Michela Musto

Michela Musto is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Brown University, specializing in gender, race, education, and sport media. Her research examines the social construction of exceptionalism across educational and athletic contexts, using both qualitative and quantitative methods. Previously, she held positions at the University of British Columbia (2020–2023) and was a postdoctoral fellow at Stanford University's Clayman Institute for Gender Research (2018–2020).

Education:

• PhD and MA in Sociology, University of Southern California (2018)
• BS in Sociology and Statistics, University of Michigan (2010)

Research Focus: Musto investigates how exceptionalism beliefs become gendered and racialized in schools and sports. Recent work includes a book project under contract with the University of Chicago Press on the social construction of intelligence assessments in middle school. She co-authored Child’s Play (Rutgers UP, 2016), analyzing social inequality in youth sports.

Awards:

• 2021 NAEd/Spencer Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship
• ASA Sex & Gender and Children & Youth Sections Awards

Teaching: Offers courses such as SOC 0230: Sex, Gender, and Society and SOC 2110: The Sociology of Gender and Sexualities at Brown.