Adrianna Munson joined UNLV Sociology from New York City. After completing her Ph.D. at Columbia University, she taught for two years at Sarah Lawrence College. Dr. Munson’s research and teaching specializations include social identity, science studies, medical sociology, and disability. She is particularly interested in how identities like adulthood are enacted through everyday interactions and performances like hiring a house cleaner or cooking dinner. A major argument of her research to date is that, contrary to popular belief, autonomy is not the capacity to be fully independent, but the ability to successfully frame interaction to downplay our dependence on others. Dr. Munson’s research is published in Theory and Society, and Social Science and Medicine, and Qualitative Sociology. She has received research support from the Social Security Administration and the National Science Foundation.

Dr. Munson teaches courses that encourage a deep curiosity of the social world and invite students to apply sociological concepts to areas of personal interest. In addition to academic texts, she regularly assigns podcasts, videos, and nonacademic reading to help students develop their sociological imagination, the understanding that one’s personal experience in the world is deeply embedded in broad social and historical processes. Some of Dr. Munson’s favorite courses include, Measuring Difference: Race, Gender, and Ability, Sociology of the Built Environment, Technology and Social Identity, and Sociology of the Body.

When she isn’t working Adrianna enjoys hiking with her family, cooking, “cuddling” her beautiful cat Ethel, and knitting.