Sarah Whetstone
Associate Professor of Sociology
Bradley Hall 113
(309) 677-2390
swhetstone@bradley.edu
Ph.D., Sociology, University of Minnesota
Biography
Dr. Whetstone joined the Department of Sociology, Criminology & Social Work in 2016 after earning her PhD in Sociology from the University of Minnesota. Her interest areas include social inequalities; sociology of the body; social theory; punishment, deviance & social control; addiction studies; and qualitative & ethnographic methods. When she’s not doing sociology, she enjoys yoga, karaoke, and concerts.
Teaching
Dr. Whetstone teaches a range of different courses for the sociology program including core courses like Intro to Sociology (SOC 100) and Social Theory (SOC 320); upper-level electives such as Social Inequalities (SOC 312) and Race, Ethnicity & Power (SOC 313); and special topics courses like Drugs & Society (SOC 390). Her courses contribute to the Women’s and Gender Studies program, the African American Studies program, the Bradley Honors Program, and the LAS First Year Seminar Program.
In 2025, she will serve as faculty co-mentor for Bradley’s new social justice-themed Living Learning Community and teach the introductory common course, SOC 105: Foundations of Social Justice.
Scholarship
Dr. Whetstone’s previous research was a comparative-ethnographic study of how inequalities shaped access to addiction treatment for people across the US social structure. The project included years of fieldwork and hundreds of interviews with people in recovery. With co-author Teresa Gowan, research from this project has been published in leading sociology journals including Social Problems, Punishment & Society, and Social Science & Medicine.
Dr. Whetstone’s latest project, with co-editor Jackie Hogan, is the volume Consuming Bodies: Body Commodification and Embodiment in Late Capitalist Societies, published by Routledge in 2025. Research from her new project in the sociology of sport, gender and the body appears here. She also recently contributed a chapter on the sociology of deviance and crime to Sociology: Think Outside the Book, with Top Hat Publishers.
Service
Dr. Whetstone’s many service projects have included acting as faculty advisor for student organizations, serving on department and college committees, creating campus programming around social justice issues, and mentoring students to support their growth as scholars and professionals.