Jan Thomas specializes in health and gender issues. Before coming to Kenyon in 1996, Thomas worked as a counselor, educator, and administrator at women's health centers in Chicago and Denver and operated her own health counseling practice in Denver. In addition, Thomas has been a post-doctoral research fellow at the American Sociological Association (ASA). In this position, she helped analyze data on the graduate school and early career experiences of new Ph.D. recipients. Thomas teaches courses on social movements, health and illness, women in the discipline of sociology, gender, and research methods. She is particularly interested in service-learning and connecting the life of the College with the life of the greater Gambier community.

The focus of Professor Thomas' scholarly work has been primarily in the area of women's health. She has published articles on the legacies of feminist women's health centers, midwifery, and childbirth. Most recently, she has been engaged in collaborative research projects on maternity care in the US and Sweden.

Professor Thomas spent her sabbatical (2005-2006) in Stockholm, Sweden. She also helps direct a study abroad program which takes students to Sweden and Finland for 2 weeks each summer to learn about the health and social welfare systems. Professor Thomas will be serving as chair of Women's and Gender Studies from 2008 through 2010.

Education

Ph.D. University of Colorado
M.A. University of Chicago
B.S. Cornell College

Selected Publications

Hildingsson, Ingegerd and Jan Thomas. 2006. "Process, Problems, and Solutions: Maternity Services From Women's Perspectives in Sweden." Journal of Midwifery and Women's Health.

Thomas, Jan E. and Mary K. Zimmerman. 2006. "Feminism and Profit in American Hospitals: The Corporate Construction of Women's Health Centers. Gender & Society.

Thomas, Jan E. 2005. "Incorporating the Women Founders into Classical Theory Courses: A Resource Book." Washington, D.C.: American Sociological Association.

Thomas, Jan E. and Annis Kukulan. 2004. "'Why Don't I Know About These Women?' Classical Theory and the Inclusion of Women." Teaching Sociology, Vol. 32(3):252-263.

Cartwright, Elizabeth and Jan E. Thomas. 2001. "Risk, Technology and Malpractice." Pp. 218-228 in Birth by Design, edited by Raymond DeVries, Hilary Marland, Edwin van Teijilingen and Sirpa Wrede. NY: Routledge.

Thomas, Jan E. 2000. "Incorporating Empowerment into Models of Care: Strategies from the Feminist Women's Health Centers." Research in the Sociology of Health Care, Vol. 17: 139-152.

Courses Taught

SOCY 107 Institutions and Inequalities
SOCY 224 Health and Illness
SOCY 229 Social Movements
SOCY 271 Methods of Social Research
SOCY 372 Research Practicum: Doing Social Research
SOCY 464 Women in Sociology
SOCY 489 Senior Seminar
SOCY 492 Women, Health, and Medicine
WGS 111 Intro to Women's and Gender Studies
WGS 391 Gender and the Welfare State