Liz Mount

I study social inequalities, both why they persist despite social change, and also how people come together to challenge them. I am particularly interested in how inequalities are maintained, typically through force or ideological legitimation. I study legitimation. I am broadly interested in understanding the role of global social change in shaping contemporary gendered identities and practices; my regional focus is India. I am a qualitative sociologist who is trained in both qualitative and quantitative research methods.

My book, “New” Women: Trans Women, Hijras, and the Remaking of Inequality in India, recently published by Cambridge University Press, explores how seemingly progressive social change for emerging groups of transgender women in India can legitimize inequalities suffered by other gender non-conforming people, especially traditional groups of working-class hijras. In addition to this research, I have also contributed to the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning by conducting research about teaching pedagogy in unfamiliar environments and increasing online student engagement. My single-author articles can be found in the journals: Gender & Society, World Development, Women’s Studies International Forum, The Journal of International Development, The Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, Contemporary South Asia, Development in Practice and Teaching Sociology.

I am currently an Assistant Professor of Practice at Texas Tech University, where I teach a wide spectrum of Sociology courses online.