Amy Brainer, PhD

Associate Professor of Women's and Gender Studies. Director, LGBTQ Studies
Amy Brainer
College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters
College-Wide Programs
[email protected]
312-218-8837
2036 College of Arts, Sciences, and Letters Building | 4901 Evergreen Road | Dearborn, MI 48128
schedule Fall 2026 - Tuesday 4-6pm or by appointment
link Personal Website

Teaching Areas:

LGBTQ Studies, Women's & Gender Studies

Research Areas:

Family, Friendship, Immigrants / Immigration, Kinship and Relatedness, Queer Studies, Taiwan, Transgender Studies

Biography and Education

Dr. Brainer studies families and friendship with a focus on sexuality, gender, and culture. Her first book, Queer Kinship and Family Change in Taiwan (Rutgers, 2019), received the Ruth Benedict Book Prize from the Association for Queer Anthropology. Her current research follows queer and trans individuals and couples as they navigate marriage-based immigration to the United States. A third project explores loss of a friend through a friend breakup or death of a friend. At UM-Dearborn, Dr. Brainer is Coordinator of the LGBTQ Studies Certificate and teaches a number of courses in the program, including Sexualities, Genders, and Bodies; LGBTQ Religious Experience; Family Diversity and Power; Disability, Gender, and Sexuality; and Hope and Joy in Queer and Trans Lives.