Mary Louise Adams

Mary Louise Adams is a Professor in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies at Queen's University, cross-appointed to the Department of Sociology. Her research focuses on the socio-cultural dimensions of sport, health, and embodiment, drawing on feminist theory, cultural studies, and historical methodologies. She teaches undergraduate courses such as Socio-Cultural Dimensions of Sport and Contemporary Issues in Human Sexuality, and graduate courses like Critical Methodologies: The Politics of Knowledge and Research.

Her work examines how movement and recreational practices reflect and challenge power structures. Current projects include the political/environmental history of a municipal park, feminist utopian ideals in recreation, and sexual harassment in sport coaching. Adams has received major awards including the Women’s and Gender Studies Association Outstanding Scholarship Prize and North American sport history accolades for her book Artistic Impressions: Figure Skating, Masculinity and the Limits of Sport.

Adams holds affiliations with the Cultural Studies Graduate Program and has published widely on topics like fitness tracking culture, historical pedestrianism, and queer critiques of sport. She will retire in 2025 and is no longer accepting new MA/PhD students.