Virginia Berndt, Ph.D.
- Assistant Professor
Sociology
Starting my career as a professor in 2021 at Texas A&M International University, I have taught undergraduate courses in Sociological Theory, Introduction to Sociology, Sociology of Disasters, Medical Sociology, and Health, Medicine, & Society. I have also taught graduate courses in Women, Gender, & Health, the Sociology of Health and Illness, Disasters & Society, and the Sociology of Reproduction.
At McDaniel College, I currently teach Introduction to Sociology: A Global Perspective and Sociological Theory. I am absolutely thrilled to be teaching at McDaniel College, especially as I was quite close to enrolling at McDaniel as an undergraduate transfer student!
The core theme among my presented and published research is health and illness. In this area, I examine dimensions of reproductive health as it relates to disasters, the environment, the body and embodiment, provider-patient interactions, and sociological theory. I have experience in qualitative and quantitative research methods on interactional, national, and global scales. My dissertation examined women's embodied experiences with contraception and its medicalization.
My co-authored book, "Body Art (Arts for Health)," where we explore body art as an underappreciated yet accessible source for mental and physical wellbeing, was recently published by Emerald Books.
Much of my passion for teaching and research stems from my lived experience as a chronically ill and disabled scholar which has instilled in me the desire to uplift students representing these populations and other marginalized social locations.
Education
- 2021
- PhD in Sociology, The University of Delaware
- 2016
- MA in Sociology, Lehigh University
- 2013
- BA in Sociology & Philosophy, Millersville University of Pennsylvania
- 2011
- AA in Social Sciences, HACC: Central Pennsylvania's Community College
Research Interests
medical sociology; reproduction; disasters; embodiment; gender; theory
Recent Courses
- SOC 1104: Introduction to Sociology: A Global Perspective
- SOC 2104: Sociological Theory
Selected Publications
Berndt, Virginia Kuulei and Ann V. Bell. 2024. “Beyond knowledge: Introducing Embodied Aversion through the case of contraception.” Social Science & Medicine 341: 116516. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2023.116516
Neumann, Pamela, Virginia Kuulei Berndt, and Ashley Grajeda*. 2024. “Shifting social support: Mexican-American women’s navigation of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum periods during the COVID-19 pandemic.” Social Currents 11(3): 274-292. https://doi.org/10.1177/23294965231210814
Berndt, Virginia Kuulei and Ann V. Bell. 2021. “‘This is what the truth is’: Provider-patient interactions serving as barriers to contraception.” Health: An Interdisciplinary Journal for the Social Study of Health, Illness, and Medicine 25(5): 613-629. https://doi.org/10.1177/1363459320969775
Berndt, Virginia Kuulei and Kelly F. Austin. 2021. “Drought and disproportionate disease: An investigation of gendered vulnerabilities to HIV/AIDS in less-developed nations.” Population and Environment 42(3): 379-405. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11111-020-00367-1
Berndt, Virginia Kuulei. 2018. “Gender, disaster, and women’s access to contraception and reproductive healthcare.” Sociology Compass 12(12): e12645. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12645
"Dr. Berndt has been one of the most refreshing professors I have ever had during my academic career. Dr. Berndt has always been prepared, forthcoming, and very accommodating for those with disabilities. Dr. Berndt is very knowledgeable about her field and is supportive in answering questions that may be off topic and bringing it back around to the lesson at hand. Dr. Berndt is fully immersed in her role as a professor and truly cares for her students' success."