This is the web page for Martha Easton, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Elmira College.

I came to Elmira College in 2005. I received my BA from Swarthmore College (in Sociology and Anthropology) and my PhD from the University of Minnesota in Sociology. I teach in both the Sociology and Anthropology Program and in Women’s Studies. Currently, I am the Coordinator of the Women’s Studies Program on campus.




I have strong international interests, and have created four special Term III travel courses for Elmira College students. My European Union class spent three weeks traveling to major European cities where students had the chance to meet European citizens who are engaged in the work (and protest) of European identity building. I also created a class, taught with Dr. Andrea Rosati, that traveled to India, where students had the chance to examine gender and globalization issues while spending three weeks traveling visiting important cultural and historic sites. This year, I will again take students to India, with Dr. Mariam Khawar.  I have also taught a class (with Dr. Rosati) that focused on the social construction of racial identities in South Africa. We had the opportunity to travel with students as we focused on South African society, history, and culture.  I taught this class again in Spring 2011, with Dr. Corey McCall.  In 2010, with Dr. Anne Bizub, I taught a course on multiculturalism that traveled to Brazil, where we visited the Amazon, Rio de Janeiro, and the Afro-Brazilian capital of Salvador de Bahia.  

My research interests are in two areas: work on national identity in Europe, and work on the social construction of gender and race. My dissertation work was completed in Norway, where I spent several years doing fieldwork on the creation of Norwegian identity in the face of the European Union.

At Elmira College, I am the faculty advisor for students pursuing a Fulbright Fellowship, and I am on the College Committee for the Rhodes Scholarship. I am one of several Pre-Law Advisors for students interesting in applying to law school.  I am also the one of the organizers of the Student Research Poster Session every May. 

I am the Coordinator of the Women’s Studies Program and I am one of several faculty members who teach the Senior Seminar in Feminist Studies for our Women’s Studies students; I also teach several electives in the program. In addition, I am the Advisor for Iota Iota Iota, the Women’s Studies honor society.

I really enjoy teaching, and I enjoy working with students both in and out of the classroom. I also enjoy doing research with students, and taking students to regional or national academic conferences. Teaching at a small liberal arts college like Elmira College has been a wonderful opportunity to teach broadly, work with promising students, and share my interest in international studies.