Emily M. L. Southard

About me

Hi! My name is Emily and I am a PhD candidate in Rural Sociology and Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at Penn State University.

I am a feminist researcher passionate about topics related to gender and sexuality, the sociology of food and agriculture, and labor and migration. I apply both quantitative and qualitative methods in my work.

I recently finished my master's degree in Rural Sociology and International Agriculture and Development, also at Penn State. My master's thesis concerns gender roles, gendered agency, and perceptions of women's empowerment in Cambodia's vegetable value-chains.

For my dissertation, I am using in-depth qualitative interviews and time-use data to understand experiences of migration, social integration, gender, and reproductive and productive work for refugees from Burma working in meatpacking plants in rural new immigrant destinations the Midwestern US. In taking a participatory approach for this project, I am working with the Ethnic Minorities of Burma Advocacy and Resource Center (EMBARC) to better understand and serve community needs.

My future goals include continuing to work in academia. One of the great joys of my work is teaching and I am passionate about cultivating my feminist pedagogical practice.

Publications

Refereed Publications:

Southard, E.M.L. and H. Randell. 2024.“Food Insecurity and Women’s Mental Health in the Chitwan Valley of Nepal.” Social Science & Medicine–Mental Mental Health, 6 (100337). Available (open access) at: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssmmh.2024.100337

Southard, E.M.L. and H. Randell. 2022. “Climate Change, Agrarian Distress, and the Feminization of Agriculture in South Asia.” Rural Sociology, 87 (3). 873-900. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/ruso.12439.

Book Chapters:

Southard, E.M.L. 2021. “Covid-19, Migrant Workers, and Meatpacking in US Agriculture: A Critical Feminist Reflection.” Paige Castellanos, Carolyn Sachs, and Ann Tickamyer (Eds). Gender, Food, and COVID-19: Global Stories of Harm and Hope. New York, NY: Routledge. Available (open access) at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003198277-12/covid-19-migrant-workers-meatpacking-us-agriculture-critical-feminist-reflection-emily-southard

Southard, E.M.L. and L. Jensen. 2020."Men’s and Women’s Migration in Relation to Agriculture." Carolyn E. Sachs, Kathleen Sexsmith, Leif Jensen, and Paige Castellanos (Eds.) Handbook on Gender and Agriculture. New York, NY: Routledge. Available at: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/edit/10.4324/9780429199752-36/men-women-migration-relation-agriculture-emily-southard-leif-jensen

Outreach & Public Scholarship:

Southard, E. F. Becot, S. Inwood, and E. Pojman. 2024. “What supports do caregivers in the North Central

region use and what supports do they still need?” Research brief. North Central Regional Center for Rural Development. https://doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.346770

Southard, E. F. Becot, and S. Inwood. 2024. “What supports do caregivers in the Northeast use and what

supports do they still need?” Research brief. Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development. https://nercrd.psu.edu/pubs/what-supports-do-caregivers-in-the-northeast-use-and-what-support-do-they-still-need/

Becot, F., S. Inwood, and E. Southard. 2024. “The economic and social well-being of caregivers in the Northeast Region.” Research brief. Available at: https://nercrd.psu.edu/pubs/the-economic-and-social-well-being-of-caregivers-in-the-northeast-region/

Southard, E.M.L. and H. Randell. 2022. "Intensifying Heat Waves Threaten South Asia's Struggling Farmers- Many of Them Women." The Conversation US. Available at: https://theconversation.com/intensifying-heat-waves-threaten-south-asias-struggling-farmers-many-of-them-women-184378

Southard, E. 2020. “Covid-19 and Migrant Workers in US Agriculture: Critical Reflection and Gendered Implications.” Gender, Food, Agriculture, and Coronavirus Blog. Gender Equity through Agricultural Research and Education Initiative (GEARE). Available at: https://sites.psu.edu/geareblog/2020/10/01/covid-19-and-migrant-workers-in-us-agriculture/

Southard, E., S. Lindberg and C. Bain. 2017. “Midwestern Soybean Farmers’ Perceptions and Management of Glyphosate Resistant Weeds.” SOC 3084. Department of Sociology, Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa. 12 pp. Available at: https://store.extension.iastate.edu/product/Midwestern-Soybean-Farmers-Perceptions-and-Management-of-Glyphosate-Resistant-Weeds

Book Reviews:

Southard, E.M. L. 2021. [Review of the book Farming While Black by Leah Penniman] Agriculture and Human Values. 38(2). 601-602. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10460-021-10204-2

Southard, E.M.L. 2020. [Review of the book Milking in the Shadows: Migrants and Mobility in America’s Dairyland by Julie C. Keller] Rural Sociology, 85(1). 265-267. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1111/ruso.12323