Alumni: Amanda Fehlbaum
Home: Youngstown, Ohio
UT Dallas degree: BA in Gender Studies; MA Interdisciplinary Studies
Work Background
I am now an assistant professor of Sociology at Youngstown State University in Youngstown, Ohio. I enjoy watching my students experience the “click” moments when they learn about the difference between sex, gender, and sexuality. I often wonder if I had the same look upon my face when I was an undergrad. My current research is on abstinence content in high school health textbooks and curriculum, specifically how it promotes sex negativity and fear.
Accolades
I earned my Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Oklahoma in 2014, specializing in gender, sexuality, and the body.
Benefits of an IS degree
I think it is fairly unusual for a person to have their major decided upon before entering college, but I am that type of person. I knew that I wanted to major in Gender Studies at UT-Dallas, a place where the tagline at the time was “Challenging the Brightest to be the Best.” Gender Studies was an interdisciplinary degree that allowed me to take the gender-related courses across a number of fields: Literature, History, Sociology, American Studies, Psychology and more. I felt I truly was surrounded by “the brightest” in my courses, from the professors at the front of the classroom to my classmates sitting beside me – and not just my Collegium V classes. My favorite classes were those that were more like a seminar, especially because they prepared me for the routine as well as challenges of graduate school. I graduate with my BA in Gender Studies in 2007 and my MA in Interdisciplinary Studies in 2009.