Mary Bernstein
Professor
Sociology
Education/Professional Certification
PhD New York University, 1997
Expertise
Social movements, politics, race, gender, and law
Biography
Dr. Bernstein is professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut. She publishes broadly in the fields of social movements, politics, race, gender, and law with a focus on LGBTQ social movements and on gun violence prevention advocacy. Dr. Bernstein’s research on gun violence prevention advocacy has been supported by a grant from the Bennett Fund for Innovative Education in Health and Society. She has been appointed a member of the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government
Mary Bernstein is professor of sociology at the University of Connecticut. She publishes broadly in the fields of social movements, politics, race, gender, and law with a focus on LGBTQ social movements and on gun violence prevention advocacy. She is winner of several national awards from the American Sociological Association, including the Simon and Gagnon Lifetime Achievement Award from the Section on the Sociology of Sexualities, the Outstanding Article Award from theSection on Collective Behavior and Social Movementsfor “Culture, Power, and Institutions: A Multi-Institutional Politics Approach to Social Movements” (Sociological Theory26:74-99, co-authored with Elizabeth Armstrong), and the award for best graduate student paper fromthe Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movementsfor “Celebration and Suppression: The Strategic Uses of Identity by the Lesbian and Gay Movement” (American Journal of Sociology103(Nov.):531-565). She has co-edited three books and her articles appear in numerous journals. Professor Bernstein continues to write about sexuality, race, gender, gun violence prevention, and social movements.
Professor Bernstein’s research on gun violence prevention advocacy has been supported by a grant from the Bennett Fund for Innovative Education in Health and Society. She has been appointed a member of the Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium at the Rockefeller Institute of Government. Over the past year, she co-organized a conference on the “Correlates, Causes, and Solutions for Firearm Violence in America” which took place at The Hartford Club in Hartford CT. The first paper from this project “Once in Parkland, A Year in Hartford, A Weekend in Chicago: Race and Resistance in the Gun Violence Prevention Movement” is forthcoming in the journal Sociological Forum and is co-authored with graduate student Jordan McMillan and UConn honors alum Elizabeth Charash. As a result of her research on gun violence prevention efforts, Professor Bernstein has been active in the world of public sociology, serving as a guest speaker for various events, including, the Humanities Institute, Humility and Conviction in Public Life, UConn, the Unitarian Society of New Haven, the Collaboratory on School and Child Health, UConn, and GVPedia, Gun Violence Research, Connecting Advocates with Academicsheld in Denver, Colorado.
Her recent work on social movements and sexualities includes guest editing a special issue of the Journal of Homosexualityon “The Impact of Same-sex Marriage on LGBT Activism, Politics, and Communities” and the book chapter “The Movement Towards Marriage Equality in Advanced Industrial Nations” in Handbook on Gender and Social Policy, edited by Sheila Shaver. Cheltenham UK: Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd. Professor Bernstein continues to be active on the speaker circuit, giving a keynote speech on “The Impact of Same-sex Marriage on LGBT Activism, Politics, and Communities” at the Intersections: Social Policy & Sexuality Workshopheld at McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, a talk on “Gender in the Gun Violence Prevention Movement” at the FemSem (Feminist Seminar) at the University of Wisconsin, and a talk on “Remembering Stonewall Riots After 50 Years” sponsored by the Human Rights Commission of West Hartford CT.
Professor Bernstein continues to direct the Early College Experience (ECE) program for Sociology. Now in its second year of existence, students in six high schools across Connecticut can take introduction to sociology and receive UConn credit. Nationally, Professor Bernstein serves as an elected member of the American Sociological Association’s Publications Committee.
