Scholarship

I am a sociologist by training and am interested in medical and mental health sociology and the intersection between health, mental health, and ability and technology. I have published in a wide variety of sub-disciplines in sociology, including papers about dating and social meme theory, gender and cancer, mental health, culturally relevant teaching, and the history of medical technology. My most recent publication is as the editor of the volume, “Medical Technology and the Social: How Medical Technology is Impacting Social relations, Institutions, and Beliefs about what is Normal.” I am currently editing a volume called “Pill Politics: Power, Knowledge, and the Pharmaceutical Imaginary” and am writing my first solo book project, titled “Monitored Madness: How Technology Shapes Psychiatric Control,” about the social history of the surveillance and monitoring of psychiatric patients, culminating in the recent development of Bluetooth-enabled “smart pills” that enable doctors and others to be notified when a patient takes antipsychotic medication, AI and LLM predictive surveillance of psychiatric patients, and mood tracking apps. This work explores how these new technologies of surveillance represent a new form of surveillance society, which I have termed a “hybrid surveillance society.”

I am the Founder, Director, and Editor-in-Chief of the new OAP Journal “Normality.” I also was a contributor to an open-access textbook series for undergraduates. I attended a small liberal arts college in Portland, Oregon for my undergraduate degree, and did all my requirements for my PhD at Rutgers University in New Jersey and finished my dissertation at Portland State University in Portland.

My current research interests take two forms. The first is an interest in medical technology and medical surveillance and the use of biopower to control and shape deviant bodies and minds. Secondly, I am interested in diagnostic creep and nosology, especially as it relates to Pediatric Bipolar Disorder. I also coauthor publications with my clients, so have had an opportunity to explore many fields far-flung from my own interests.