Caitlin Leeann Clarke

My work encompasses a broad range of interdisciplinary work within the Sociology of Health. I was trained in Anthropology for my BA and in cultural studies and sport sociology for my Ph.D. in Kinesiology and Community Health at UIUC. As a result, I strive for highly interdisciplinary and collaborative research efforts.

My primary research agenda extends my dissertation, which focused on the use of exercise interventions as a solution for health issues such as depression and anxiety. I am concerned with how exercise science researchers conceptualize their research participants, the diseases in question, exercise, and the relationship between the disease and exercise. I am interested in the production of knowledge in this area and how it impacts social perceptions of people with mental illness, particularly in relation to the perception of mental illness as an economic burden and the promotion of individualized self-care.

Many of my collaborations extend from interests in mental health, social determinants of health, and the production of health related knowledge.