Minwoo Jung, PhD
Assistant Professor
Minwoo Jung is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and of Women’s Studies and Gender Studies at Loyola University Chicago. A Korean-born, US-based queer scholar, his work lies at the intersection of political sociology, feminist and queer theory, and transnational Asian studies. Through global ethnography and critical social theory, he examines how sexuality, rights, and power are constituted across borders, institutions, and movements. His current book project, Queer Geopolitics: Making Sexuality Rights in Global Asia, traces how the contested meanings and articulations of “rights” are negotiated among states, markets, and social movements amid shifting terrains of empire, capitalism, and global governance. His writing appears in journals such as British Journal of Sociology, Current Sociology, and Sociological Theory, and has received awards from the American Sociological Association, the International Sociological Association, the Midwest Sociological Society, and the Society for the Study of Social Problems. At Loyola, his research and teaching have been recognized with the Sujack Family Master Researcher Award, the Adolfo Nicolás, SJ, Excellence in Engaged Learning and Teaching Award, and the Transformative Educator Award.
Education
PhD, Sociology
University of Southern California, 2021
MA, Sociology
Chung-Ang University, 2011
BA, Sociology
Seoul National University, 2009
Specialty Area
Gender and Sexuality; Political Sociology; Global and Transnational Sociology; Social Movements; Knowledge Production; Ethnography; Theory
Professional/Community Affiliations
- American Sociological Association
- Society for the Study of Social Problems
- International Sociological Association
Courses Taught
- WSGS 101: Introduction to Women’s Studies and Gender Studies
- SOCL 171: Sociology of Sex and Gender
- SOCL 252: Global Inequalities
- SOCL 265: Globalization and Society
- WSGS 375/475: Masculinity Studies
- SOCL 491: Professional Writing in Sociology
- SOCL 520: Gender, Sexuality, and Social Movements
- SOCL 520: Gender and Sexuality in Global Perspectives
Publications/Research Listings
- Jung, Minwoo. “Queer Politics of the Wounded: Reparation Work and Queer Youth Activism in South Korea.” Journal of Asian Studies (forthcoming).
- Jung, Minwoo. 2025. “Flexible Masculinities: Negotiating Gender, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Global Asia.” Current Sociology 73(7): 997–1017.
- Jyoti Puri, Sa’ed Atshan, Minwoo Jung, and Zine Magubane. 2025. “In Plain Sight: Conversing Empires, Race, Sexuality and Gender.” Sex & Sexualities 1(1): 66–74.
- Jung, Minwoo. 2025. “Decolonizing the Global: Contested Cosmopolitanisms in Global Queer Activism.” British Journal of Sociology 76(4): 790–799.
- Jung, Minwoo. 2024. “Rights Projects: A Relational Sociology of Rights in Globalization.” Sociological Theory 42(3): 256–281.
- Jung, Minwoo. 2024. “Theorizing Sexuality Politics of Neoliberalism: A Queer Sociological Approach.” Sociology Compass 18(9, e70000): 1–13.
- Jung, Minwoo. 2024. “Imagining Sovereign Futures: The Marriage Equality Movement in Taiwan.” Social Movement Studies 23(4): 462–478.
- Jung, Minwoo. 2024. “Queer Theory Impossible.” Inter-Asia Cultural Studies 25(3): 517–532.
- Kim, Jinsook, and Minwoo Jung. 2022. “A Tale of Two Homosocialities: Gender, Sexuality, and Global Political Economy in Squid Game.” Communication, Culture & Critique 15(4): 540–542.
- Jung, Minwoo. 2022. “Quiet Politics: Queer Organizing in Corporate Singapore.” The Sociological Review 70(5), 863–881.
- Jung, Minwoo. 2021. “Embracing the Nation: Strategic Deployment of Sexuality, Nation, and Citizenship in Singapore.” British Journal of Sociology 72(5), 1229–1245.
- Jung, Minwoo. 2017. “Precarious Seoul: Urban Inequality and Belonging of Young Adults in South Korea.” positions: asia critique 25(4): 745–767.
Awards
- Adolfo Nicholas SJ Excellence in Engaged Learning and Teaching Award, Loyola Chicago (2026)
- Early Career Scholarship Award, Midwest Sociological Society (2026)
- CLAGS Fellowship (honorable mention), CUNY Center for LGBTQ Studies (2026)
- Sujack Family Master Researcher Award, College of Arts and Sciences, Loyola Chicago (2025)
- Outstanding Article Award, SSSP Sexual Behavior, Politics, and Communities Division (2024)
- The Sociological Review Journal Article of the Year (finalist), The Sociological Review (2024)
- BJS Early Career Prize, British Journal of Sociology (2023)
- Transformative Educator Award, Loyola Chicago (2023)
- Peter Hans Kolvenbach Award for Engaged Teaching (top finalist), Loyola Chicago (2023)
- Outstanding Published Article Award, ASA Peace, War & Social Conflict Section (2022)