Faculty Accomplishments

Mount Holyoke professors have won Guggenheim awards, NASA grants and Carnegie Fellowships.

They receive millions in funding from national foundations, leading to unique research opportunities for students.

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Elected to American Sociological Associate Sociology of Culture Committee (2017)


Council Member (elected), Section on Sociology of Culture, American Sociological Association (2017- )

Chair, Assistant Professor of Sociology Search Committee, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, °µÍø½ûÇø (2017-)

Chair, LITS (Library, Information, & Technology Services) Committee, °µÍø½ûÇø (2017- )

Chair, Mary Douglas Prize for Best Book, Section on Sociology of Culture, American Sociological Association (2017)

Invited Guest Lecture-African American Museums and their Meanings, MUX 119: Museums in Society, Smith College, 6 October 2017

Panelist-The Globalization of Contemporary Art: Markets, (De-) Coloniality and (De)Commodification, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, August 2017, Montreal, Canada

Faculty Workshop Participant-, Copenhagen Business School, July 2017, Copenhagen, Denmark

Faculty Forum Participant-, Kogod School of Business, American University, Washington, D.C., May 2017

Presenting-Philanthropy and Diversity at African American Museums, Fifth Exposure Seminar (The Dark Room Seminar), °µÍø½ûÇø, May 2017

Presenting-E-Commerce and the Fine Art Market, Mini-Conference: Digital Sociology: XII: Digitally Networked Field Studies, February 2017, Philadelphia, PA

Invited Guest Speaker, American History as African American History: Visiting the National Museum of African American History and Culture, Smith College visit to the National Museum of African American History and Culture, April 2017, Washington, D.C.


Chair, Art Museum Director Search Committee, °µÍø½ûÇø Art Museum (2016)

Chair (Acting), Department of Sociology and Anthropology, °µÍø½ûÇø (2016)

Presenting-Is the Market for Contemporary African Art on the Rise?, , 17-19 November 2016, Turbine Hall, Johannesburg, South Africa

Panelist-Professional Development Workshop and Business Meeting: Navigating the Faculty/Post-Doc Job Market as a Cultural Sociologist, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, 20 August 2016, Seattle, Washington, 4:30 p.m.

Panelist-Conversation featuring Riché J. Daniel Barnes and her new book Raising the Race: Black Career Women Redefine Marriage, Motherhood, and Community (Rutgers 2016), 29 April 2016, Smith College, Neilson Browsing Room, 4:30 pm

Presenting-Intersectionality and the Market for Contemporary Art, Fourth Exposure Seminar (), 23 April 2016, °µÍø½ûÇø, Gamble Auditorium, 11:15 am-12:45 pm

Presenting-The Rise of Africa in the Contemporary Art Market: Myth or Reality?, The Art Market in a Global Perspective, 28 January 2016, University of Amsterdam

Interviewing-Touria El Glaoui, Founder , The Art Market in a Global Perspective, 28 January 2016, University of Amsterdam


Member, Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award Committee, American Sociological Association (2015- )

Presenting-Black Artists in the Art Market, Family & Friends Weekend, 25 October 2015, °µÍø½ûÇø, Hooker Auditorium, 11 am-12 pm

Presenting-Prices for Art by Female and Male Artists of African Descent in the Auction Market, Section on Sociology of Culture Paper Session: Art, Money, and Meaning Panel, American Sociological Association Annual Meeting, 24 August 2015, Chicago, IL.


Chair, Distinguished Contribution to Scholarship Book Award Committee, Section on Race, Gender, and Class, American Sociological Association (2013, 2014)

Secretary-Treasurer (elected), Section on Race, Gender, and Class, American Sociological Association (2011-2014)

Fellowships Panelist, National Endowment for the Humanities (2009)


Assistant Professors of Dance Barbie Diewald and Shakia Barron were artists in residence at the internationally-renowned Bates Dance Festival to develop their collaborative dance project, "Concourse." The work will premiere at °µÍø½ûÇø September 16 and 17, 2022.


John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship (July 1, 2024 - June 30, 2025)


Spoke via zoom about her work with Joseph Cornell's late 1930s film Bookstalls at the Ciné Salon: Impressions on the Art of the Cinematograph with Bruce Posner, Howe Library, Hanover, NH, on April 5, 2021.


Delivered the Baccalaureate Address to the Class of 2006.


Dr. Brennan was invited to talk on April 1, 2024 at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History, First Friday at the Museum event.