Kate Hausbeck
Senior Associate Dean for Graduate Studies and Academic Affairs |
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Kate Hausbeck is a co-founder of the Sex and Body Industry Research Project (The SABIR Project) with friend, colleague and co-author, Barb Brents. In the course of this research, Kate and Barb have studied the organization and expansion of the sex industry in the United States and documented what has been called 'the pornographication of everyday life.' Specifically, they have focused on the structure, organization and culture of the sex industry in Las Vegas (so-called sin-city and the symbolic center of the American sex industry) and on America's only system of legalized prostitution: the Nevada brothels. Currently, Hausbeck and Brents are finishing a co-authored book, The State of Sex: The Nevada Brothel Industry, with Routledge Publishers. Examples of other SABIR publications include a chapter in Ron Weitzer, ed, Sex For Sale: Prostitution, Pornography and the Sex Industry, an article on the "McDonaldization of Sex," and an article in Sociological Perspectives titled, "State Sanctioned Sex: Negotiating Formal and Informal Regulations in Nevada Brothels." In addition to ongoing SABIR publications, Kate is currently writing two other articles, "The Body Industry, or The Sexual Logic of Late Capitalism," and "(Re)Conceptualizing 'Trafficking': Clarifying the Role of Discourse in Policy and Practice." A version of the latter article (co-authored with Teri Pfeiffer, UNLV SOC Ph.D. student) was presented at "The Human Rights Challenge of Globalization in Asia-Pacific-USA: The Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children" Conference co-sponsored by the Globalization Research Center and the East-West Center in November, 2002. In the summer of 2002, Kate spent two months in China where she taught a course on "Women and Gender in Chinese Culture" through the USAC Program and Sichuan University, and she began laying the groundwork for future research on the evolution of gender, sexuality and the body industry in China's transitional market economy. In addition to research, Kate is a dedicated teacher and mentor as well as the Graduate Coordinator; she teaches classical and contemporary theory courses, Gender, SOC 101, ProSeminar, Teaching Sociology, Sociology of the Sex Industry, Cultural Studies, Gender & Culture in China, and is developing a new course on Visual Sociology & Media Culture. In 1999, Kate received the UNLV Distinguished Teacher Award and was the UNLV nominee for the State of Nevada Regents Teaching Award. Kate serves on numerous committees in the College of Liberal Arts, the Graduate College and across the University; she is also affiliated with the Women's Studies Department where she sits on the Steering Committee, the Asian Studies Program, and she was a founding member of the Cultural Studies Program. For Kate, scholarly work is intertwined with public education, progressive politics and activism. She is on the Board of the American Civil Liberties Union of Nevada where she is Development Director, and she participates in a wide range of progressive causes, including peace activism, advocacy for street children, GLBT/queer politics, international human rights and anti-slavery initiatives. Joined faculty in 1995. |
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