About
Markella Rutherford is a Professor of Sociology at Wellesley College, where she holds a faculty position in the Department of Sociology. She teaches courses on sociological theory, social inequality, childhood, and popular culture, emphasizing active and collaborative learning while connecting theoretical frameworks to empirical inquiry.
Education:
- B.A. from Mississippi College
- M.A. from the University of Memphis
- Ph.D. from the University of Virginia-Main Campus
Her research centers on cultural sociology with deep engagement in childhood, family dynamics, and social inequality reproduction. She investigates how neoliberal privatization reshapes parenting decisions through state conflicts over risk assessments, examines the "new white flight" phenomenon driven by race/class anxieties in professional-class immigrant communities, and analyzes globalization of pedagogical canons. Her book Adult Supervision Required exposes contradictions in American cultural visions of autonomy—children gain private emotional freedoms but lose public autonomy, while parents navigate diverse styles under intensified state surveillance.
Advising and Grants: Professor Rutherford actively mentors graduate and undergraduate students in sociology research. Her projects on neoliberal parenting contexts and curriculum globalization indicate substantial grant-funded work, though specific funding sources aren't detailed in available materials.
Labs and Teams: She collaborates with scholars including Smitha Radhakrishnan on educational anxiety studies and Peggy Levitt on inclusive curriculum development, forming interdisciplinary research teams addressing structural inequality.
Outside academia, she spends leisure time on Cape Cod with family through board games, gardening, cycling, campfire cooking, and hammock naps.
