Women's and Gender Studies

Dr. Justin Sprague has both a Ph.D. and an M.A. in Women’s Studies from the University of Maryland, College Park, with concentrations in critical race/ethnic studies and food studies. He also earned an M.A. in Humanities and a B.A. in Communications from Old Dominion University in Norfolk, Virginia.

Dr. Sprague's research examines the functions of authenticity as a mechanism for racial identification and ethnic identity construction. Centering the cultural narratives of Korean-Americans, he examines what bodies and identities are considered “authentic” in a given racial group/ethnic community context, how the concept is constructed, and in what ways authenticity is moderated through the vehicles of food and motherwork.