She is a socio-cultural and linguistic anthropologist who works in Russia and the Former Soviet Union. Her theoretical concerns lie mainly with ways to understand struggles over aesthetic techniques and communicative forms in relation to struggles over political change and social hierarchies. She has conducted research in theaters, film sets, government bureaus, street markets, and kitchens, as well as in archives and with media. Methodologically, Lemon's ethnographic writing situates interactions in field contexts within broader social contexts, and connects them to trajectories of longer duree. Through the Center for Russian and East European Studies (CREES), she works closely with colleagues across disciplines such as History, Literary Criticism, Slavic Studies, and Sociology. Her current project investigates ways that claims about trust and intuition both presuppose and produce social hierarchies.