Dr. Emily Kazyak is a professor in the Department of Sociology and in the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. She received her Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Michigan.
Dr. Kazyak is interested in the cultural and legal meanings of sexuality. Her current study, “Navigating Change in Intergenerational Family Relationships: Cohort, Age, Family Role and Social Marginalization,” aims to understand the societal shifts that affect family processes in intergenerational family relationships. She has done work in public opinion around LGBTQ rights and people’s experiences in different legal contexts.
During her HRHA fellowship in Spring 2024, she worked on an international collaboration project and co-edited the book Polarising Sexualities and Genders, which was recently published. The book offers perspectives that explore change in social, legal, and political landscapes related to sex, gender/ LGBTQIA+ issues. She explained that reflecting on the human rights dimension during the fellowship, and how the discourses about LGBT rights get translated across borders, inspired the expansion of her research and teaching focus to contexts outside of the United States.
Highlights of the fellowship for her were the relevance of the interdisciplinary work and the workshops, where she was able to brainstorm ideas for her projects. These helped her integrate LGBT rights into human rights conversations and further conversations on gender and sexuality within the framework of human rights. The fellowship also helped her create a new graduate seminar on LGBT and politics around the globe.
“It's a really unique and awesome opportunity for faculty here at UNL," Dr. Kazyak said. "I appreciate that it's open-ended and flexible for people who maybe haven't used that lens necessarily, but our work is relevant, and the lens could be useful to extend the work.”
