Teaching sociology as a tool for reflection and repair

When Anne Taylor stepped into her first sociology class as an undergraduate history major, she didn’t know she was about to find a new academic home. “I had an incredible mentor, Lawrence Holcomb, who was a sociologist. I took as many classes with him as I could,” she said. “He presented what, to me, felt like a radical view of social life at the time, given the bubble I was raised in. Sociology opened my mind up to the beauty and diversity of the world. He was bold for justice, [he] valued collaboration in the classroom and he accompanied students in their learning, and those have become my values as well.”

Taylor will bring that spirit of mentorship and inquiry to Mount Holyoke College this fall when she joins the Department of Sociology and Anthropology as an assistant professor of sociology. She’ll teach Introduction to Sociology and courses on culture, travel, religion and secularism that reflect her passion for theory, her deep interest in the emotional stakes of learning and her firm belief in the transformative power of a sociological imagination.

“I hope my students see how empowering sociology can be,” she said. “It’s not just a toolkit for navigating uncertainty, it’s also soulful. It calls us to accountability, to reflect on who we are and what kind of community we want to build.”

Taylor’s work lives at the intersection of culture, religion, pop culture and the agency of communities. Her research focuses on joy, solidarity and the symbolic and emotional dimensions of social life, from Bernie Sanders rallies to Harry Potter podcasts, to Rick Steves travel tours. As a cultural theorist, her work focuses on decentering the modern “cult of the individual” and seeks to highlight the power of audiences. She uses cultural sociology and religious studies approaches to examine how communities generate meaning through shared rituals and values.

In her doctoral research, she used Sanders’ 2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns to study how field organizers and volunteers shaped the movement’s power and explore “Audience Agency in Social Performance.” That work led her to investigate other spaces where audiences experience communal devotion and transformation, including “Harry Potter and the Sacred Text,” a podcast hosted by Harvard Divinity School affiliates.

“The podcast uses sacred reading practices on a pop culture text, and it has become a real resource for people to contend with the challenges of life and develop a language to express their beliefs about justice, especially amid growing disillusionment with J.K. Rowling,” Taylor said. “This podcast community shows how communities can reinterpret meaning, how they cope and how they claim agency even in times of great tension.”

Her current project (a forthcoming book) examines travel as a site of moral formation. The subject, Rick Steves, is a PBS host and guidebook author, and his company guides over 30,000 travelers on small-group tours of Europe each year. Taylor takes an immersive ethnographic approach to research for her book and has completed seven tours since 2016. “Steves is a sacred icon for many,” Taylor explained. “His philosophy of travel is about cultivating cosmopolitan identity and global empathy that sits in active tension with nationalism.”

Similar to politics and pop culture, media and travel are examples of the power of cultural sociology. They show how the things we take as given in life are filled with meaning. Taylor is excited to bring these learnings into the classroom, where she aims to create a space of accountability, curiosity and care.

“When I talk about how impactful Dr. Holcomb’s legacy was on my life, I use the word accompaniment intentionally,” she said. “I see myself walking alongside my students in their learning. I have a responsibility to guide them, but I want to cocreate a space where they’re resourced and empowered.”

Taylor’s approach to teaching challenges traditional hierarchies in higher education settings. She believes that learning is emotional and, therefore, makes space for a range of emotions in her classroom. “We’re often studying the very systems and beliefs that shaped us. That can be unsettling, but sitting in that discomfort is part of the work,” she explained.

When it came to deciding where she’d land after finishing her Ph.D. at Yale, Mount Holyoke’s mission and history felt like a perfect match for her vision for research and teaching.

“I was so inspired by President Danielle Holley’s leadership and Mount Holyoke’s history of being ‘forged in dissent,’ especially their commitment to protecting marginalized students,” she said. “This is a place that lives its values, a place ‘at the leading edge of change.’ That’s what drew me in.”

Taylor is especially excited about connecting with students early in their journey at the College. “I feel lucky to be teaching Intro to Sociology this year. I’ll get to meet first-years and second-years while I’m also in my first year at the College,” she said. “We’ll be learning and growing together.”

When she is not researching or teaching, Taylor is an avid traveler and reader. She's also a gardener, dog lover and fashion enthusiast.

As she settles into the Mount Holyoke community, Taylor is already imagining what’s possible. “Sociology has the power to unsettle the status quo, but my work is also about repair,” she said. “I’m interested in how people create solidarity and joy, despite and even through major obstacles. Mount Holyoke feels like a place where that vision can thrive.”