[1][2] She received a fellowship from the Woodrow Wilson Foundation[citation needed] to complete her dissertation about the integration of antebellum Appalachia into global capitalism.

[1] Dunaway's research interests include international political economy, world-systems analysis, racial and ethnic conflict, comparative slavery studies, Native American studies, Appalachian Studies, radical feminist perspectives on women’s work, and qualitative research methodologies.

According to Virginia Tech's 2005 announcement of the Joseph Campbell prize, Dunaway's academic accomplishments were summarized:She is a widely recognized scholar of African-American slavery, Appalachian studies, and world-systems analysis.

Her research focuses on eliminating historical silences about people who have been peripheralized by race, class, or gender.

[4] In addition, she has edited two books that offer revisions and extensions of world-systems analysis.