Meredith Field

Assistant Professor of Sociology
Social Sciences
Sociology

Education

  • OPEN Postdoctoral Fellowship: Department of Sociology, University of Cincinnati
  • PhD: Rural Sociology, Pennsylvania State University
  • PhD: Women's Studies, Pennsylvania State University
  • GC: International Education, School for International Training
  • MSEd: Instructional Specialist, Bucknell University
  • BA: Environmental Studies, Bucknell University

Biography

Meredith P. Field is a medical sociologist who joins the Alfred University Division of Social Sciences after completing one year as the OPEN Postdoctoral Research Fellow in the Department of Sociology at University of Cincinnati. She earned her dual title PhD in Rural Sociology, and Women’s and Gender Studies at Pennsylvania State University. She holds a Graduate Certificate in International Education from School for International Training Graduate Institute, and both a MSEd (Instructional Specialist) and a BA in Environmental Studies from Bucknell University.

Before her doctoral studies, Meredith spent a formative nine years working in higher education – first managing a library service point, then as an instructional technologist for digital media, and finally as a study abroad advisor. During that time, she also served as a staff leader for service-learning programs in Nicaragua and the Dominican Republic – programs that allowed her to pursue her primary passions of teaching and mentoring undergraduate students.

Meredith was inspired to attend graduate school by her volunteer work as a reproductive health community educator and organizer in rural Central Pennsylvania. Now trained as both a rural sociologist and a feminist sociologist, Meredith’s research program is rooted in issues of equity and access in healthcare. Her dissertation explored medicine’s hegemonic power in shaping access to maternal healthcare in rural areas of PA, and her work with OPEN analyzed obstetrician-gynecologists’ perceptions of how Ohio abortion regulations affect their ability to provide comprehensive reproductive healthcare to their patients.

Courses Taught

  • Introduction to Sociology
  • Socialization
  • Social Problems
  • Sociology of Health, Illness, and Dis/ability
  • Sociology of Race and Ethnicity
  • Sociology of Sex and Gender
  • Sociology of Death, Dying, and Bereavement
  • Special Topics: Race and Reproduction
  • Women and Gender in Society

Research, Publications, & Presentations

Research & Publications

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