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Department OfMedicine, Health, and Society

Courtney S. Peterson

Director of Undergraduate Advising
Principle Senior Lecturer of Medicine, Health, and Society

Courtney Peterson is a senior lecturer in Medicine, Health, and Society, the Director of Undergraduate Major Advising and the Acting Director of Undergraduate Studies for AY 2018-2019 in MHS. She received her B.A. in Sociology and Psychology from Vanderbilt, her M.A. in Sociology from Georgia State University, and her Ph.D. in Sociology from Vanderbilt. She is also the faculty advisor for SWIFT – Students with/without Mental Illness Fight Together.

Courses taught by Courtney Peterson include courses include MHS 1930: Social Dimensions of Health and Illness, MHS 2120: Health Social Movements, MHS 2130: Social Movements and Community Action, and MHS 3950: Mental Illness Careers.

Specializations

  • Sociology of mental health and illness
  • Illness identities in social movement mobilization
  • Social psychology and gender
  • Sexuality and sexual identity

Representative Publications

Publications

Baunach, Dawn, Elisabeth O. Burgess, and Courtney Sanders Muse. 2010. “Southern (Dis)Comfort: Sexual Prejudice and Contact with Gay Men and Lesbians in the South.” Sociological Spectrum, Volume 30, Issue 1 (January 2010): 20-64.

McCammon, Holly J., Soma Chaudhuri, Lyndi Hewitt, Courtney Sanders Muse, Harmony D. Newman, Carrie Lee Smith, and Teresa A. Terrell. 2008. “Becoming Full Citizens: the U.S. Women’s Jury Rights Campaigns, the Pace of Reform, and Strategic Adaptation.” American Journal of Sociology. Vol. 113, No. 4 (January 2008).

Honorable Mention, 2009 Collective Behavior and Social Movements Outstanding Article Award, American Sociological Association

McCammon, Holly J., Courtney Sanders Muse, Harmony N. Newman, and Teresa A. Terrell. 2007. “Movement Framing and Discursive Opportunity Structures: The Political Successes of the U.S. Women’s Jury Movements.” American Sociological Review. Vol. 72, No.5 (October 2007): 725-749.

Named one of four finalists for the 2008 Collective Behavior and Social Movements Outstanding Article Award, American Sociological Association

Reprinted in David Snow and Doug McAdam, Social Movements: Readings on Their Emergence, Mobilization, Dynamics, and Impact. Oxford University Press. 2009

Casper, Monica J. and Courtney Muse. 2006. “Genital Fixations: What’s Wrong with Treating Intersex in the Womb?” American Sexuality Magazine. Vol. 3, No. 4. March 16, 2006.

Current Projects

“Carved Out: Stress and Coping among Adult Women with Eating Disorders”