About me
About me
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Hi! My name is Emily and I am a PhD candidate in Rural Sociology and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Penn State University.
I am a feminist researcher and teacher passionate about topics related to gender and sexuality, the sociology of food and agriculture, and labor and migration. I apply both quantitative and qualitative methods in my research work.
I finished my master's degree in Rural Sociology and International Agriculture and Development, also at Penn State. My master's thesis concerns gender roles, gendered agency, and perceptions of women's empowerment in Cambodia's vegetable value-chains. My findings were recently published in Gender, Place and Culture.
For my dissertation, I use in-depth qualitative interviews and time-use data to understand the gendered and racialized experiences of social reproduction and productive work for refugees from Burma working in meatpacking plants in rural new immigrant destinations in the Midwestern US. In taking a community-engaged approach for this project, I am working with the Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center (EMBARC) to better understand and serve community needs.
My future goals include continuing to work in academia. One of the great joys of my work is teaching and I am passionate about cultivating my feminist pedagogical practice.
Selected Publications
Selected Publications
Refereed Publications:
Southard, Emily M.L. 2025. “From the Field to the Market: Women’s Work and Women’s Spaces in Cambodia’s Vegetable Value-Chains.” Gender, Place, and Culture. Online first (open access) at https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0966369X.2025.2458013
Southard, Emily M.L. and Heather Randell. 2024.“Food Insecurity and Women’s Mental Health in the Chitwan Valley of Nepal.” Social Science & Medicine–Mental Mental Health, 6 (100337). Available (open access) at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2024.100337
Southard, Emily M.L. and Heather Randell. 2022. “Climate Change, Agrarian Distress, and the Feminization of Agriculture in South Asia.” Rural Sociology, 87 (3). 873-900. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/ruso.12439.
Book Chapters:
Southard, Emily M.L. 2021. “Covid-19, Migrant Workers, and Meatpacking in US Agriculture: A Critical Feminist Reflection.” Paige Castellanos, Carolyn Sachs, and Ann Tickamyer (Eds). Gender, Food, and COVID-19: Global Stories of Harm and Hope. New York, NY: Routledge. Available (open access) at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003198277-12/covid-19-migrant-workers-meatpacking-us-agriculture-critical-feminist-reflection-emily-southard
Southard, Emily M.L. and Leif Jensen. 2020."Men’s and Women’s Migration in Relation to Agriculture." Carolyn E. Sachs, Kathleen Sexsmith, Leif Jensen, and Paige Castellanos (Eds.) Handbook on Gender and Agriculture. New York, NY: Routledge. Available at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429199752-36/men-women-migration-relation-agriculture-emily-southard-leif-jensen
Teaching
2025-2026 The Pennsylvania State University
Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies (WMNST 100)—Size: 40
2023-2024 The Pennsylvania State University
Introduction to Rural Sociology (RSOC 011)—Size: 30
Curriculum Vitae
Curriculum Vitae
CV as of February 2024.docxTeaching Philosophy
Teaching Philosophy
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
Example of Teaching PowerPoints
Example of Teaching PowerPoints
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