Paige L. Sweet

Paige L. Sweet is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan, affiliated with the College of Literature, Science, and the Arts (LSA). Her research focuses on gender and sexuality, knowledge governance, gender-based violence, health/illness, and state institutions. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University of Illinois Chicago. Recent work explores how survivors of domestic violence navigate penal-welfare systems and the intersection of mental health weaponization in intimate relationships. Her book The Politics of Surviving: How Women Navigate Domestic Violence and its Aftermath (2021) examines trauma discourses and coerced therapy in state programs. Current projects include a book on gaslighting with Princeton University Press. Sweet teaches courses on gender-based violence, embodiment, and sociological theory.

• Education: PhD in Sociology, University of Illinois Chicago (2018)
• Key Research Themes: Domestic violence survivorship, coercive control, medicalization of abuse, gaslighting as social control, intersectional vulnerabilities

Her work appears in top journals like American Sociological Review, American Journal of Sociology, and Gender & Society. She analyzes how state programs and medical categories shape gendered identities, particularly in contexts of violence and crisis. Recent studies highlight how marginalized survivors face compounded vulnerabilities during crises like the pandemic.