James J. Dean

Associate Professor of Sociology
Ph.D., State University of New York, Albany
B.A., Pomona College

E-mail:  james.dean@sonoma.edu
Voicemail:  (707) 664-2599
Fax:  (707) 664-3920
Office: Stevenson Hall, 2084-J

Areas of Expertise: 

Sexualities, Social Theory, Gender, Race/Ethnicity, Culture

Academic Interests:

Professor Dean's research focuses on the sociology of sexualities, particularly the sociology of heterosexualities.  Currently, he is working on a book manuscript that explores how recent increases in gay and lesbian visibility in the United States are shaping and reshaping heterosexual identities. Based on 60 in-depth interviews with heterosexual Black and White men and women, the study explores the gendered and racial character of heterosexual identities in the context of gay visibility.

Courses Offered: 

SOCI 360: Sociology of Sexualities
SOCI 375: Classical Sociological Theory
SOCI 377: Contemporary Sociological Theory
SOCI 363: Sociology of Race & Ethnicity
SOCI 385: Sociology of Culture
SOCI 498: Senior Seminar

Selected Publications:

James J. Dean.  2011.  “The Cultural Construction of Heterosexualities.”  Sociology Compass 5(8):  679-687.   

James J. Dean.  2011.  “Thinking Intersectionality:  Sexualities and the Politics of Multiple Identities” in Theorising Intersections: Sexual Advances, edited by Yvette Taylor, Sally Hines, and Mark Casey, pp. 119-139, London, England:  Palgrave.     

Steven Seidman, Chet Meeks, and James J. Dean.  2011.  “The Politics of Authenticity:  Civic Individualism and the Cultural Roots of Gay Normalization” in Oxford Handbook of Cultural Sociology, edited by Jeffrey Alexander, Ronald Jacobs, and Phillip Smith.  Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.  Forthcoming.

James J. Dean.  2007.  “Gays and Queers:  From the Centering to the Decentering of Homosexuality in American Film.”  Sexualities 10 (July):363-386.

James J. Dean.  2006.  “Straight Men.” Pp. 135-142 in Introducing the New Sexuality Studies, edited by Steven Seidman, Nancy Fisher and Chet Meeks. New York: Routledge.

James J. Dean and Steven Seidman. 2003. “Comparative Perspectives on Gay and Lesbian Politics.” Pp. 80-92 in The Social Construction of Sexuality. New York:  W.W. Norton.