Dr. stef shuster wins outstanding paper award "Reducing the Joy Deficit in Sociology: A Study of Transgender Joy"

April 12, 2023

A recent paper by Sociology Assistant Professor stef shuster has been named "the 2023 Outstanding Article award from the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), Theory Division.

 The paper "Reducing the Joy Deficit in Sociology: A Study of Transgender Joy" was written with Dr. Laurel Westbrook, Professor of Sociology at Grand Valley State University.

"You know, the strange thing about writing about joy is…it’s joyful! Laurel and I are thrilled that the paper is gaining traction both inside and outside of academia! We’ve had a lot of reach-outs from trans folk (and allies) who found the article helpful in reframing trans = misery and despair," Dr. shuster wrote.

shuster is jointly appointed with the Department of Sociology and Lyman Briggs College. Their research and teaching areas are united by an overarching interest in how evidence is a social artifact that is constituted through social, cultural, and historical contexts.

The full article can be found here: shuster, stef M., and Laurel Westbrook. Online First. "Reducing the Joy Deficit in Sociology: A Study of Transgender Joy." Social Problems https://doi.org/10.1093/socpro/spac034