Danielle MacCartney
Assistant Professor, Behavioral and Social Sciences

Los Angeles native Danielle MacCartney came to Webster this summer after doing post-doc research at the UCLA School of Law’s Williams Institute, a think tank on sexual orientation law and public policy.

She earned her bachelor’s in Art History and Women’s Studies at New Mexico State University, and her master’s in Social Science and Ph.D. in Sociology at University of California-Irvine. Some of her best childhood memories are from her time living in pre-revolution Iran, where her father worked as an aircraft mechanic.

What kind of topics did you research at the Williams Institute?
They focus on analyzing the political process. They get a lot of requests to research the economic impact of new laws. For example, with same-sex marriage laws being such a hot topic, they’ll get requests to determine what the costs would be of providing marriage benefits for same-sex marriages.

It was great, but I realized there that I wanted to do more teaching and not just focus on research. So I started looking at places that had a teaching focus...

…Which led you to Webster. What are you teaching here?
Classes on race, class, sexual orientation, and gender equality. I’ll probably have courses on human sexuality, equality in the workplace, international sociology and development.

And how do you like Webster so far?
It’s been fantastic. All of my colleagues have been great. Even colleagues from other departments: Everyone has been looking out for me.

The students are terrific, too. Irvine is a wealthy area of Orange County, so students even at the community college tend to have more of a sense of entitlement. Webster students are very respectful and very committed to their education.

When did you live in Iran?
We lived in Iran for about four to five years, just before the fall of the shah. We lived in an international community in Tehran and later in an American community in Isfahan. It was wonderful. I have very fond memories of Iran.

What are your favorite memories from Iran?
There are so many! This is from a child’s perspective, naturally, but for example, I remember when the landscapers at the compound, who were Iranian, invited my sister and me over during lunchtime. It was just a beautiful scene: sitting under the shade of a tree, at mid-day, in the desert.

Of course, Iran was also the site of my first tetanus shot after we were swinging over a river – I fell in – so they’re not all great memories!

Not quite the same adjustment, but how have you liked moving from California to St. Louis?
The people and neighborhoods in St. Louis have been fantastic. All of the cultural opportunities have really impressed me – it hasn’t been the impression you’d stereotypically expect a “West Coaster” to have of the Midwest. The only thing that’s been hard is the weather: such extremes, and it’s always changing!

Finally, what do you like to do outside of teaching and research?
Well, when I do have time for myself, I like to sit down and relax and read science fiction. I like sci-fi authors like Terry Pratchett, Robert Heinlein, Robert Asprin, and Ursula K. LeGuin.

I also like hiking and camping, and I know there are good opportunities for that here, so I’m looking forward to that.

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