Tracy L. Scott
Senior Lecturer
Education
- PhD in Sociology, Princeton University, 1999
- MA in Sociology, Princeton University, 1992
- MA in Theology, Fuller Theological Seminary, 1989
- AB in Economics, Stanford University, 1983
Biography
Dr. Tracy L. Scott is a Senior Lecturer in Sociology.
Dr. Scott received an A.B. in Economics from Stanford University, an MA in Theology from Fuller Seminary, and a Ph.D. in Sociology from Princeton University.
While finishing her dissertation about gender and religious differences in work values, Dr. Scott began a career as a health services researcher. She continued in that field for 11 years, first as a senior researcher at the Prudential Center for Health Care Research and then as a Research Assistant Professor at Rollins School of Public Health at Emory University.
Although Dr. Scott valued her time in healthcare research, her primary interests are in the sociology of culture and gender, and in teaching. In 2007, she moved into a full time position with the Sociology Department at Emory University.
From 2014 to 2020, she was Director of Emory’s Quality Enhancement Plan (QEP): The Nature of Evidence: How Do We Know? For more on the QEP, go here.
Dr. Scott focuses her teaching on making connections between the evidence produced by social research and everyday life. Her goal is that students use this evidence to understand the world more critically, be more reflective in their actions, and make more informed choices in their own lives.
Research
Dr. Scott’s research focuses on culture, gender, and work. She is particularly interested in how culture (e.g., religion; gender role norms) influences life decisions (e.g., career paths) and general aspects of daily life (e.g., work practices).
Current Research Projects:
An ethnography of undergraduate college-to-career culture at a liberal arts university, exploring how student culture creates mechanisms of career funneling specific to the local context, yet also related to broader notions of career prestige and success propagated by elite institutions of higher education in the U.S.
A sociological exploration of the original “Moonshot”: the early space era in the U.S. (1958-1973), when science fiction becomes science fact. Using archival and oral history methods, focusing particularly on U.S. Astronaut Groups 2 and 3 during the Gemini and Apollo programs, I explore the new social constructions of space flight, the astronaut, the astronaut family, and NASA.
Publications
Key Publications: