CURRICULUM VITAE

stef shuster

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BIOGRAPHY

stef m. shuster is an associate professor in Lyman Briggs College and the Department of Sociology. They earned their Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Iowa, with a certificate in Gender Studies, and their B.A. in Sociology from Indiana University, Bloomington.

Their current 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. Across their projects, shuster asks: who constructs evidence, how does evidence confer authority to individuals and groups, and how is it mobilized by social actors? These dimensions of evidence are a centralized feature of shuster’s scholarship in three domains including how: 1) medical providers negotiate evidence to make medical decisions within uncertain terrains; 2) social movement actors use evidence to make claims about social issues; and 3) language is used in interaction to regulate subjugated groups.

shuster currently serves as a deputy editor for Gender & Society.

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CURRENT RESEARCH

The social life of evidence is the subject of shuster’s book manuscript, Trans Medicine: The Emergence and Practice of Treating Gender (NYU Press, 2021). Drawing on interviews with medical providers as well as ethnographic and archival research, shuster 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.

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ASSOCIATED PROGRAMS

• Sexual and Gender Minority Health Consortium
• Lyman Briggs College
• Faculty Affiliate, Center for Gender in Global Context

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PUBLICATIONS

2024 shuster, stef. “The Assertion of Reproductive and Social Control in Mid-twentieth Century US Transgender Medicine.” Gender & History 36(1): 208-223.

 

2024  shuster, stef and Laurel Westbrook. “Reducing the Joy Deficit in Sociology: A Study of Transgender Joy.” Social Problems 71(3): 791-809. (equal authorship)

 

2024  shuster, stef, Celeste Campos-Castillo, Navid Madani, Kenneth Joseph. “Who Supports Bernie? Analyzing Identity and Ideological Variation on Twitter During the 2020 Democratic Primaries.” PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294735

 

2023 Westbrook, Laurel and stef shuster. “Trans Joy: Flipping the Script of Marginality.” Contexts 22(4): 16-21. (equal authorship)

 

2023 Rogers, Ethan, Andrew Krajewski, and stef shuster. “The Disproportionate Mental Health Burden Among Incarcerated Transgender and Gender Diverse People." Journal of Correctional Health Care 29(1): 39-46.

 

2023 Campos-Castillo, Celeste and stef shuster. “So What if They’re Lying to Us? Comparing Rhetorical Strategies for Discrediting Sources of Disinformation and Misinformation using an Affect-based Credibility Rating.” American Behavioral Scientist 67(2): 201-223.

 

2022 shuster, stef and Noah Lubben. “The Uneven Consequences of Rapid Organizational Change: COVID-19 and Healthcare Workers.” Social Science & Medicine 315: 1-8.

 

2021 Hsieh, Ning and stef shuster. “Health and Health Care of Sexual and Gender Minorities.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 62(3): 318-333. (equal authorship)

 

2020 Campos-Castillo, Celeste, stef shuster, Denise Anthony, and Sarah Groh. “Warning: Hegemonic Masculinity May Not Matter as Much as You Think for Confidant Patterns among Older Men.” Sex Roles 83: 609-621.

 

2020 Bodenheimer, Grayson and stef shuster. “Emotional Labour, Teaching, and Burnout:

                Investigating Complex Relationships.” Educational Research 62(1): 63-76.

 

2019 shuster, stef. “Performing Informed Consent in Transgender Medicine.” Social Science & Medicine 226: 190-197.

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LINKS

Website: www.stefshuster.com

Twitter Handle: @stefshuster

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