Powers Bio

My research is focused on issues related to poverty, class, food, and health. Drawing on literature from the sociology of food, the sociology of health, the sociology of consumption, the sociology of childhood, and cultural studies, and using qualitative research methods, I explore social, cultural, political and symbolic aspects of food, eating, the body, and health. I am also interested in expanding the repertoire of qualitative research methods in the sociology of food, particularly the use of visual methods, such as photography and video, and in using documentary film as a vehicle for "knowledge translation" to change public policy.