Patrick R. Grzanka
Patrick R. Grzanka
Professor and Divisional Dean for Social Sciences
Keywords: intersectionality, race and racism, sexuality and LGBT issues, feminist theory, emotions, and mental health
Education
Ph.D., University of Maryland (2010)
Research
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 policy and justice work is reflected in all my projects and particularly my scholarship on how social scientists can responsibly use intersectionality to study and transform oppressive systems. I am a Fellow of the American Psychological Association and President of the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (2023-2024).
In addition to my appointment in the Department of Psychology, I am the inaugural Divisional Dean of Social Sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences. I was formerly the chair of the Interdisciplinary Program in Women, Gender, and Sexuality at UT from 2019-2023. I was an associate editor of the top-ranked Journal of Counseling Psychology (2017-2023) and have served on the editorial boards of American Sociological Review, Journal of Sex Research, Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity, and Sex Roles. My paper with Elizabeth R. Cole on “bad psychology” was awarded the 2023 George A. Miller Award for Outstanding Recent Article in General Psychology from APA Division 1 (General Psychology), and I was the recipient of the 2018 Michele Alexander Early-Career Award for Scholarship and Service from APA Division 9 (Social Issues). I am a public psychologist and write regularly for the popular press, including the Washington Post and The Tennessean, and I serve on the board of several non-profit organizations.
Though I occasionally have openings in my lab for undergraduate students who are interested in gaining experience in applied and social justice-focused research, I am not currently admitting new graduate students into my lab. For a comprehensive list of publications, measurement tools, and other work produced in my lab, the Social Action Research Team, please visit socialactionrt.org. To schedule an appointment, please contact Jennifer Slate.
Honors
| 2023 | George A. Miller Award for Outstanding Recent Article in General Psychology Society for General Psychology (Division 1), American Psychological Association |
| 2023 | Distinguished Contribution to Public Policy Award Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (Division 44), American Psychological Association |
| 2023 | Fellow, American Psychological Association Society for the Psychology of Women (Division 35), American Psychological Association |
| 2022 | Diversity Leadership Award College of Arts & Sciences, The University of Tennessee |
| 2022 | Fellow, American Psychological Association Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (Division 9) |
| 2021 | Fellow, American Psychological Association Society for Counseling Psychology (Division 17) Society for the Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender Diversity (Division 44) |
| 2021 | Mid-Career Excellence in Research/Creative Achievement Award College of Arts & Sciences, The University of Tennessee |
| 2019 | Faculty Academic Outreach Award College of Arts & Sciences, The University of Tennessee |
| 2018 | Michele Alexander Early Career Award for Scholarship and Service Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues (APA Division 9) |
Publications
Recent Representative Publications. Underline denotes student collaborator.
- Grzanka, P. R., Brian, J. D., & Bhatia, R. (In press). Intersectionality and Science and Technology Studies. Science, Technology, and Human Values. https://doi.org/ 10.1177/01622439231201707
- Bell, S. E., Grzanka, P. R., Joyce, K. A., & Senier, L. (2023, in press). Masking (not masking) up: An STS visual-intersectional approach to understanding publics and science in times of rapid change. Engaging Science, Technology, and Society, 9(2). https://doi.org/10.17351/ests2023.1363
- Spengler, E. S., Tierney, D., Elledge, L. C. & Grzanka, P. R. (2023). Beyond the individual: Sexual minority help-seeking and the consequences of structural barriers. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 70(2), 119-132. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000657
- Moradi, B., Brewster, M. E., Grzanka, P. R., & Miller, M. J. (2023). The hidden curriculum of academic writing: Toward demystifying manuscript preparation in counseling psychology. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 70(2),133-145. https://doi.org/10.1037/cou0000650
- Capielo Rosario, C., Abreu, R., Gonzalez, K. A., Adames, H. Y., & Grzanka, P. R. (2023) “What surprised me is that they try to humiliate me”: Conceptualizing the role of colonial power dynamics and logics in Puerto Rican post-migration experiences. Journal of Latinx Psychology, 11(1), 55-75. https://doi.org/10.1037/lat0000218
- Clare, S., Grzanka, P. R., & Wuest, J. (2023). Gay genes in the postgenomic era: A roundtable. GLQ: A Journal of Lesbian and Gay Studies, 27(1), 109-128. https://doi.org/10.1215/10642684-10144449
- 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
***Recipient of the 2023 George A. Miller Award for Outstanding Recent Article in General Psychology, Society for General Psychology (APA Division 1)*** - 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
***Recipient of 2021 Best Paper in Health Sociology Review Award (2019-2020) special commendation from The Australian Sociological Association***