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Nancy J. Mezey, Ph.D.

  • Professor Emerita

Department: Honors School

Office: Monmouth University Library 208

Phone: 732-263-5631

Email: nmezey@monmouth.edu


Nancy Mezey, Ph.D., is a professor of sociology and dean of the Honors School. Her areas of specialization are family sociology, gender studies, the sociology of sexualities, and race-class-gender studies. At Monmouth, Mezey previously served as the director of the sociology program, curriculum coordinator of the gender studies program, and advisor to the Sociology Club. She received the 2010-11 Monmouth University Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award. Outside of the University, Mezey serves as the president (2018-19) of the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP) (http://sssp1.org/). She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Garden State Philharmonic (http://www.gardenstatephilharmonic.org/). Mezey is a returned Peace Corps volunteer where she served in Mali, West Africa from 1988 to 1990. She received her Ph.D. from Michigan State University and B.A. from Vassar College.

Education

Ph.D., Michigan State University

Research Interests

Dr. Mezey’s research focuses on how historical factors, social inequalities, social activism, and policies shape and affect families, communities, and larger society. She is currently the principle investigator and executive producer of “My Buddy: The 369th WWII Documentary Project” (https://guides.monmouth.edu/mybuddy).

Books

  • Nancy J. Mezey. 2015. LGBT Families. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
  • Nancy J. Mezey. 2008.  New Choices, New Families: How Lesbians Decide about Motherhood.  The Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

Book Chapters

  • Nancy Mezey. 2018. “LGBTQ Families” in Shifting the Center: Understanding Contemporary Families, edited by Susan J. Ferguson. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
  • Nancy J. Mezey, Tina Maschi, and George Leibowitz. 2017. Revision of “Families as a System in Forensic Practice” in Forensic Social Work: Psychosocial and Legal Issues in Diverse Practice Settings, edited by Tina Maschi and George Leibowitz.  New York: Springer Publishing Company, pp. 137-151.
  • Nancy J. Mezey. 2016. “Deciding Whether to Parent” in The SAGE Encyclopedia of LGBTQ Studies, edited by Abbie Goldberg. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc., pp. 285-289.
  • Nancy J. Mezey. 2014. “Becoming a Sociologist in Action through Theory and Practice: A Personal Journey” in Sociologists in Action: Race, Class and Gender, edited by Kathleen O. Korgen, Jonathan M. White, and Shelley K. White. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc., pp. 151-156.
  • Nancy J. Mezey. 2013. “How Lesbians/Gay Men Decide to be Parents or Remain Childfree” in LGBT-Parent Families: Possibilities for New Research and Implications for Practice, edited by Abbie E. Goldberg and Katherine R. Allen.  New York: Springer Publishing Company, pp. 59-70

Scholarly Articles

  • Nancy J. Mezey. 2008.  “The Privilege of Coming Out:  Race, Class, and Lesbians’ Mothering Decisions.” The International Journal of Sociology of the Family. 34(2)(Autumn): 257-276. 
  • Nancy J. Mezey. 2005. “Conducting Multiracial Feminist Family Research: Challenges and Rewards of Recruiting a Diverse Sample.” In Michigan Family Review. 10:45-65
  • Nancy J. Mezey, Lori A. Post, and Christopher D. Maxwell. 2002. “Redefining Intimate Partner Violence: Women’s Experiences with Physical Violence and Non-Physical Abuse by Age.”  In International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy 22(7/8):122-149.