Liberty Walther Barnes is a sociologist,

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

, and writer. She holds affiliations at the

University of Cambridge , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

in the United Kingdom and the

University of Oregon The University of Oregon (UO, U of O or Oregon) is a public research university in Eugene, Oregon. Founded in 1876, the institution is well known for its strong ties to the sports apparel and marketing firm Nike, Inc, and its co-founder, billion ...

in the United States. Trained in

medical sociology Medical sociology is the sociological analysis of medical organizations and institutions; the production of knowledge and selection of methods, the actions and interactions of healthcare professionals, and the social or cultural (rather than clin ...

and

gender studies Gender studies is an interdisciplinary academic field devoted to analysing gender identity and gendered representation. Gender studies originated in the field of women's studies, concerning women, feminism, gender, and politics. The field ...

, Barnes's research examines how medical authorities serve as cultural authorities on family building,

fatherhood A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

motherhood ] A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestati ...

, and

childhood A child (plural, : children) is a human being between the stages of childbirth, birth and puberty, or between the Development of the human body, developmental period of infancy and puberty. The legal definition of ''child'' generally refers ...

Personal life and education

Barnes was born in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and raised in

Federal Way Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. One of the most recently incorporated cities in the county, its population was 101,030 at the 2020 census. Federal Way is the tenth-largest city in Washington and the fifth-larges ...

, Washington. She is the daughter of Larry Walther and Kathryn Walther (née Hiersche) and the oldest of five children. Barnes graduated from Federal Way High School in 1993 and earned a B.A. in

media arts New media art includes artworks designed and produced by means of electronic media technologies, comprising virtual art, computer graphics, computer animation, digital art, interactive art, sound art, Internet art, video games, robotics, 3D pri ...

from

Brigham Young University Brigham Young University (BYU, sometimes referred to colloquially as The Y) is a private research university in Provo, Utah. It was founded in 1875 by religious leader Brigham Young and is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day ...

(1999). She completed MA and PhD degrees in Sociology from the

University of California at San Diego The University of California, San Diego (UC San Diego or colloquially, UCSD) is a public land-grant research university in San Diego, California. Established in 1960 near the pre-existing Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UC San Diego is t ...

(2005, 2011).

Career

Barnes is the author of ''Conceiving Masculinity: Male Infertility, Medicine, and Identity'' (Temple University Press 2014), based on ethnographic observations in infertility clinics, laboratories, and medical conferences and interviews with medical practitioners and patients. In 2015, Barnes was awarded the Book of the Year Prize by the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness for "making the most significant contribution to the sub-discipline of medical sociology." Previous winners of the prize include Nelly Oudshoorn, Annemarie Mol, and Margaret Lock. Barnes's research has been featured by several media websites, including TheAtlantic.com, NBCNews.com, ABCNews.com, Slate.com, TheGuardian.com, and TheTelegraph.com. She has been interviewed by Texas Public Radio, WHYY Philadelphia, and Voice of Russia UK. In 2014 a

TEDx TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

talk given by Barnes was featured as an "Editor's Pick" on the TEDx homepage. The same year Barnes received a Future Research Leaders Award from the

Economic and Social Research Council The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC), formerly the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), is part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI). UKRI is a non-departmental public body (NDPB) funded by the UK government. ESRC provides fundi ...

in the UK. In 2016, Barnes received a grant from the

National Science Foundation The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent agency of the United States government that supports fundamental research and education in all the non-medical fields of science and engineering. Its medical counterpart is the National I ...

's Division of Social and Economic Sciences to write an

ethnography Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

of children's medicine. Barnes has taught sociology courses at the University of Cambridge,

Pacific University Pacific University is a private university in Forest Grove, Oregon. Founded in 1849 as the Tualatin Academy, the original Forest Grove campus is west of Portland. The university maintains three other campuses in Eugene, Hillsboro, and Wood ...

, Brigham Young University, University of California at San Diego, and

Portland Community College Portland Community College (PCC) is a public community college in Portland, Oregon. It is the largest post-secondary institution in the state and serves residents in the five-county area of Multnomah, Washington, Yamhill, Clackamas, and Colu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barnes, Liberty American sociologists American women sociologists American ethnographers Medical sociologists Family sociologists Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Brigham Young University alumni University of California, San Diego alumni Portland Community College faculty