We’re happy to share the good news that our SPAN postdoc search has now concluded. Our two top candidates have accepted our offers and will be joining us this coming fall.
Scott De Orio received his PhD in History and Women’s Studies in 2017 from the University of Michigan, where he wrote a dissertation entitled “Punishing Queer Sexuality in the Age of LGBT Rights.” He is currently working on a book manuscript bearing the same name that examines the American “war on sex offenders” and its targeting of LGBTQ people. De Orio shines a spotlight on the criminalization of “‘bad’ LGBT subjects”—namely, sex workers, people with HIV, and trans people—in recent decades, ironically during the same period typically thought of as the “age of LGBT rights.” Scott will be affiliated with the Department of History and the GSS program.
Tony Silva will receive his PhD in Sociology from the University of Oregon this spring. He is currently finishing his dissertation, “Bud-Sex: Sexual Flexibility among Rural White Straight Men Who Have Sex With Men.” For a related article, published in Gender & Society, Silva received the 2017 Distinguished Article Award from the Section of Sexualities of the American Sociological Association. His work has received considerable coverage in the media, including in New York Magazine and Psychology Today. Tony will be affiliated with the Department of Sociology and the GSS program.
This year SPAN received 112 applications, which collectively were indicative of the remarkable vibrancy and innovation that mark the field of sexuality studies. Many applicants were top contenders for the fellowship, making us wish we had more fellowships to grant.
Many thanks to our colleagues in GSS who volunteered to be part of our selection committee, and to Eliot for their assistance throughout the selection process.
All best,
Héctor Carrillo and Steve Epstein
Co-Directors, The Sexualities Project at Northwestern (SPAN)