Dr. stef shuster awarded a HARP grant

January 20, 2021

Dr. stef shuster, Assistant Professor of Sociology and Lyman Briggs, has been awarded a HARP grant in relation to a book they are publishing this June.

The Humanities and Arts Research Program production funding supports the following project:

Drawing on interviews with medical providers as well as ethnographic and archival research, shuster’s forthcoming book, Trans Medicine: The Emergence and Practice of Treating Gender (NYU Press, June 2021), examines how health professionals approach patients who seek gender-affirming care. From genital reconstructions to hormone injections, the practice of trans medicine charts new medical ground, compelling medical professionals to plan treatments without widescale clinical trials to back them up. Relying on cultural norms and gut instincts to inform their treatment plans, shuster shows how medical providers’ lack of clinical experience and scientific research undermines their ability to interact with patients, craft treatment plans, and make medical decisions. This situation defies how providers are trained to work with patients and creates uncertainty. As providers navigate the developing knowledge surrounding the medical care of trans folk, Trans Medicine offers a rare opportunity to understand how providers make decisions while facing challenges to their expertise and, in the process, have acquired authority not only over clinical outcomes, but over gender itself.

 "My sincere thank you to the generous support offered by MSU’s Office of Research & Innovation through the HARP Production grant," wrote Dr. shuster.