stef m shuster , Ph.D.
Holmes Hall, E-193A
919 E. Shaw Lane
East Lansing, MI 48825
United States
LBC Courses Taught
Biography
stef m. shuster is an associate professor in Lyman Briggs College and the Department of Sociology at Michigan State University. Their current research and teaching — in gender, medicine, and feminist science and technology studies — considers how evidence is constructed, mobilized, and weaponized in social life. shuster currently serves on the editorial boards for Social Science & Medicine, Social Currents, and Contemporary Sociology and is a deputy editor for Gender & Society.
Education
- Ph.D., Sociology, with a certificate in Gender Studies, University of Iowa
- B.A., Sociology, Indiana University, Bloomington
Honors and Awards
- 2024 Award for Outstanding Family Public Scholarship, Council on Contemporary Families.
- 2023 Outstanding Faculty Mentor Award, Graduate College, Michigan State University
- 2023 Honorable Mention, Best Book Award, Section on the Body and Embodiment, American Sociological Association
- 2023 Honorable Mention, Donald W. Light Book Award, Section on Medical Sociology, American Sociological Association
- 2023 Outstanding Article Award, Gender Division, Society for the Study of Social Problems
- 2023 Outstanding Article Award, Theory Division, Society for the Study of Social Problems
- 2022 Teacher-Scholar Award, Michigan State University
- 2021 Donald W. Light Award for the Applied or Public Practice of Medical Sociology, American Sociological Association Section on Medical Sociology
Research
Grants
2023-2028 “CAREER: The Consequences of Efforts to Control Human Reproduction for Science and Medicine.” National Science Foundation, Faculty Early Career Development Program ($405,585)
2024-2025 “Trans Reproduction: Creating Productive and Socially Fit Transgender People, 1950s-1970s.” National Endowment for the Humanities ($60,000)
Publications
Books
- shuster, stef. 2021. Trans Medicine: The Emergence and Practice of Treating Gender. New York: NYU Press.
Recent Journal Articles
- shuster, stef, Nicole Wonderlin, and Shahnaz Masani. 2025. “Plant Sex: A Cultural Analysis of the Gendering of Plant Reproduction Processes.” Signs: Journal of Women in Culture and Society 50(30): 707-32.
- Moseson, Heidi, Iris Olson, stef shuster, Angel Foster, Leo Han, Miles Harris, and Brooke Levandowski. 2025. “Approaching the Concepts of Gender and Sex in Family Planning Research.” Contraception 141:110708.
- shuster, stef. 2024. “The Assertion of Reproductive and Social Control in Mid-twentieth Century US Transgender Medicine.” Gender & History 36(1): 208-223.
- shuster, stef, Celeste Campos-Castillo, Navid Madani, Kenneth Joseph. 2024. “Who Supports Bernie? Analyzing Identity and Ideological Variation on Twitter During the 2020 Democratic Primaries.” PLOS ONE. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0294735
- shuster, stef. "The Assertion of Reproductive and Social Control in Mid-twentieth Century US Transgender Medicine." Gender & History. https://doi.org/10.1111/1468-0424.12727
- shuster, stef and Laurel Westbrook. 2024. “Reducing the Joy Deficit in Sociology: A Study of Transgender Joy.” Social Problems 71(3): 791-809
- Westbrook Laurel, & shuster, stef (2023). Transgender Joy: Flipping the Script of Marginality. Contexts, 22(4), 16-21. https://doi.org/10.1177/15365042231210824
- Rogers, Ethan, Andrew Krajewski, and stef shuster. 2023. “The Disproportionate Mental Health Burden Among Incarcerated Transgender and Gender Diverse People." Journal of Correctional Health Care 29(1): 39-46.
- Campos-Castillo, Celeste and stef shuster. 2023. “So What if They’re Lying to Us? Comparing Rhetorical Strategies for Discrediting Sources of Disinformation and Misinformation using an Affect-based Credibility Rating.” American Behavioral Scientist 67(2): 201-223. https://doi.org/10.1177/00027642211066058
- shuster, stef and Noah Lubben. 2022. “The Uneven Consequences of Rapid Organizational Change: COVID-19 and Healthcare Workers.” Social Science & Medicine 315: 1-8.
- Hsieh, Ning and stef shuster. 2021. “Health and Health Care of Sexual and Gender Minorities.” Journal of Health and Social Behavior 62(3): 318-333. (equal authorship)