Brianne Painia

Brianne Painia is an Assistant Instructional Professor of Sociology at the University of Chicago, affiliated with the Master of Arts Program in Social Sciences (MAPSS). She holds a PhD in Sociology from Louisiana State University, a MA in Sociology from The George Washington University, and a B.S. in Business Administration from The University of Southern Mississippi.

Her research focuses on Black gender performance, Black social theory, and the intersection of religion and feminism in religious communities. Her ongoing book project examines religious gendered expectations among Black women in a Southern Baptist church in Louisiana. She also researches Black masculinity, volunteerism, and carceral migration's demographic impacts. Her work has been published in critical criminology.

Professor Painia teaches courses such as “American Religion, Gender and Race,” “Qualitative Methods: Coding and Thematic Analysis,” and “Black Social Thought” at the graduate level. She is an affiliate faculty member of The Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality.

Previously, she served as an ACLS Emerging Voices Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University, directed a living-learning undergraduate community, and managed a non-profit initiative supporting Black boys and men in Baton Rouge, LA. She is originally from New Orleans, Louisiana.

• Awards: ACLS Emerging Voices Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Grants: Not explicitly mentioned
• Advising: Engages students in intersectional studies of race, gender, religion, and qualitative methodologies

Her work bridges sociological theory with community engagement, emphasizing marginalized voices in religious and carceral contexts.