Molly Merryman

Molly Merryman is an Associate Professor at the School of Peace and Conflict Studies, Kent State University. She specializes in documentary/ethnographic filmmaking and oral history, focusing on gender, race, and LGBTQ+ issues. She founded the former Center for the Study of Gender and Sexuality and the Women’s Center at Kent State, and co-founded Ohio’s first LGBTQ Studies program. Her research includes the Queer Pandemic project documenting LGBTQ+ experiences during the pandemic.

• Ph.D., American Culture Studies, Bowling Green State University
• M.A., Journalism, The Ohio State University
• B.A., Creative Writing, English, and Psychology, Ashland University

Her research interests center societal marginalization, queer history, and visual sociology. She has produced nine documentaries, including Clipped Wings, exploring the Women Airforce Service Pilots of WWII. Her work has been showcased globally at institutions like MOMA PS1 and the Library of Congress.

She serves as research director for Queer Britain, advisory board member at Goldsmiths’ Queer History Centre, and is Vice President of the International Visual Sociology Association. Her award-winning projects include the Virtually Queer exhibit and the Red Umbrella Rights documentary.

• Awards: 2016 Diversity Trailblazer Award
• Grants/Projects: Queer Pandemic oral history project, LGBTQ Student Emergency Fund initiative

Merryman leads the Queer Britain research team and collaborates with Red Door Films on projects like Coming Home: Fight for a Legacy. She also advises on the Virtually Queer digital archive, preserving LGBTQ+ histories through multimedia.