Mary Thomas

Mary Thomas is a Professor in the Department of Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies at The Ohio State University, with an affiliate role in the Department of Geography. Her research focuses on juvenile justice, girls' experiences in detention facilities, prison studies, and the intersection of race, gender, and sexuality in carceral systems. She holds a PhD in Geography and has written extensively on topics such as multicultural girlhood, urban spaces, and the Bakken Oil Boom's socio-environmental impacts. Her work bridges psychoanalytic and feminist theories with geographical methodologies.

Key research areas include the spatiality of incarceration, gendered subjectivity in detention centers, and the geographies of marginalization. Recent studies explore how girls navigate confined spaces and negotiate identity within juvenile justice systems. She co-edited A Companion to Social Geography and authored Multicultural Girlhood, analyzing racial dynamics in educational settings.

Her articles span topics like the Anthropocene, intergenerational relations, and digital identity formation. Teaching interests include prison studies, geographies of race, and research methodologies. Though no awards or grants are explicitly listed, her prolific scholarly output reflects significant contributions to critical social geography and gender studies.