My research focuses on cultural meanings of sex and love in the context of changing patterns of courtship and what those changing patterns mean for gender inequality at the intersections of race and class.

I am currently working on a longitudinal project about courtship practices during the COVID-19 pandemic. I am examining the ways in which structural changes brought on by the pandemic have impacted courtship culture. Visit my ongoing research webpage for more information about this project.

Areas of Specialization

Courtship & Marriage | Sexual Scripts | Cultural Studies | Gender & Sexuality

Publications

Kendrick, Sam. In Press. "Courtship, 1950-2000" in Marriage and Divorce in America: Issues, Trends, and Controversies. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO.

Kendrick, Sam and Joane Nagel. 2024. "Gender, Climate Change, and the Production of Scientific Knowledge" in Collyer, F.M. (editor) Research Handbook for the Sociology of Knowledge. Cheltenham, UK: Edward Elgar. 

Kendrick, Sam and Nancy Kepple. 2022. "Scripting Sex in Courtship: Predicting Genital Contact in Date Outcomes.'' Sexuality & Culture. 22:1190-1214. doi: 10.1007/s12119-021-09938-2

Kendrick, Sam and Joane Nagel. 2020. "The Cowboy Scientist Saves the Planet: Hegemonic Masculinity in Cli-Fi Films.'' Masculinities: A Journal of Identity and Culture. 14:5-34.

Invited Talks and Presentations

Kendrick, Sam. 2022. "Sexual Scripts in Unsettled Times: How the Pandemic is Shaping Courtship." Invited Talk, Close Relationships Interest Group (CRIG), University of Kansas. 06 May.

Kendrick, Sam. 2021. “Quarantined Courtship: The Cultural Implications of Dating during the Pandemic.” Annual meeting of the American Sociological Association. August, Virtual.

Kendrick, Sam. 2021. “Scripting Sex in Courtship: Predicting Genital Contact in Date Outcomes.” Annual meeting of the Midwest Sociological Society. March, Virtual.

Kendrick, Sam. 2019. “The Racial Politics of Hooking Up: Policing Racial Boundaries in Sex and Courtship.” Annual meeting of the Midwest Sociological Society. April, Chicago, Illinois.