Sociology is the study of development, structure and functioning of human society. My guest for episode 36, Wendy Marie, holds a SOCY PhD and is currently an Assistant Professor at her alma mater University of Memphis. Although she eventually worked her way into this position, the road was filled with many peaks and valleys. At four months, Wendy was adopted by a white working class couple and raised in Memphis, TN. Her story begins with identifying the obvious differences both internally and externally. Upon graduating UofM, Wendy worked as a case manager and transitioned into the world of nightlife as a VIP hostess. It was here at the nightclub where she discovered people were using this social space to create and maintain identity. In 2012, she began her graduate studies at the University of Maryland. Her dissertation examined the effects of ideologies about race, family, and national belonging on Korean adoptee's identity formation. Wendy is very active in the Korean adoptee community where in Memphis the Asian American population is only 1%. In addition, my soror is a published author and has a blog discussing two of her favorite things: eats and reads.
