Two Professors at University of Wisconsin – La Crosse Are Leading the Way on ‘Fat Studies’

Two Professors at University of Wisconsin – La Crosse Are Leading the Way on ‘Fat Studies’

Someone had to take up this cause, right?

The College Fix reports:

Meet the two professors leading the way in ‘fat studies’

Two professors at a midwestern university are working to develop and legitimize the field of “fat studies,” a discipline that examines the cultural and sociological phenomenon of overweight and obese human beings.

Laurie Cooper Stoll, a professor of sociology, and Darci Thoune, an associate professor of English, are both leading scholarly research in this field from the University of Wisconsin – La Crosse. Their website, “Two Fat Professors,” declares that the academics are “fighting fatphobia with education, community-building and a lot of sass.”

The College Fix reached out to both professors numerous times seeking comment; the pair did not respond to requests through their website, through email, or through messages left on their university phones. Their website and publications, however, offer an illuminating look at their burgeoning research.

‘Fat scholars and activists’

Broadly speaking, the two scholars are working off a thesis that postulates the voices of obese individuals are absent or sidelined in contemporary research on obesity and health. To remedy this, the professors have argued for the incorporation of “standpoint theory” into fat studies. “Standpoint theory,” according to the two, stresses “the importance of situated-knowledge and the epistemic advantage of marginalized groups.”

Stoll and Thoune argue that this discipline will “[elevate] the voices and research of fat scholars and activists.” They further affirm that standpoint theory can be used as a vessel by which “fat” scholars can “challenge…positivistic notions of science that suggest researchers can and should be ‘value-free.’”

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