Kari Lerum

Associate Professor

Kari Lerum

B.A. Sociology, Pacific Lutheran University
Ph.D. Sociology, University of Washington

Phone: 425-352-3588
Email: lerum@uw.edu
Website: https://karilerum.weebly.com/
Mailing Box: 358530, 18115 Campus Way NE, Bothell, WA 98011-1713

Intro

I became a professor because I love to cultivate knowledge within communities which foster curiosity, high ethical standards for research and scholarship, and practices which honor the dignity of all. I am sociologist by training (PhD sociology University of Washington Seattle) and Adjunct Professor in Gender, Women, & Sexuality Studies at 56吃瓜网 Seattle. I am also a former co-chair of the Seattle LGBTQ commission, and a member of a Puget Sound coalition called Rights & Safety for People in the Sex Trade. 

Teaching

I teach a range of courses in topics related to society & culture, feminist theory & film, death & dying, institutions & social change, research methods, sexual labor studies, and sexuality education. I approach each class, and each student, with a belief in the transformative potential of liberal arts education.

Recent Courses Taught

BIS 181 Introduction to Sociology聽
BIS 219 Politics of Sexuality Education聽
BISGWSS 303 Approaches to Feminist Inquiry聽
BIS 365 Institutions & Social Change聽
BIS 312 Approaches to Social Research聽
BIS 341 Girls on Film聽
BIS 490 (Senior Seminar): Death Rituals聽
BIS 490 (Senior Seminar): Sex Work, Human Trafficking, & Social Justice聽

Research/Scholarship

My research analyzes how sexual paradigms move through institutional and cultural domains and impact policies, theories, and cultural representations. My primary area of research focuses on sex work and the politics of anti-human trafficking policies. My secondary areas of scholarship span across feminist theory, critical autoethnography, critical death studies, and sexuality studies. My current research and scholarship include a community-based interview project with trans and non-binary individuals in the sex trade in the Seattle area.

Selected Publications

Lerum, K. (2025). 鈥淟ayer it like Lasagne: Critical, Creative, & Courageous Autoethnography.鈥� Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 1鈥�16. https://doi.org/10.1080/15505170.2025.2479202

Lerum, K. (2024). Sex Work and Criminalization. In A. Goldberg (Ed.), The Sage Encyclopedia of LGBTQ+ Studies, 2nd ed. Sage.

Lerum, K. (2024) Trafficking in the Sex Trades. In A. Goldberg (Ed.), The Sage Encyclopedia of LGBTQ+ Studies, 2nd ed. Sage.

Lerum, K. (2023) No One Cites Obituaries: Extricating from Sticky Grief. Journal of Autoethnography, 4, 2.

Lerum, K. (2021) Teaching Death Rituals during States of Emergency: Centering Death Positivity, Decolonization, Grief, & Ritual. Journal of Curriculum and Pedagogy, 20, 1. DOI: 10.1080/15505170.2021.1964114

Lerum, K., & Brents, B. (2016). Sociological Perspectives on Sex Work and Human Trafficking. Sociological Perspectives, 59,鈥�17-26. (Introduction to special issue edited by Lerum & Brents).

Lerum, K, & Dworkin, S. (2016). The power of (but not in?) Sexual Configurations Theory. (Invited commentary). Archives of Sexual Behavior, 45(3), 495-499.

Lerum, K., & Dworkin, S. (2015). Sexual agency is not a problem of neoliberalism: Feminism, sexual justice, & the carceral turn. Sex Roles, 3(7-8), 319-331.

Lerum, K. (2015). A FemmeNist ManiPedifesto. Cultural Studies 脽 脿 Critical Methodologies, 15,鈥�156-162.鈥�

Lerum, K. (2014, Winter). Human Wrongs vs. Human Rights. Contexts.

Lerum, K, McCurtis, K, Saunders, P., and Wahab, S. (2012). Using Human Rights to hold the US Accountable for its Anti-Sex-Trafficking Agenda: The Universal Periodic Review & New Directions for US Policy. Anti-Trafficking Review, 1, 80-103.

Lerum, K., & Dworkin, S. (2009). 鈥楤ad Girls Rule鈥�: An Interdisciplinary Feminist Commentary on the APA Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. Journal of Sex Research, 46(4).