Christin Munsch: Residential Fellow at CASBS

Assistant Professor of Sociology, Christin Munsch has been invited to be a residential fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS) at Stanford University during the 2022–23 academic year to work on a monograph that extends her work on “masculinity contest cultures” (MCCs) to academic social science and other professional contexts characterized by waning horizontal segregation and persistent vertical segregation. The book draws on findings from four methodologically diverse studies, currently underway, and is tentatively organized around three parts. Part 1 advances a theory of hybridly masculine occupations by describing academic social science in terms of gendered occupational defaults (e.g., rules, norms, expectations) that shift across the prescribed career trajectory. In general, this trajectory continues to reflect and reward men’s bodies and lived experiences, while selectively incorporating elements of femininity and non-hegemonic masculinities, particularly at earlier career stages. Part 2 considers the implications of this structure for both individual social scientists and the work they produce. Specifically, it attracts women and other minorities to the profession--while inflicting increasing levels of physical, emotional, and economic violence--sustaining macro-level patterns of gender inequality. It also leads to slower rates of socially beneficial discovery and diminished societal benefits. Part 3 offers recommendations for revamping professional structures and cultures.

Posted by Malley, Mary in News