Jennifer Singh
Associate Professor, Director of Undergraduate Studies
- School of History and Sociology
- ADVANCE IAC
Overview
Jennifer S. Singh is associate professor in the School of History and Sociology. She has a Ph.D. in sociology from the University of California, San Francisco and specializes in medical sociology and science and technology studies. Her research investigates the intersections of genetics, health and society, which draws on her experiences of working in the biotechnology industry in molecular biology and as a public health researcher at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Her book, Multiple Autisms: Spectrums of Advocacy and Genomic Science, explores a range of perspectives from scientists, activists, parents, and people living with autism surrounding the rise and implementation of autism genetics research. In addition to research on the social and scientific understandings of diseases based on emerging medical technologies, Singh is also conducting research on the structural inequities to autism diagnosis and services based on race, class and gender. She is also co-founder of the Break the Cycle of Autism Disparities Working Group that brings together different areas of expertise across academic and private institutes in Atlanta, GA who are dedicated to investigating and addressing autism service disparities across the lifespan.
- Ph.D. in Sociology, University of California, San Francisco
- Master of Public Health, Institute for Public Health Genetics at the University of Washington, School of Public Health and Community Medicine
- B.S. in Biological Sciences from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
Distinctions:
- Serve Learn Sustain (SLS) Award for Excellence in Sustainability Teaching https://serve-learn-sustain.gatech.edu/professor-jennifer-singh-winner-2019-sls-award-excellence-community-engaged-sustainability-teaching
Interests
- Agriculture, Health, and the Environment
- Modern Global History/Science, Technology, and Nationalism
- Science and Technology Studies
- U.S. Society and Politics/Policy Perspectives
Focuses:
- North America
- United States
- United States - Georgia
- Gender
- Health
- Inequality and Social Justice
- Race/Ethnicity
- Accessibility
- Autism
- Bioethics, Bioscience, Biotechnology
- Community engagement
- Emerging Technologies - Innovation
- Genetics
- Inequality, Inequity, and Social Justice
- Perspectives on technology
- Science and Technology
- Vulnerable Populations
Courses
- HTS-2694: HTS Internship - Paid
- HTS-2695: HTS Internship-Credit
- HTS-2698: Research Assistantship
- HTS-3082: Sociology of Science
- HTS-3086: Soc of Medicine & Health
- HTS-3088: Race Medicine & Science
- HTS-3823: Special Topics
- HTS-4086: Sem Health Med & Society
- HTS-4694: HTS Internship-Paid
- HTS-4695: HTS Internship-Credit
- HTS-6123: Social & Cultural BIOMED
- HTS-7001: Sociohistorical Analysis
- HTS-8002: Perspectives-Tech&Sci
- SOC-1101: Intro to Sociology
Selected Publications
Books
- Multiple Autisms: Spectrums of Advocacy and Genomic Science
Date: 2016
Is there a gene for autism? Despite a billion-dollar, twenty-year effort to find out—and the more elusive the answer, the greater the search seems to become—no single autism gene has been identified. In Multiple Autisms, Jennifer S. Singh sets out to discover how autism emerged as a genetic disorder and how this affects those who study autism and those who live with it. This is the first sustained analysis of the practices, politics, and meaning of autism genetics from a scientific, cultural, and social perspective.
Journal Articles
- Intersectional analysis of autism service inequities: Narratives of Black single female caregivers
In: Social Science & Medicine: Qualitative Research in Health [Peer Reviewed]
Date: June 2023
Abstract
Despite the wide range of research on autism disparities in early identification, diagnosis, and access to services in racial and ethnic minorities in the United States compared to White children, few studies focus distinctly on the experiences of Black single female caregivers of children with autism. The dominant research and cultural narrative of White, married, and upper-middle-class families of a child with autism devalues the standpoint and experiences of caregivers whose social and economic position situates their differential experience of raising a child with a disability. Based on a narrative analysis of three Black single female caregivers who have a child diagnosed with autism and rely on Medicaid health insurance in the southern United States, this study offers an intersectional analysis of autism service inequities in diagnosis and services driving evident disparities based on race, gender, and social class. The analysis highlights intersecting ideological, political, and economic domains and associated institutions (i.e., education, employment, housing, and governing laws) that reflect and shape these narratives of autism service inequities. This study re-centers much-needed attention to the silent voices of Black single female caregivers made invisible in the structure of our society and offers a way forward by thinking critically about universal systems of care that can benefit all people.