Shobha Gurung 
Professor of Sociology | Southern Utah University
Cedar City, UT, UNITED STATES
Specializes in gender and labor, comparative family and community, migration, globalization, and transnationalism, and civic engagement.
Biography
Shobha Hamal Gurung is Associate Professor of Sociology and Women and Gender Studies at Southern Utah University and the Program Director of SUU’s Nepal Studies Program. Her research focus is gender and labor; globalization, migration, and transnational studies; South Asia and international studies; and social justice and human rights. Her broad expertise on the lives of Nepali women is reflected in these publications: “Growing Up Hindu: Mapping the Memories of a Nepali Woman in the United States” (2008); “Nepali Female Migrants and Informalization of Domestic and Care Work: Service or Servitude?” (2010); “Sex Trafficking and the Sex Trade Industry: The Processes and Experiences of Nepali Women”(2014); and “Dynamics and Ramifications of US Immigration and Visa Policies: Nepali Transnational Workers, Families, and Children in the United States” (2015).
Her book Nepali Migrant Women: Resistance and Survival in America is published by Syracuse University Press in their longstanding and critically acclaimed Gender and Globalization Series. This book is a pioneer in documenting the gendered experiences of educated and professional migrant women who work in ethnically segmented labor markets in Boston and New York.
She has presented her scholarly work at the numbers of regional, national, and international conferences. Her current research project examines the socio-cultural and emotional lives of Bhutanese refugees of Nepali origin in Salt Lake City and Seattle.
She earned her Ph.D. in Sociology at Northeastern University.
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Industry Expertise (3)
International Affairs
Women
Education/Learning
Areas of Expertise (9)
Global Civic Citizenship
Human Rights and Social Justice
Gender and Labor Studies
Immigrant, Migrant, and Refugee Community
Gender and Society
Human and Sex Trafficking
Globalization and Transnational Studies
Stratification and Intersectionality
Global Popular Culture
Education (4)
Northeastern University: Ph.D., Sociology
Northeastern University: M.A., Sociology
Padma Kanya College: B.A., Economics and Music
Tribhuvan University, Nepal: B.A.
Accomplishments (13)
Curriculum Innovation Grant
Center of Excellence for Teaching and Learning, Southern Utah University, 2018
Affiliate Faculty, South Asia Center
University of Washington, 2017
Visiting Research Scholar
East-West Center and Sociology Department at University of Hawaii, 2017
SUU Influencer Award Nomination
Southern Utah University, 2017
Distinguished Scholarly / Creative Activity Awards
Southern Utah University, 2016
Distinguished Faculty Scholarly Award
Southern Utah University, 2016
Utah Campus Compact 2014 Engaged Scholar
Southern Utah University, 2014
Achievement in Experiential Learning
Southern Utah University, 2014
Faculty Scholarly Support Fund
Southern Utah University, 2010, 2013, 2014
The Service Fellow Award
Southern Utah University, 2010
Labor, Migration, and Gender Conference Travel Grant
The University of Illinois-Chicago and the Ford Foundation, March 2010
The Ford Foundation Research Grant
University of Illinois, Chicago, Summer 2009
T-Birds Award for Professor of the Year
Southern Utah University, 2009
Affiliations (16)
- SUU Women and Gender Studies Board (Co Chair)
- Research Committee 32: Women and Society (International Sociological Association)
- United Nations Economic and Social Council
- American Sociological Association (ASA)
- International Sociological Association (ISA)
- Phi Beta Delta (PBD)
- International Sociological Honor Society (AKD)
- Sociologists for Women in Society (SWS)
- Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP)
- Pacific Sociological Association (PSA)
- Nepali Women Global Networks (NWGN)
- Asian American Association (AAA, Sub-section of the ASA)
- Race, Class, and Gender (RCG, Sub-section of the ASA)
- The Northeastern Environmental Justice Research Collaborative (NEJRC)
- Multicultural Environmental Leadership Development Initiative (MELDI)
- Nepali Women Global Networks (NWGN)
Links (1)
Media Appearances (2)
University to Honor Professors/Staff at Graduation
The Spectrum online
2016-04-29
Southern Utah University will be honoring 13 of its outstanding educators on Saturday during graduation ceremonies for their commitment to student success inside and out of the classroom.
Student Presents at UN Parallel Event on Gender Equality
SUU News online
2014-03-26
Southern Utah University senior, Sarah Pirzada, was the lone undergraduate student who presented at the 58th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) at United Nations Headquarters, a co-sponsored event through the Sociologist for Women and Society (SWS) on March 10.
Articles (1)
Sex Trafficking and the Sex Trade Industry: The Processes and Experiences of Nepali Women
Journal of Intercultural StudiesOver the past decade, girls' trafficking and the sex trade industries have intensified in contemporary South Asian nations, particularly in Nepal, India, and Bangladesh. The sex trafficking of Nepali girls and women into Indian brothels has been widely discussed on both local and global levels. In this paper, I examine cases of Nepali girls and women who were trafficked and sold into Indian brothels and illustrate how trafficking of girls and women has occurred within the intersections of larger structural conditions and micro level factors.
Courses (5)
WGS 2010 Introduction to Women and Gender Studies
The course explores women’s and gender experiences/issues from interdisciplinary perspectives while acquainting students with the major theories and debates of feminist and gender scholarship.
SOC 3200 Global Popular Culture
Using general theories of the nature of social and cultural structures, this course provides a sociological analysis of everyday American culture. Examining popular culture such as print, media, television, sport, and other aspects of a consumer-driven culture helps understand prevailing values and anticipate changing norms and behaviors.
SOC 3220 Human Trafficking
This course explores the types, causes, and consequences of human trafficking from sociological perspectives. In particular, it focuses on labor and sex trafficking from local to global contexts.
SOC 3370 Gender and Society in Global Perspectives
An introduction to the field of gender studies with a focus on sex-role behavior from several theoretical perspectives. Emphasis is on recent sociological research as well as cross-cultural and historical analysis of women and men in society.
SOC 4500 Global Issues in Sociology
Global issues in sociology addresses the globalization of cultures and societies. We will explore global events along with the trends and issues that are contributing to international inequalities. Specifically, the course focuses on the global impact of the culture of capitalism. This includes capitalism and the nation-state, population growth, hunger, poverty, disease, exploitation of the environment, and the changing status of indigenous groups through a global economy. The emphasis of this course will be developing a global perspective of the contemporary world. The course will consider the interrelations between imperialism, colonialism, post-colonialism, regionalism, and globalism.
