Bio

I am a sociologist of culture and cognition. My research explores the effects of past experience on perception and the role the body plays in structuring meaning making. I'm especially interested in how perception and meaning making are shaped by the social category of gender. I have a background in psychology, and I bring research in psychology and cognitive science to bear on sociological issues pertaining to theory broadly, and to culture specifically. Using a combination of in-depth interviews, ethnography, and a novel method designed to facilitate the description of music experience, my work examines the social patterning of individual biography, and the role the latter plays in the acquisition of a new music taste, the perception of music qualities, and the choice to pursue a traditionally stigmatized career (funeral work).

I grew up just outside of Philadelphia and attended Bryn Mawr College, where I studied psychology before, quite accidentally, discovering sociology. After graduating with a BA in psychology, I moved to the midwest to complete my one year master's degree in the social sciences at the University of Chicago. After a brief, one year stint working on Michigan Avenue as a qualitative market research analyst, I returned to the University of Chicago to complete my PhD in sociology. Despite living in what I refer to (more or less affectionately) as "the flatlands," I love nature, mountains, and exploring. When I'm not working on my research or teaching, I'm most likely training for my next ultramarathon.