Jennifer Croissant

Jennifer Croissant is a Professor in Gender and Women's Studies within the Social Science faculty at The University of Arizona. She holds joint appointments as Associate Professor in Sociology and Anthropology and is a member of the graduate faculty. Croissant earned her PhD in Science and Technology Studies from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1994, with a dissertation titled "Bodies, Movements, Representations: Elements Toward a Feminist Theory of Knowledge," advised by Professor Sal Restivo. She previously obtained an S.M. in Technology and Policy from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1989, with a thesis on the development of geographic information systems, and a B.S. in Engineering Science with honors and a physics minor from Pennsylvania State University in 1987.

Her research centers on the sociology of science and technology, feminist science studies, agnotology, interdisciplinarity, and related areas such as science fiction studies, technology and society, and epistemic cultures. Ongoing projects include the "Life On LEO" initiative at Biosphere 2 and the Bridges NRT in the life sciences, alongside studies of ignorance, absence, and non-disclosure in contexts like American Football. Croissant has authored and co-authored key publications, including the ninth edition of Society and Technological Change with Rudi Volti (Waveland Press, 2024); Science, Technology, and Society: A Sociological Approach with Wenda K. Bauchspies and Sal Restivo (Blackwell, 2006); and Degrees of Compromise: Industrial Interests and Academic Values with Sal Restivo (SUNY Press, 2001). Notable articles and chapters feature "Doing Gender and Responsibility: Scientists and Engineers Talk About Their Work" (Journal of Women and Minorities in Science and Engineering, 2016), "Epistemic Cultures of Collaboration: Coherence and Ambiguity in Interdisciplinarity" (2019), and "Agnotology: Ignorance and Absence, or Towards a Sociology of Things that Aren’t There" (2018). She teaches graduate courses including Science and Social Theory, Technology and Social Theory, and Feminist Knowledge Production, as well as undergraduate offerings such as Technology and Society and Science Fiction Studies. In 2025, she was appointed to the Mary Bernard Aguirre Professorship for AY 2025-26.

Professional Email: jlc@arizona.edu