Department of Sociology

Dr. Ellen Lamont is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology. She holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from New York University, an M.A. in International Relations from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in Peace and Conflict Studies from the University of California, Berkeley. Her research examines how gender and sexuality shape intimate relationships in a variety of contexts. She is the author of The Mating Game: How Gender Still Shapes How We Date with University of California Press. Her work has been published in Gender & Society, Men & Masculinities, and Sociological Forum and covered by news outlets such as The Atlantic, BBC, Cosmopolitan, and The New York Times. She is currently working on a project on gender, work, and family in Appalachia funded by grants from the American Sociological Association and the University Research Council, as well as conducting an ethnography on gender and parenthood in family court. Ellen teaches courses on gender, family, and intimate relationships, as well as interdisciplinary seminars in the Honors College. She was inducted into the College of Arts and Sciences Academy of Outstanding Teachers in 2018 and awarded Teacher of the Year in 2019. In 2024, she won the Board of Governors Appalachian State University Excellence in Teaching Award. She currently serves as a council member for the Sex & Gender section of the American Sociological Association, as well as on the editorial boards for Sociological Forum and Social Currents.

 Courses Taught

• SOC 1110: Sociology of Intimate Relationships
• SOC 2850: Constructions of Gender
• SOC 4800: Sociology of Families
• SOC 4650: Women, Crime, and the Justice System

Research Interests

• Gender, Sexuality, and Intimate Relationships
• Dating and Courtship
• LGBTQ Hookup Culture
• Gendered Parenthood

Recent Publications

Lamont, Ellen, and Teresa Roach. Forthcoming. "Coming Out Queer: Sexual and Romantic Exploration and Identity Development of LGBQ+ College Students." Social Currents.

Lamont, Ellen. 2021. "The Persistence of Gendered Dating." Sociology Compass, 15(11), e12933. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.12933

Lamont, Ellen.  2020. The Mating Game: How Gender Still Shapes How We Date. Oakland, CA: University of California Press.

Lamont, Ellen, Teresa Roach, and Sope Kahn. 2018. "Navigating Campus Hookup Culture: LGBTQ Students and College Hookups".  Sociological Forum 33(4): 1000-1022.

Lamont, Ellen. 2017. "'We Can Write the Script Ourselves':  Queer Challenges to Heteronormative Dating and Courtship Practices."  Gender & Society 31(5): 624-646.

 Lamont, Ellen. 2015. “The Limited Construction of an Egalitarian Masculinity: College- Educated Men’s Dating and Relationship Narratives.”Men & Masculinities 18(3): 271-292.   https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10.1177/1097184X14557495

Lamont, Ellen, 2014. "Negotiating Courtship: Reconciling Egalitarian Ideals with Traditional Gender Norms".  Gender & Society 28(2): 189-211.