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Faculty & Staff

Samantha Kwan

Samantha Kwan

Associate Professor

Phone: 713.743.3948
Email: sskwan@uh.edu
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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, social scientific writing, and the sociology of the body. She uses mixed methods (i.e., content analysis, quantitative surveys, and qualitative interviews) to examine the politics of embodiment—specifically, how individuals embody, resist, and negotiate body norms and conventions and how social location shapes these negotiations. She is co-author (with Jennifer Adams) of  "Framing Fat: Competing Constructions in Contemporary Culture" (Rutgers University Press, 2013) and  "Under the Knife: Cosmetic Surgery, Boundary Work, and the Pursuit of the Natural Fake" as well as co-author (with Trenton M. Haltom) of “Embodiment: The Basics” (Routledge, 2027).

She is co-editor of several seminal anthologies in embodiment studies— "Embodied Resistance: Challenging the Norms, Breaking the Rules" (with Chris Bobel, Vanderbilt University Press, 2011), "The Politics of Women's Bodies: Sexuality, Appearance, and Behavior, 4th Edition” (with Rose Weitz, Oxford University Press, 2014), and "Body Battlegrounds: Transgressions, Tensions, and Transformations"(with Chris Bobel, Vanderbilt University Press, 2019).

Professor Kwan’s research and commentary have been reported in, among other media outlets, Forbes, Huffington Post, New York Times, USA Today, Associated Press, Self, and Shape. She is a recipient of the Provost’s Teaching Excellence Award, as well as the College of Liberal Arts and Social Science’s Ross M. Lence Award for Teaching Excellence. Professor Kwan is also a recipient of the University Commission on Women’s Distinguished Faculty Scholar Award.

Professor Kwan teaches English and naturalization courses in the community and is the former tennis director of UH Adaptive Athletics and the UH Cougar Open Wheelchair Tennis Tournament. The YWCA recognized her service to the Houston community with the Outstanding Women Honoree in Education Award.

Research Interests

  • Research Methods
  • Body, Embodiment, 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 Trenton M. Haltom. 2027. Embodiment: The Basics. London, England: Routledge.
  • 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