Faculty
Patrick R. Grzanka
Patrick R. Grzanka
Professor
Ph.D., University of Maryland (2010)
Email: patrick.grzanka@utk.edu
Curriculum Vitae
Research statement
I am an applied social issues researcher with expertise in intersectionality, sexualities and gender, reproductive justice, and race and racism. My quantitative, qualitative, and mixed methods research uses critical psychological and sociological methods to investigate how structural violence is produced, maintained, and resisted. I am particularly interested in understanding how institutions that purport to help (e.g., psychotherapy, science, medicine, education) reproduce harm. I have long-standing interests in beliefs about sexual orientation and the role of science in the production of ideas about social categories, as well as the deployment of scientific ideas in social movements and controversies. Finally, my commitment to social justice research is reflected in all of my projects and particularly my work on how social scientists can responsibly use intersectionality to study and transform oppressive systems. I am a Fellow of APA divisions 9 (Social Issues), 17 (Counseling), and 44 (Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity).
In addition to my appointment in the Department of Psychology, I am chair of the Interdisciplinary Program in Women, Gender, and Sexuality at UT. I am also associate editor of the Journal of Counseling Psychology (since 2017) and serve on the editorial boards of Journal of Sex Research, Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, and Sex Roles. I am a public psychologist and write regularly for the popular press, including the Washington Post and The Tennessean, and I co-chair the Policy Committee of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues.
I am interested in working with graduate students whose primary interests are in research and who see themselves conducting the kinds of research and advocacy projects produced in my lab, the Social Action Research Team. I work best with students who are intellectually curious and who are passionate about social science and social justice. Please visit socialactionrt.org to see a comprehensive list of publications and ongoing research projects. Prospective students are encouraged to reach out to me via email, as well.
2022 |
Fellow, American Psychological Association |
2021 |
Mid-Career Excellence in Research/Creative Achievement Award |
2019 |
Faculty Academic Outreach Award |
2018 |
Michele Alexander Early Career Award for Scholarship and Service |
2018 |
Mary Roth Walsh Teaching the Psychology of Women Award |
2018 |
Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (SPSSI) Teaching Award |
2017 |
Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program (Finalist) |
2017 |
Early-Career Excellence in Research/Creative Achievement Award |
2017 |
Excellence in Teaching Award (Junior Level) |
2017 |
LGBT Advocate Award |
2017 |
Chancellor’s Grant for Faculty Research |
2015 |
Development of Interdepartmental Collaboration in Scholarship and Research Award |
External
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National Science Foundation, ADVANCE Grant
Title: ASCEND: Adaptations for a Sustainable Climate of Excellence. Co-PI. (PI: Veerle Keppens, The University of Tennessee). 2018-2021. $713,763 -
American Psychological Association, Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (Division 9): Local- and State-Level Policy Work Grant
Title: The ‘Counseling Discrimination Law’ and Barriers to Mental Health Services-Seeking among LGBT+ Individuals in Tennessee. 2016. PI. $2,000. -
National Science Foundation, Science, Technology, & Society Program: Standard Grant
Title: Collaborative Research: Institutional Settings and the Transmission of Social Scientific Knowledge. PI with Joseph Miles (The University of Tennessee). 2012-2013. $56,472
Internal
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University of Tennessee, The Graduate School: Student/Faculty Research Award
Title: Emerging Adult Women’s Experiences with Long-Acting Reversible Contraception (LARC). 2017. PI. $1,125. -
University of Tennessee, College of Arts and Sciences: Haines-Morris Lecture Endowment Grant
Title: “For All the World to See”: Visual Culture and the Struggle for Civil Rights. 2015. PI. $3,070. -
University of Tennessee, Office of Research and Engagement, Scholarly Activity and Research Incentive Funds (SARIF): Summer Graduate Research Assistantship
Title: The Impact of the ‘Counseling Discrimination Law’ and Other Potential Barriers to Mental Health Services-Seeking among LGBT+ Individuals in Tennessee. 2017. PI. $3,600. -
University of Tennessee, Office of Undergraduate Research: Summer Undergraduate Research Internship
Title: The Sexual Orientation Affect Project. PI. 2017. $2,400. -
University of Tennessee, Teaching and Learning Center: Teaching Innovation Grant
Title: Introduction to Women, Gender, and Sexuality. 2017. PI. $3,500. -
Southeastern Conference (SEC) Visiting Faculty Travel Grant
Title: Intersectionality Research in Counseling Psychology. Sponsoring institution/department: University of Florida, Center for Gender, Sexualities, and Women’s Studies Research. 2016. PI. $846. -
University of Tennessee, College of Arts and Sciences: Haines-Morris Lecture Endowment Grant
Title: New Horizons in Intersectionality Research, Policy, and Activism. 2015. PI. $3,000. -
Southeastern Conference (SEC) Visiting Faculty Travel Grant
Title: Southeastern Sexualities Working Group. Sponsoring institution/department: University of South Carolina, Arnold School of Public Health. 2014. PI. $1,246. -
Arizona State University, Barrett, the Honors College: Dean’s Award
Title: Intersectionality and Science & Technology Studies: Shared Affinities. 2014. PI. $2,325 -
Arizona State University, Institute for Humanities Research, Transdisciplinary Seed Grant
Title: Happy Place: The Emotional Life of Cities. Co-PI with Hilary Harp (Art), Barry Moon (Interdisciplinary Arts & Performance), & Kevin McHugh (Geography). 2013. $12,000 -
Arizona State University, Barrett, the Honors College: Sol & Esther Drescher Faculty Development Grant
Title: The Social Psychology of Neoliberalism. 2013. PI. $1,724 -
Arizona State University, Barrett, the Honors College: Sol & Esther Drescher Faculty Development Grant
Title: Sexualities and Applied Social Research: A Multi-Site Research Program. 2012. PI. $2,315
Recent Representative Publications. Underline denotes student collaborator.
Clare, S., Grzanka, P. R., & Wuest, J. (In press). Gay genes in the post-genomic era: A roundtable. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies. [Special issue on the “Science of ‘Sex, Itself’” edited by G. LaFleur & B. Kahan] |
Grzanka, P. R., & Cole, E.R. (2022). Intersectionality is not a footnote: Comment on Roberts & Rizzo (2021). American Psychologist, 77(3), 476-478. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000911 [peer-reviewed] |
Eaton, A. A., Grzanka, P. R., Schlehofer, M. M., & Silka, L. (2021). Public psychology: Introduction to the special issue. American Psychologist, 76(8), 1209-1216. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000933 |
Grzanka, P. R., & Moradi, B. (2021). The qualitative imagination in counseling psychology: Enhancing rigor across all methods. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 68(3), 247-258. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000560 |
Grzanka, P. R., & Cole, E. R. (2021). An argument for bad psychology: Disciplinary disruption, public engagement, and social transformation. American Psychologist, 76(8), 1334-1345. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000853 |
Dull, B. D., Hoyt, L. T., Grzanka, P. R., Zeiders, K. H. (2021). Can White guilt motivate action? The role of civic beliefs. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50(6), 1081-1097. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01401-7 |
Tierney, D., Spengler, E. S., Schuch, E., & Grzanka, P. R. (2021). Sexual orientation beliefs and identity development: A person-centered analysis among sexual minorities. The Journal of Sex Research, 58(5), 625-637. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2021.1878344 |
Grzanka, P. R. (2021). The shape of knowledge: Situational analysis in counseling psychology research. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 68(3), 316-330. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000527 |
Brian, J. D., Grzanka, P. R., & Mann, E. S. (2020). The age of LARC: Making sexual citizens on the frontiers of technoscientific healthism. Health Sociology Review, 29(3), 312-328. https://doi.org/10.1080/14461242.2020.1784018 |
Grzanka, P. R., DeVore, E. N., Frantell, K. A., Miles, J. R., & Spengler, E. S. (2020). Conscience clauses and sexual and gender minority mental health care: A case study. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 56(5), 551-567. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000396 |
Grzanka, P. R., Zeiders, K. H., Spengler, E. S., Hoyt, L. T., & Toomey, R. B. (2020). Do beliefs about sexual orientation predict voting behavior? Results from the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, 7(3), 241-252. https://doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000434 |
Grzanka, P. R. (2020). From buzzword to critical psychology: An invitation to take intersectionality seriously. Women and Therapy, 43(3-4), 244-261.[Special issue on “Intersectionality in Education, Training, and Practice” edited by K. A. Case, N. T. Buchanan, & D. Rios] https://doi.org/10.1080/02703149.2020.1729473 |
Grzanka, P. R., & Schuch, E. (2020). Reproductive anxiety and conditional agency at the intersections of privilege: A focus group study of emerging adults’ perception of long-acting reversible contraception. Journal of Social Issues, 76(2), 270-313. https://doi.org/10.1111/josi.12363 |
Fry, K., Grzanka, P. R., Miles, J. R., & DeVore, E. N. (2020). Is essentialism essential? Reducing homonegative prejudice by targeting diverse sexual orientation beliefs. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 49(5), 1725-1739. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-020-01706-x |
Hage, S. M., Miles, J. R., Lewis, J. A., Grzanka, P. R., & Goodman, L. A. (2020). The social justice practicum in psychology training. Training and Education in Professional Psychology, 14(2), 155-166. https://doi.org/10.1037/tep0000299 |
Grzanka, P. R., Spengler, E. S., Miles, J. R., Frantell, K. A., & DeVore, E. N. (2020). “Sincerely held principles” or prejudice?: The Tennessee Counseling Discrimination Law. The Counseling Psychologist, 48(2), 223-248. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019886972 |
Grzanka, P. R., Miles, J. R., Spengler, E. S., Arnett, J., & Pruett, J. (2020). Measuring neoliberalism: Development and initial validation of a scale of anti-neoliberal attitudes. Social Justice Research, 33(1), 44-80. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11211-019-00339-3 |
Grzanka, P. R., Frantell, K. A., & Fassinger, R. E. (2020). The White Racial Affect Scale (WRAS): A measure of White guilt, shame, and negation. The Counseling Psychologist, 48(1), 47-77. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019878808 |
Fritzlen, K. A., Phillips, J. E., March, D. S., Grzanka, P. R., & Olson, M. A. (2020). I know (what) you are, but what am I?: The effect of recategorization threat and perceived immutability on prejudice. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 46(1), 94-108. https:/doi.org/10.1177/0146167219843932 |
Grzanka, P. R., Gonzalez, K. A., & Spanierman, L. B. (2019). White supremacy and counseling psychology: A critical-conceptual framework. The Counseling Psychologist, 47(4), 478-529.[Invited contribution, 50th anniversary special volume]. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000019880843 |