From e-mail on 5/5 from interdisciplinary sociologist Steven Dashiell, who pursues research on discourse in male-dominated subcultures (looking at military men, gamers, barbershop patrons, gay men, and more) and has built on a posting of mine on the trope of the pizza boy in gay pornography in a recent essay of his own:
I love your blog. I was introduced to the study of language in my doctoral program [at the University of Maryland Baltimore County], and I grew from a “social inequality sociologist” to a “sociologist of language who studies male-dominated spaces to understand inequality”. It’s been a wild ride, because the study of language goes in so many different directions. I’m glad to have some mentors who help me …
It’s a good day when admirable people like SD write me to tell me they love my blog — in this case, SD likes it because it’s linguistics linguistics linguistics and because it’s gay gay gay, and both of these things are important to SD. But now I’ve had some time to get acquainted with SD’s life history (that being one of my things) and the way he arranges his life now (that being another one of my things), and I can do a lightning survey of this landscape, to make a few general points. One of these being the extraordinary variety of homomasculinities.
Four cases: my own complex story, presented at great length in postings on this blog; Richard Vytniorgu’s story (one significant theme of which is his being a bottom, fem, and submissive — plus British and academic-literary); Troy Anderson’s story (whose life themes include his being a guy guy, a gigantic jock bear into leather, a corporate executive, and a Native American), and now Steven Dashiell’s story (another jock bear (not into leather), an academic, and Black). And this just scratches the surface; I’ve told other even more disparate stories. Take these stories to heart if you’re inclined to spout generalizations about what gay men are like (or worse, about what men are like).
But now to SD.
Start with the photo. From the University of Baltimore Magazine, fall 2023 issue, “Ahead of the game: Steven Dashiell, B.A. ’07” by Christianna McCausland” (an alum-makes-good story for the alumni magazine):
Note — jock alert! — the neck muscles and the muscular forearm; and then the smiling eyes, and all those books in the background (photo by Nicole Munchel)
The life history. From the American University page for Steven Dashiell, adjunct professorial lecturer, Film and Media Arts (teaching Game Research Methods in Spring 2024):
bio: Steven Dashiell is an interdisciplinary sociologist who studies language, specifically the nature of discourses in male-dominated subcultures. His work looks at how understood assumptions in language and behavior work to set rules in these spaces that reflect on our interpretations of masculinity. His recent work in progress looks at groups as wide ranging as the military, barbershop patrons, gamers, and Bronies.
… [He is] an Army veteran with significant experience in public health [AZ: about 10 years in HIV support projects]
BA in Sociology, Washington College in Chestertown MD (1996)
MA in Applied Sociology, University of Maryland Baltimore County (2008)
PhD, in Language, Literacy and Culture, UMBC (2020); dissertation title: Masculine Identity Construction and Performance: The Case of Student Veterans
Washington College is a small liberal arts college, founded in 1782. When SD was there, he was one of a very few Black students, nevertheless was fully engaged in undergrad life: played lots of sports (lacrosse!), went into a fraternity, did some partying; in e-mail he expressed some regret that he wasted this time doing enjoyable things rather than getting down to the hard business of carving out a life for himself.
Eventually, he found UMBC, which provided both encouragement and challenges, and research areas that moved him. (All research involves longueurs and tedious detail work, so it helps a lot if the project excites you and seems worthwhile.)
SD’s LinkedIn account of himself.
About: I currently am an incoming Research Assistant Professor, appointed to the Center for Urban Health Equity (CUHE) at Morgan State University, Maryland’s oldest HBCU. Additionally, I hold a Researcher-in-Residence affiliate position with the Game Center at the American University. I am in the midst of publishing multiple articles and completing of two research projects examining discourses in male-dominated subcultures. I am also an adjunct professor of Sociology at Towson University in the field of Sociology.
I recently completed my Ph.D. at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
My teaching concentrations are in social inequalities, sociology of language, men’s studies, and popular culture studies.
I have an interest in program design and program management, evidence-based programming, urban studies, and public health. My career goal is to serve as a Research Associate at a university.
So he’s been pasting together an academic life from a series of adjunct and part-time appointments, some teaching and some research, at at least four institutions (UMBC, American University, Morgan State, and Towson University) — angling to end up as a research associate. Such staff do most of the actual instruction and researching in institutions of higher learner, for not much in the way of money and benefits, and now programs in humanities and the social sciences are threatened, so this is a tenuous life. I worry about my younger colleagues.
Meanwhile, SD has also been moving around in various academic disciplines, starting with sociology and linguistics (both fairly small enterprises in the academic world), and then working into smaller interdisciplinary programs; his public presentations have been at a variety of meetings of this sort: Lavender Linguistics (crudely, Queer Studies x Linguistics), Popular Culture Association, American Men’s Studies Association, Cultural Studies Association. Congenial places to present your ideas and your work, but probably not steps to career advancement. But I’ve been out of this world for decades, so any advice I might give wouldn’t be worth much.
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