Rate My Professor Krista McQueeney

Krista McQueeney is an Associate Professor of Sociology, Criminology and Anthropology at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where she also serves as Ad Hoc Program Specialist. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Prior to her appointment at UW-Whitewater in 2016 as an assistant professor, McQueeney was an assistant professor at Merrimack College. Her career trajectory reflects a commitment to sociological inquiry into social structures, crime, and human behavior within the department's focus areas.

McQueeney's research centers on intersectionality, gender violence, narrative criminology, race, gender, and sexuality—particularly in lesbian- and gay-affirming religious congregations—as well as the stigma faced by incarcerated mothers and discourses surrounding girls' aggression. Her scholarship employs critical ethnographic methods, contributing to fields like feminist ethnography and social constructionism. Key publications include the highly cited article 'We are God's Children, Y'All: Race, gender, and sexuality in lesbian- and gay-affirming congregations' (Social Problems, 2009; 309 citations), 'Emotional labor in critical ethnographic work: In the field and behind the desk' (Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 2017; 104 citations), 'How Can You Live without Your Kids?: Distancing from and Embracing the Stigma of Incarcerated Mother' (Journal of Prison Education and Reentry, 2016; 84 citations), and 'Disrupting islamophobia: Teaching the social construction of terrorism in the mass media' (International Journal of Teaching and Learning in Higher Education, 2014; 59 citations). She authored the book Girls, Aggression, and Intersectionality: Transforming the Discourse of 'Mean Girls' in the United States (Routledge, 2018) and co-authored 'Grandma is the next best thing to mommy: incarcerated motherhood, caring relationships and maternal identity' (International Journal of Care and Caring, 2021). McQueeney received the 2024-2025 Provost Teaching & Learning AI Grant, which supported redesigning her Gender & Violence course (WMNST 351) to incorporate AI tools for policy briefs and intersectional analysis. She teaches courses including Introduction to Criminology (SOCIOLOGY 276), Sociology of Punishment and Corrections (SOCIOLOGY 378), Women and Crime (SOCIOLOGY 379), Gender, Sexuality and Crime (SOCIOLOGY 379), and Gender and Violence (WMNST 351), bridging scholarship, pedagogy, and community engagement on power, violence, and social change.