Kathryn Mariner

Professor Kathryn Mariner is an Assistant Professor of Anthropology and Visual and Cultural Studies at the University of Rochester. Her research focuses on the intersections of social inequality, race, and kinship, particularly in the context of transracial adoption and urban placemaking. She holds a PhD in Anthropology (implied via her dissertation awards) and is affiliated with the University’s Department of Anthropology.

Her current project, Fertile Ground, investigates race and spatial segregation in Rochester, NY, using participatory ethnography. She teaches courses on cultural anthropology, kinship, race, and space.

Key research interests include intimacy as a site of power, the politics of race and gender, and the materiality of space. Her work challenges dominant narratives in adoption studies and urban sociology by centering marginalized voices and historical legacies.

Notable awards include the NSF CAREER Award (2021-2026) and the University of Rochester’s Professor of the Year (2022). Her book Contingent Kinship (2019) explores speculative logics in transracial adoption.

Mariner’s advising and grants include leading community-based research projects and mentoring students in ethnographic methods. She collaborates with local organizations to create inclusive urban spaces, as seen in her fertilegroundroc.org initiative.