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Sociology

Faculty & Staff

3551 Cullen Boulevard, Room 450
Houston, TX 77204-3012
Phone: 713.743.3940
Fax: 713.743.3943

Link to Sociology Facebook page

Samantha Kwan

Samantha Kwan

Associate Professor

Phone: 713.743.3948
Email: sskwan@uh.edu
Office: 496 Philip G. Hoffman Hall
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Education

Ph.D., Sociology, University of Arizona
B.A. (Hons.), Sociology and Criminology, University of Toronto

Biography

Samantha Kwan is an associate professor in sociology. Professor Kwan teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on research methods, as well as the sociology of the body. Her research uses mixed methods (i.e., content analysis, quantitative surveys and qualitative interviews) to examine the politics of embodiment. Specifically, she examines how individuals embody, resist and negotiate body norms and conventions and how social location shapes these negotiations. She is co-author (with Jennifer Graves) of "Framing Fat: Competing Constructions in Contemporary Culture" (Rutgers University Press, 2013) and co-editor (with Chris Bobel) of "Embodied Resistance: Challenging the Norms, Breaking the Rules" (Vanderbilt University Press, 2011) and "Body Battlegrounds: Transgressions, Tensions, and Transformations" (Vanderbilt University Press, 2019). With Rose Weitz, she co-edited "The Politics of Women's Bodies: Sexuality, Appearance, and Behavior," 4th edition (Oxford University Press, 2014). Her newest book (with Jennifer Graves) is titled, "Under the Knife: Cosmetic Surgery, Boundary Work, and the Pursuit of the Natural Fake" (Temple University Press, 2020). Professor Kwan’s research and commentary have been reported in, among other media outlets, Forbes, the Huffington Post, Shape, New York Times and USA Today.

In 2012, Professor Kwan was awarded the Provost’s Teaching Excellence Award and the Ross M. Lence Award for Teaching Excellence. In 2013, she received the University Commission on Women’s Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award. In 2017, the Houston YWCA recognized Professor Kwan’s service to the Houston community with the Outstanding Women Honoree in Education Award. Professor Kwan is the former director of the UH Cougar Open Wheelchair Tennis Tournament. She is a tennis enthusiast and an avid supporter of adaptive tennis.

Research Interests

  • Research Methods
  • Body and Health

Teaching

  • Introduction to Sociological Research (Undergraduate)
  • Qualitative Research Methods (Graduate)
  • Research and Writing in the Social Sciences (Graduate)
  • Sociology of the Body (Graduate and Undergraduate)

Selected Publications

  • Kwan, Samantha, and Jennifer Graves. 2020. "Under the Knife: Cosmetic Surgery, Boundary Work, and the Pursuit of the Natural Fake." Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
  • Kwan, Samantha, Scott V. Savage, and Mary Nell Trautner. 2020. “Adorning the Female Body: Feminist Identification, Embodied Resistance, and Esthetic Body Modification Practices.” Sociological Focus 53(1):67–88. https://doi.org/10.1080/00380237.2019.1703852
  • Bobel, Chris, and Samantha Kwan, eds. 2019. "Body Battlegrounds: Transgressions, Tensions, and Transformations." Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
  • Kwan, Samantha, and Trenton Haltom. 2019. “Mixed Methods in Body and Embodiment Research.” Pp. 69-86 in The Oxford Handbook of the Sociology of Body and Embodiment, edited by N. Boero and K. Mason. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Weitz, Rose, and Samantha Kwan, eds. 2014. The Politics of Women's Bodies, 4th ed. New York: Oxford University Press.
  • Kwan, Samantha, and Jennifer Graves. 2013. "Framing Fat: Competing Constructions in Contemporary Culture." New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
  • Bobel, Chris, and Samantha Kwan, editors. 2011. "Embodied Resistance: Challenging the Norms, Breaking the Rules." Nashville, TN: Vanderbilt University Press.
  • Kwan, Samantha. 2011. “Lay Perspectives on the Biomedical Paradigm on ‘Obesity’: Theorizing Weight, Health, and Happiness.” Social Theory & Health 9(4):1–17. https://doi.org/10.1057/sth.2011.12
  • Kwan, Samantha, and Mary Nell Trautner. 2011. “Judging Books by their Covers: Teaching about Physical Attractiveness Biases.” Teaching Sociology 39(1): 16–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/0092055X10390655
  • Kwan, Samantha. 2010. “Navigating Public Spaces in Everyday Life: Gender, Race, and Body Privilege.” Feminist Formations 22(2):144–166. https://doi.org/10.1353/ff.2010.0002
  • Kwan, Samantha. 2009. “Framing the Fat Body: Contested Meanings Between Government, Activists, and Industry.” Sociological Inquiry 79(1):25–50. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-682X.2008.00271.x
  • Kwan, Samantha. 2009. “Competing Motivational Discourses for Weight Loss: The Nexus of Health and Beauty.” Qualitative Health Research 19(9):1223–1233. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049732309343952
  • Kwan, Samantha, and Mary Nell Trautner. 2009. “Beauty Work: Individual and Institutional Rewards, the Reproduction of Gender, and Questions of Agency.” Sociology Compass 3(1):49–71. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-9020.2008.00179.x
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