Faculty and Staff Profiles

• PHD Sociology - University of Maryland - 2018
• MA Sociology - University of Maryland - 2014
• BA Sociology - University of Memphis - 2005

• Associate Professor, Sociology - University of Memphis - 2024-present
• Assistant Professor, Sociology - University of Memphis - 2018 - 2024
• Affiliate Faculty Member, International and Global Studies Department - University of Memphis - 2023 - present
• Affiliate Faculty Member, School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy - University of Memphis - 2022 - present
• Affiliate Faculty Member, Center for Workplace Diversity & Inclusion - University of Memphis - 2018 - present
• Academic Research Fellow, Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change - University of Memphis - 2021-2023

• Robert W. Janes Award for Excellence - Department of Sociology, University of Maryland - 2018
• Writing Fellowship ($2,000) - The Graduate School, University of Maryland - 2018
• Milton Dean Havron Social Sciences Award ($5,000) - College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Maryland - 2017
• Student Forum Travel Award ($225) - American Sociological Association - 2017
• Excellence in Diversity Award ($1,000) - College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Maryland - 2017
• Dean's Research Initiative Graduate Travel Award ($1,000) - University of Maryland - 2017
• All-S.T.A.R. Fellowship ($10,000) - The Graduate School, University of Maryland - 2017
• Writing Fellowship ($2,000) - University of Maryland - 2017
• Travel Grant ($200) - Eastern Sociological Society - 2017
• Pre-Doctoral Dissertation Award - Adoption Initiative ($400) - 2016
• Outstanding Graduate Assistant Award - The Graduate School, University of Maryland - 2016
• Conference Scholarship ($100) - Adoption Initiative - 2016
• Dissertation Fellowship, Honorable Mention - Ford Foundation - 2016
• Dean's Research Initiative Grant ($2,500) - University of Maryland - 2016
• Writing Fellowship ($2,000) - The Graduate School, University of Maryland - 2016
• Pepsi Enhancement Fund Grant ($1,460) - University of Maryland - 2016
• Ramon J. Henkel Quantitative Research Fellowship ($2,000) - Department of Sociology, University of Maryland - 2016
• Dissertation Research Grant ($2,000) - Consortium on Race, Gender, and Ethnicity - 2016
• Travel Award ($500) - Department of Sociology, University of Maryland - 2015
• Goldhaber Travel Award - University of Maryland ($800) - 2015
• Writing Fellowship ($2,000) - The Graduate School, University of Maryland - 2015
• Summer Research Fellowship ($5,000) - College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Maryland - 2014
• Writing Fellowship ($2,000) - The Graduate School, University of Maryland - 2014
• Diversity Recruitment Fellowship ($10,000) - College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, University of Maryland - 2012
• Dean's Fellowship ($5,000) - University of Maryland - 2012

• SOCI3442:Love, Sex, and Relationships (FA24) - University of Memphis
• SOCI 7210: Theory (FA23, FA24) - University of Memphis
• SOCI 7902: Special Topics - Critical Race Theory (FA19, SP22) - University of Memphis
• SOCI 3422: Racial & Ethnic Minorities (FA18, SP19, FA19, SP20, FA20, SP21, FA 21, SP22, SP23) - University of Memphis
• SOCI 4900: Special Topics - Hip Hop & Memphis (SP20) - University of Memphis
• SOCY 498: Special Topics - Black Social Movements (FA15, SP16) - University of Maryland
• SOCY 105: Introduction to Contemporary Social Problems (FA17, SP18) - University of Maryland

• MA in Sociology (committee member) - Anna Paula Della Rosa - 2025
• MA in Sociology (committee chair) - Kelsey Hill - 2024
• MA in Sociology (committee chair) - Nithila Ramesh - 2024
• MA in Sociology (committee member) - Sarah Collins - 2020
• MA in Sociology (committee member) - Caroline Reilly - 2020
• MA in Sociology (committee member) - Anna Cash - 2019
• MA in Sociology (committee member) - Dontarious Cowans - 2019
• MA in Sociology (committee member) - Hannah Pallotta - 2019

• University of Memphis - Faculty Search Committee, Department of Sociology - Fall 2023
• University of Memphis - Faculty Search Committee, Department of Sociology - Fall 2022
• University of Memphis - School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy - 2021- present
• University of Memphis - School of Urban Affairs and Public Policy, Phd Committee - 2022-2023
• University of Memphis - Faculty Search Committee, Department of Management - Fall 2021
• University of Memphis - Mr. and Ms. U of M - Fall 2021
• University of Memphis - "Academic Welcome," Weeks of Welcome - Fall 2021
• University of Memphis - Evaluation Committee, College of Education's Faculty Research Grant Competition - Spring 2020
• University of Memphis - Faculty Search Committee, Department of Sociology - Fall 2019
• American Sociological Association - Presider, Panel: “Racial Hierarchies and Identity.” - 2024
• American Sociological Association - Section Session Co-Organizer. Section on Asia and Asian America. Section Session Co-Organizer. Section on Asia and Asian America. - 2024
• Southern Sociological Society - Publications Committee - 2024-2027
• International Symposium on Korean Adoption Studies. - "Unexamined Spaces" Panel [C] - 2023
• American Sociological Association, Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities - Award Committee Member, Oliver Cromwell Cox Book Award - 2023
• Association of Asian American Studies, Social Science Caucus - Award Committee, Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award - 2023
• Southern Sociological Society - Program Committee - 2022-2023
• American Sociological Association - Regular Session Organizer, "Theory, Critical" - 2022
• Southern Sociological Society - Session Co-Organizer, “Popular Culture and Race” - 2021
• American Sociological Association - Reviewer, Dissertation Research Improvement Grant - 2021
• Sociology of Race and Ethnicity Journal - Editorial Board - 2021-2023
• American Sociological Association - Reviewer, Dissertation Research Improvement Grant - 2020
• American Sociological Association - Session Presider, “Race and Ethnicity II – Racialization and Meaning-Making” - 2020 (Cancelled due to COVID)
• Southern Sociological Society - Session Co-Organizer, “Popular Culture and Race” - 2020 (Cancelled due to COVID)
• American Sociological Association, Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities - Award Committee Member, James Blackwell Graduate Student Paper Award Committee - 2019
• Southern Sociological Society - Session Co-Organizer, “Race, Identity, and Social Contexts” - 2019
• Southern Sociological Society - Invited Panelist, Preparing for the Academic Job Market Workshop - 2019
• American Sociological Association, Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities - Award Committee Member, Oliver Cromwell Cox Article Award - 2018
• Eastern Sociological Society - Session Co-Organizer, "Race and Adoption" - 2018
• American Sociological Association - Student Forum Board Member - 2017-2018
• American Sociological Association - Invited Panelist, First Time Attendees Orientation - 2017
• Eastern Sociological Society - Session Co-Organizer, "Race and Ideology on the College Campus.” - 2017
• Southern Sociological Society - Session Presider, "Music as Cultural Production" - 2015
• American Sociological Association - Co-Coordinator, Annual Meeting Reception Committee - 2014
• Adoption Quarterly - Journal Reviewer - 2019
• Ethnic & Racial Studies - Journal Reviewer - 2018
• American Sociological Review - Journal Reviewer - 2021
• Meridians - Journal Reviewer - 2020, 2021
• Race and Social Problems - Journal Reviewer - 2019
• Social Currents - Journal Reviewer - 2019
• Social Problems - Journal Reviewer - 2019, 2020, 2023
• Sociological Inquiry - Journal Reviewer - 2021
• Sociology Compass - Journal Reviewer - 2018
• Sociology of Race and Ethnicity - Journal Reviewer - 2018, 2022, 2023S, 2023F
• Qualitative Sociology - Journal Reviewer - 2018

• Laybourn, SunAh M. 2024. Out of Place: The Lives of Korean Adoptee Immigrants. NY: New York University Press.
• Laybourn, Wendy Marie and Devon R. Goss. 2018. Diversity in Black Greek-Letter Organizations: Breaking the Line. NY: Routledge.

• Laybourn, SunAh Marie. 2024. "Critical Adoptee Standpoint: Transnational Transracial Adoptees as Knowledge Producers." Genealogy 8(2):71. Special Issue - The Manifestation and Contestation of White Privilege in Multiracial Families.
• Laybourn, SunAh M., editor. 2022 “Anti-Asian and Asian American Violence and Discrimination.” Social Problems Virtual Issue.
• Laybourn, SunAh M. 2022. “‘I don’t say that I’m a who’s who’: Negotiating Identity through Humility Work.” Symbolic Interaction 45(2):237-256.
• Laybourn, SunAh M. and Carla Goar. 2022. “‘In My Heart, I Am Cambodian’: Symbolic Ethnicity among Parents who Adopt Transracially.” Sociology of Race and Ethnicity 8(1):145-159.
• Laybourn, SunAh M. 2021. “Adopting the Model Minority Myth: Korean Adoption as a Racial Project.” Social Problems 68(1):118-135.
• Laybourn, Wendy Marie. 2018. “Being A Transnational Korean Adoptee, Becoming Asian American.” Contexts 17(4):30-25.
• Laybourn, SunAh M. 2022. “Forever Foreigners? Asian American Ethnic Groups.” Sociology in Action Race and Ethnicity Series, edited by K. Korgen and M. Atkinson. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publishing.
• Laybourn, SunAh. 2021. "Behind the Model Minority Myth." Blog post for Uplift Memphis, Uplift the Nation, April 6. https://blogs.memphis.edu/benhooksinstitute/2021/04/06/behind-the-model-minority-myth/
• Ray, Rashawn, SunAh Laybourn, and Melissa Brown. 2021. “ATLiens: OutKast and the Saliency of Place for Black Male Identity.” An OutKast Reader: Essays on Race, Gender, and the Postmodern South, edited by R. Bradley. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press.
• Laybourn, SunAh M. and Carla Goar. 2020. “Abby Johnson’s comments about her adopted Black son are problematic. Here’s why.” Op-Ed for Brookings, August 26. https://www.brookings.edu/blog/how-we-rise/2020/08/26/abby-johnsons-comments-about-her-adopted-black-son-are-problematic-heres-why/ **15,000 views in the first 24 hours of posting
• Laybourn, SunAh M. 2020. “Reframing Adoptee Narratives: Korean Adoptee Identity and Culture in Twinsters and aka SEOUL.” Racialized Media: The Design, Delivery, and Decoding of Race and Ethnicity, edited by M.W. Hughey and E. Lesser. NY: New York University Press.
• Laybourn, SunAh. 2020. “Transnational Adoption.” In Oxford Bibliographies in Sociology, edited by L. Spillman. NY: Oxford University Press.
• Winstead, Kevin and Wendy Marie Laybourn. 2019. “Teaching Black Social Movements through #BlackLivesMatter: Twitter as a Lab, Knowledge Bank, and Field.” Pp. 65-78 in Critical Intersections in Contemporary Curriculum and Pedagogy, edited by L.M. Jewett, F. Calderon-Berumen, and M. Espinosa-Dulanto. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.
• Laybourn, Wendy Marie. 2017. “The Sociology of Hip Hop Music.” Wiley-Blackwell Encyclopedia of Sociology, Second Edition.
• Laybourn, Wendy Marie. 2016. Book Review of The Scholar Denied: W.E.B. DuBois and the Birth of Modern Sociology (2015) by Aldon Morris. Research Connections: An Annual Publication of the Consortium on Race, Gender and Ethnicity.
• Laybourn, Wendy Marie. 2015. “New Titles, New Stories.” Pp. 98-101 in Flip the Script: Adult Adoptee Anthology, edited by D.R. Christian, A.H.L. Transue Woolston, and R. González.
• Laybourn, Wendy M. 2018. “The cost of being ‘real’: black authenticity, colorism, and Billboard Rap Chart rankings.” Ethnic & Racial Studies 41(11):2085-2103.
• Parks, Gregory S. and Wendy Marie Laybourn. 2017. “Asian American Fraternity Hazing: An Analysis of Community-level Factors.” Asian Pacific American Law Journal 22(1):29-56.
• Laybourn, Wendy Marie, Devon R. Goss, and Matthew W. Hughey. 2017. “‘You’re either one of us or you’re not’: Racial Hierarchy and Non-Black Members of Black Greek-Letter Organizations.” Sociology of Race & Ethnicity 3(4):552-565.
• Ray, Rashawn, Melissa Brown, and Wendy Laybourn, eds. 2017. “The Evolution of #BlackLivesMatter on Twitter: Social Movements, Big Data, and Race.” Ethnic & Racial Studies 40(11):1795-1796.
• Laybourn, Wendy Marie. 2017. “Teaching and Learning Guide: Korean Transracial Adoptee Identity Formation.” Sociology Compass 11(2).
• Laybourn, Wendy Marie. 2017. “Korean Transracial Adoptee Identity Formation.” Sociology Compass 11(1).
• Laybourn, Wendy Marie. 2016. “From Subjugated to Incorporated: The Racial Projects of U.S. Rap Music.” Issues in Race & Society 4(1):82-87.
• Gregory S. Parks and Laybourn, Wendy Marie. 2016. “The Sons of Indiana: Kappa Alpha Psi and the Fight for Civil Rights.” Indiana Law Journal 91(4):1425-1472.
• Laybourn, Wendy Marie and Gregory S. Parks. 2016. “Brotherhood and the Quest for African American Social Equality: A Story of Phi Beta Sigma.” Maryland Law Journal Race, Religion, Gender and Class 16(1):1-47.
• Laybourn, Wendy Marie and Gregory S. Parks. 2016. “Omega Psi Phi Fraternity and the Fight for Civil Rights.” Wake Forest Journal of Law and Policy 6(1):213- 301.

• Panel. “Hyper(in)visibility: 120 Years of Sociological Research on Asian Americans.” American Sociological Association. Montreal, Canada.

• Keynote. Asian Student Association. Ripon College. November 7, 2024
• “Creating Belonging: Korean Adoptee Immigrants & The Boundaries of Kinship, Citizenship, and Race.” Tennessee Governor’s School for International Studies, University of Memphis. June 18, 2024.
• Panel. “Hyper(in)visibility: 120 Years of Sociological Research on Asian Americans.” Association of Asian American Studies Annual Meeting. Seattle, WA. 2024.

• Panel. Reinvigorating Asian American Sociology: Introducing the NYU Press Asian American Sociology Series. Association of Asian American Studies Annual Meeting. Seattle, WA. 2024.

• Speaker. Racial Equity Seminar. Brookings Institution. January 29, 2024.

• Panel. “Deportable Immigrants: Korean Adoptees’ Racial Place in Blue Bayou.” Association of Asian American Studies Annual Meeting. Long Beach, CA. 2023.

• "In/Visibility and Representation Surrounding Minority Groups." First Horizon. August 10, 2023
• “On Belonging.” Tennessee Governor’s School for International Studies, University of Memphis. June 19, 2023.
• Panelist. Racial Equity and Inclusion Panel. University of Massachusetts, Lowell. September 29, 2022.
• Roundtable. “Included or Excluded: A Systematic Review of Sociological Research on Asian Americans.” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, CA. 2022.
• “On Becoming.” Tennessee Governor’s School for International Studies, University of Memphis. June 22, 2022.
• AAPI Heritage Month Speaker. Stockton University. April 28, 2022.
• Inclusive Leadership Workshop. Stockton University. April 28, 2022.
• “Interviewing Hard to Reach Populations.” Susquehanna University. March 15, 2022.
• "Family Matters? How Adoption and Deportation Define the American Family." University of Tennessee at Martin. November 16, 2021.
• "Family Matters? How Adoption and Deportation Define the American Family." Rhodes College. October 26, 2021.
• “Making Mirrors.” Tennessee Governor’s School for International Studies, University of Memphis. June 24, 2021.
• “Race in America and the #StopAsianHate Movement.” US Embassy, Canberra, Australia. May 14, 2021.
• “Together We Rise” Series speaker. Junior League of Memphis. October 18, 2020
• Panel. Regular Session – Symbolic Interaction: Studies and Extensions. “Humblebragging as Authenticity Work.” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA. (Cancelled due to COVID) August 2020
• “Podcasting as Public Sociology.” University of Richmond. October 1, 2020.
• “Identity Construction.” Tennessee Governor’s School for International Studies, University of Memphis. June 16, 2020.
• “Adoptable Orphans, Deportable Immigrants: The Limits of Korean Adoptees’ Race, Citizenship, and Belonging.” Skidmore College. March 26-27, 2020. (Cancelled due to COVID)
• Diversity and Inclusion Panel. Public Relations Society of America, Memphis Chapter. November 15, 2019
• Panel. “Community Wealth Building and the Strategic Assimilation of Black Hip-Hop Artists.” (Co-authored with Joey Brown). Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting. Jacksonville, FL. (Cancelled due to COVID) April 2020
• Panel. “‘In my heart, I am Cambodian:’ Symbolic Ethnicity among Parents who Adopt Transracially.” (Co-authored with Carla Goar). American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. NY, NY. August 13, 2019
• Panel. “‘This could be any of us:’ Identity Formation, Racialized Scripts, and Collective Action in Adoptee Citizenship Act Advocacy.” The International Symposium for Korean Adoption Studies. Seoul, Korea. July 31, 2019
• Author Meets Critic. Diversity in Black Greek-Letter Organizations: Breaking the Line. Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA. April 13, 2019
• Invited Panel. “‘This could be any of us:’ Identity Formation, Racialized Scripts, and Collective Action in Adoptee Citizenship Act Advocacy.” Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA. April 13, 2019
• Panel. “‘In my heart, I am Cambodian:’ Symbolic Ethnicity among Parents who Adopt Transracially.” (Co-authored with Carla Goar). Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting. Atlanta, GA. April 11, 2019
• Panel. “‘This is a family bill not an immigration bill:’ Racialized Scripts in Adoptee Deportations and the Adoptee Citizenship Act Advocacy.” Hawaii Sociological Society Annual Meeting. Honolulu, HI. February 16, 2019
• Panel. “Reframing Belonging: Korean Adoptees on the Ground and Screen.” The Alliance for the Study of Adoption & Culture. Oakland, CA. October 20, 2018
• Invited Workshop Presenter. “Publishing 101.” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA. August 13, 2018
• Roundtable. “Adopting the Model Minority Myth: Korean Adoption as a Racial Project.” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA. August 11, 2018
• Panel. “‘This is a family bill not an immigration bill’: Adoptee Deportations, the Adoptee Citizenship Act, and the Changing Racialization of Transnational Transracial Adoptee Immigrants.” Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA. April 7, 2018.
• Roundtable. “White, But Not Quite: Korean Adoptees, Honorary Whiteness, and Racialization.” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Montreal, Canada. August 12, 2017.
• Panel – Interactionist Perspectives in Race and Ethnicity. “Not Quite White and Not Entirely Ethnic: Korean Adoptees and the Transracial Adoptee Double Bind.” Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction Annual Meeting. Montreal, Canada. August 2017.
• Panel. “‘Whiteness’ without Wages: Korean Adoptees and the Challenges to Honorary Whiteness.” Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA. February 25, 2017.
• Roundtable. “Creating the ‘Korean Adoptee’: Intersections of Race, Gender, Class, and Nation.” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Seattle, WA. August 22, 2016.
• Panel. “Flip the Script: An Artistic Uplifting of Adoptee Voices.” Adoption Initiative Biennial Conference. Montclair, NJ. June 2016.
• Panel. “‘I’m just me’: The Role of Authenticity Claims in Identity Work.” Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting. Boston, MA. March 19, 2016.
• Invited Panelist. “What Difference Does it Make?” Research Center for Korean Community Annual Conference. New York, NY. November 7, 2015.
• Panel. Regular Session – Popular Culture. “The Cost of Being ‘Real’: Black Authenticity, Colorism, and Rap Billboard Chart Rankings.” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Chicago, IL. August 23, 2015.
• Roundtable. “Is Rap Music a Racial Project? The Ideological Work of Music.” Southern Sociological Society Annual Meeting. New Orleans, LA. March 27, 2015.
• Panel. “Opposition and Incorporation: The Racial Projects of Rap Music.” Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting. New York, NY. February 28, 2015.
• Roundtable. “‘They don’t see me but they hear me’: Drug Lyrics, Rap Billboard Chart Rankings, and Black Authenticity.” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. San Francisco, CA. August 17, 2014.
• Roundtable. “‘Blame It On The Alcohol?’: Rap Music’s Substance Consumption Scripts and Billboard Chart Rankings.” Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting. Baltimore, MD. February 22, 2014.

• SOCI3442-001 - Love, Sex, and Relationships
• SOCI8210-001 - Theory
• SOCI3422-010 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities
• SOCI3422-350 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities Honors
• SOCI8210-001 - Theory Seminar
• SOCI3422-001 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities
• SOCI3422-002 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities
• SOCI3422-350 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities
• SOCI3422-001 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities
• SOCI3422-350 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities Honors
• SOCI7902-001 - Critical Race Theory
• SOCI3422-003 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities
• SOCI3422-010 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities
• SOCI3422-350 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities Honors
• SOCI3422-001 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities
• SOCI3422-002 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities
• SOCI3422-350 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities Honors
• SOCI3422-003 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities
• SOCI3422-010 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities
• SOCI3422-350 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities Honors
• SOCI3422-001 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities
• SOCI3422-350 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities Honors
• SOCI4900-001 - Hip Hop & Memphis
• SOCI3422-010 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities
• SOCI7902-001 - Critical Race Theory
• SOCI3422-001 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities
• SOCI3422-005 - Racial & Ethnic Minorities

• Race, Resistance, and Reclamation: The Transnational Mobilization of Korean Adoptees as a Social Movement (paper in progress)

• Years of Sociological Research on Asian Americans (paper in progress)

• Feeling like Family: Racialized Feeling Rules for Belonging and the Reproduction of Racialized Emotions within Transnational Transracial Adoptive Families (paper in progress)