversity Committee, Cornell College 2014."Women and Gaming Research Report." BGG.Con, Dallas, Texas. 2013. “Parental Roles and Responsibilities.” Panel Discussion for KCRG-TV9’s “Ethical Perspectives in the News”,” Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 2013.“Dressing Our Daughters” Panel Discussion for KCRG-TV9’s “Ethical Perspectives in the News”,” Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 2012."Defining Family Values” Panel Discussion for KCRG-TV9’s “Ethical Perspectives in the News”,” Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 2012.“So, What Is It Like To Be A Professor at a Private Liberal Arts College?” Sociology Graduate Pro-Seminar, University of Iowa. 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, and 2012.“The Creation of Short-Term International Study Courses” Presented with Carolyn Enns and Joan Erikson at the FaCE capstone conference, FaCE Value: Advances Through Collaboration, at Colorado College, Colorado Springs, Colorado. 2011.“Short-Term Study Abroad in Japan: Fostering Interdisciplinary Pedagogy” Presented with Carolyn Enns and Joan Erikson at Beloit College’s Asian Studies Teaching Colloquium on Transcultural Asia: Pedagogies of Borrowing & Trading in Undergraduate Education, Beloit, Wisconsin. 2011. Transforming Study Abroad: The Creation of Short Term International Study Courses” Presented with Carolyn Enns and Joan Erikson at ASIANetwork Annual Conference, Lisle, Illinois. 2011.“Addressing the Challenges of Short-Term Study Abroad in Japan” Presented with Carolyn Enns at DePaul University's Japanese Studies conference on Teaching Japan: Pedagogical Possibilities in U.S. Higher Education, Chicago, Illinois. 2010. “Feminism and Mad Men” Campus event co-organized with Tori Barnes-Brus and co-sponsored by TWRG, Cornell College. 2010.“The Role of Faculty Development in Internationalizing the Curriculum” ACM/GCLA conference on Integrating Study Abroad into the Undergraduate Curriculum, Beloit, Wisconsin. 2009.“Feminist Identities and Ideologies among Contemporary College Students: Is Feminism Just “in the Water?” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, New York, New York. 2009. “Feminist Identities and Ideologies among Contemporary College Students” Cornell Ambassadors Program, Aoyama Gakuin Women’s Junior College, Tokyo. 2008.“Trans-gressions: The Cultural Intelligibility of Transgender Lives” Women’s Roles and Women’s Movements in Japan, Waseda University, Tokyo. 2007.“Integrating Queer Studies into the Sociology Curriculum” Collaborative workshop session with Karin Peterson, Keith Bramlett, and Heather Talley, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 2005.“A Comparative Study of Feminist Meanings, Identities, and Activism” Presented with Christine Smith at the Association for Women in Psychology Annual Conference, Tampa, Florida. February 2005 and at at the Great Lakes College Association Women's Studies Conference, Kenyon, Ohio. 2004."Grrrlz to Womyn: A Workshop on Successful Feminist Mentoring" Collaborative session with Vange Heiliger, Amy Killoran, and Suzanne Smailes, Great Lakes College Association Women's Studies Conference, Kenyon, Ohio. 2004

Select Academic Awards:Fund for Course Development (with Kara Beauchamp), Cornell College. 2014.Campbell McConnell Sabbatical Fellowship, Cornell College. 2011Student-Faculty Collaborative Research, Cornell College. 2010ACM Face Grant Phase II (with Carol Enns and Joan Erickson), ACM. 2010Emil and Rosa Massier Award in the Social Sciences, Cornell College. 2009Fund for Faculty and Curriculum Development (with Emily Walsh), Cornell College. 2008Individual Travel Grant, GCLA Fund for the Study of Japan. 2007.Faculty Appreciation Award, Antioch College. 2005.Community Action Grant, Grrrlz to Womyn Program Technology Initiative, AAUW (American Association of University Women) Educational Foundation. 2002-2003.Grrrlz to Womyn Grant, KnowledgeWorks Foundation, Cincinnati, Ohio. 2002.The Martin P. Levine Memorial Dissertation Award, Sex and Gender Section, American Sociological Association. 1999-2000.Zora Neale Hurston Prize for Best Essay (co-winner), Studies in Women and Gender Program, University of Virginia. 1998.

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