Molly Merryman

I am the founding director of Kent State University’s Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality and an associate professor of Sociology. My scholarly and professional work focuses on marginalized voices and inequalities, and because of this I have found that documentary video provides the most meaningful methodological approach for me to use.
My research is qualitative, drawing from ethnography, oral history and documentary filmmaking methodologies and techniques. While my specific topics vary, my guiding concern is utilizing these methods and my power as an institutionally-housed scholar to give voice to marginalized people. Primarily, I share my work in the form of scholarly video documentaries. My documentaries have screened internationally, been broadcast on PBS, and are made available to research participants to further their own causes. I am deeply committed to social change, and see visual sociology as a means for improving the lives of others as well as furthering sociological understandings.
In addition to my service on the board of the International Visual Sociology Association, I also serve on the editorial board of the Journal of Video Ethnography the organizing board of the Ethnografilm Festival in Paris, and the advisory board for Sexing the Past (the UK national LGBTQ history education initiative).