Assistant Professor of Sociology




Grinnell College, Box A-1
Grinnell, IA 50112
(641) 269-3124 fax (641) 269-4985
kangm@grinnell.edu




Education:


B. A. magna cum laude, Social Studies, Harvard University, 1988
M.A., Sociology, New York University, 1996
Ph.D., Sociology, New York University, 2001

Teaching and Research Interests


Social Construction of Race, Gender and Class 
Sociology of the Body
Emotional Labor and Service Interactions
Immigrant Women’s Work
Asian American Communities
Relations between Korean Americans and African Americans
Ethnography

Scholarly Activities


Taught as a Visiting Assistant Professor, Skidmore College, Department of Sociology (2001-2). Visiting Lecturer, Barnard College (1999), and Adjunct Instructor, New York University (1994-98).
Received the Cheryl Allyn Miller Award for research on women and work, awarded annually by the Sociologists for Women in Society (2000),  the Rose Laub Coser Dissertation Award (Honorable Mention), Eastern Sociological Society (1998) and  Peter Ohm Scholarship, (Alternate), Korea Society (1998) and the International Migration Program Minority Summer Dissertation Fellowship, Social Science Research Council (1997) and New York University Dean’s Summer Fellowship for Preliminary Ph.D. Research (1996).
Elected as the Graduate Student Representative of the American Sociological Association’s Asia and Asian America Section (1998).
Founded and coordinated the Asian Pacific American Student Support Program at New York University’s Student Advising Center, and received a President’s Service Award for Programming (1996-7).
Served on the Board of Directors of the Committee Against Anti-Asian Violence, New York City, advocating for and outreaching to Asian women workers and victims of bias-related crimes (1992-4).

Recent Publications and Papers


2002.  “I Do It All the Same”:  Simultaneous Performance of Care-giving and Paid Work in Immigrant Entrepreneurial Establishments.”  Paper prepared for presentation at Third Annual Carework Conference, Loyola University, Chicago.
“Body Labor: Managing Emotions in Nail Salon Work.” Currently being revised and resubmitted to Gender & Society.
2001.  “Gender and Immigrant Entrepreneurship in Korean-owned Nail Salons.” Paper prepared for presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Anaheim, CA.
2000.  “Researching One’s Own:  Negotiating Co-Ethnicity in the Field,” in Martin Manalansan, Ed.  Cultural Compass:  Ethnographic Explorations of Asian America, Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
2000.  “Manicuring Interactions:  Race, Gender and Class in New York City Korean-Owned Nail Salons.”  Paper prepared for presentation at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association, Washington D.C.
1999. “Racializing Beauty:  The Everyday Aesthetics of Nail Art in Korean-Owned Nail Salons.”  Paper prepared for presentation at the Exploring America’s Cultures: The Korean Americans: Arts, Culture, and Sensibility seminar, Columbia University, New York, New York.
1998.  “Black-White or Immigrant-Native Differences?  Variation in Customer Interactions with Korean Nailcare Providers.”  Paper prepared for presentation at the Annual Aeeting of the American Sociological Association, San Francisco, California.
1998.  “Immigration:  Exclusion, Selective Inclusion, and Identity” co-presented with Jennifer Parker Talwar at the Annual Meeting of the American Sociological Association San Francisco, California.
1998.  “Manicuring Race and Ethnicity:  Conflict and Accommodation in New York City Korean-Owned Nail Salons.”  Paper prepared for presentation at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Social Problems, San Francisco, California.
1997.  “Manicuring Race, Gender, and Class: Service Interactions in New York City Korean Nail Salons,” Race, Gender, and Class.  4:3:143-164.
1996 “Uprising in Chiapas:  The First Postmodern Peasant Rebellion?” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, New York City, New York.
1993.  Panelist and Workshop Leader, “Violence Against Asian Americans,” conducted at the Smith College Conference for Asian Americans, Northampton, Massachusetts.