Research Areas
Our core and affiliated faculty conduct research in a wide variety of topic areas that intersect with the focus areas of our academic program. Learn more about our approach to research and see our latest publications and research news on our Research overview page.
Economic justice, political economy, and labor
Amidst widening economic inequalities, research in this area treats the economy as a product of political contestation in the United States and around the world. Faculty working in this area examine various aspects of economic development including neoliberalism, financialization and racial capitalism, examining capitalism’s varying effects on labor and social life. Faculty are also deeply interested and often work directly with movements to address inequities and create more just economic futures.
Eva C Bertram
- Title
- Associate Professor
Christopher Benner
- Title
- Professor
David T Brundage
- Title
- Professor Emeritus
Madeleine P Fairbairn
- Title
- Associate Professor
Julie H Guthman
- Title
- Distinguished Professor Emerita
Michael A. McCarthy
- Title
- Director of Community Studies
Steven McKay
- Title
- Professor
Matthew B Sparke
- Title
- Distinguished Professor of Politics
Mutual aid, social welfare, and the social safety net
Community-based practices are at the heart of the program’s pedagogy, with faculty working on projects to increase access to basic needs and understand the distribution of wealth. By studying the effects of mutual aid and social welfare, research is reimaging the ways social policy can impact public assistance. This includes understanding the psychological and material effects of inequalities on different socioeconomic groups to support evidence-based social justice practices.
Alison Alkon
- Title
- Associate Teaching Professor of Community Studies, Affiliate faculty, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
Eva C Bertram
- Title
- Associate Professor
Heather E Bullock
- Title
- Director, Center for Economic Justice and Action
Equitable urban development
The ways in which people interact with their urban environment will impact their access to opportunities, resources, and mobility. Equitable development leverages methods of social change to produce better outcomes in schools, neighborhoods, and cities. Faculty research projects trace histories of inequitable development, including zoning, redlining and gentrification, as well as the effects of these policies on contemporary crises in housing and homelessness. Additional work in this area shows how technology and culture can impact sustainability efforts in our communities and explores how communities respond to natural disasters and the climate crisis.
Alison Alkon
- Title
- Associate Teaching Professor of Community Studies, Affiliate faculty, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
Christopher Benner
- Title
- Professor
Miriam Greenberg
- Title
- Professor
Regina D Langhout
- Title
- Professor
Michael A. McCarthy
- Title
- Director of Community Studies
Environmental justice
Environmental justice refers to the idea that all people are entitled to live, work and play in safe, healthy and sustainable communities. Research in this area documents how and why this has historically not been the case, with low-income people and people of color disproportionately suffering from the health and other negative effects of environmental degradation. Transnational perspectives inform how racial capitalism and colonialism exacerbate the lack of progress toward sustainability, and how justice can be achieved through social, economic, and political means.
Alison Alkon
- Title
- Associate Teaching Professor of Community Studies, Affiliate faculty, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
Christopher Benner
- Title
- Professor
T. J. Demos
- Title
- Professor
Lindsey L Dillon
- Title
- Associate Professor
Madeleine P Fairbairn
- Title
- Associate Professor
Miriam Greenberg
- Title
- Professor
Immigration and Latinx studies
Our research in this area shows how immigration impacts labor markets, belonging in school and work, and the politics of non-citizens. We focus on historical understandings of contemporary circumstances, including globalization, decolonization and anti-imperialism. Some of our faculty also approach migration studies from the context of Latinx studies, examining how contemporary communities around the world define assimilation, citizenship, and transnationalism.
David T Brundage
- Title
- Professor Emeritus
Rebecca G Covarrubias
- Title
- Professor
Regina D Langhout
- Title
- Professor
Steven McKay
- Title
- Professor
Catherine Sue Ramirez
- Title
- Professor & Chair
Matthew B Sparke
- Title
- Distinguished Professor of Politics
Jessica K Taft
- Title
- Professor
Critical race and ethnic studies
Race and ethnicity impact nearly every aspect of our daily lives, including educational outcomes, health, employment and personal development. Faculty working in this area explore these impacts as well as the ways that different groups grapple with racism. Examining formal and informal institutions of change, faculty conduct research on how social justice can rectify systematic inequities and narratives.
Alison Alkon
- Title
- Associate Teaching Professor of Community Studies, Affiliate faculty, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
David T Brundage
- Title
- Professor Emeritus
Nancy N Chen
- Title
- Professor
Hiroshi Fukurai
- Title
- Professor of Sociology and Legal Studies
James Battle
- Title
- Associate Professor
Regina D Langhout
- Title
- Professor
Steven McKay
- Title
- Professor
Catherine Sue Ramirez
- Title
- Professor & Chair
Feminism and gender
Faculty investigate gendered histories and politics, constructing intersectional accounts of lived experiences in relation to race, ethnicity, social class, and country of origin. Our research scrutinizes institutions and states’ roles in aiding or obstructing women and other marginalized groups’ liberation and mobility. Our work speaks to the visual and material cultures of intersectional perspectives, waves of feminism, and changing definitions of gender.
Heather E Bullock
- Title
- Director, Center for Economic Justice and Action
Nancy N Chen
- Title
- Professor
Regina D Langhout
- Title
- Professor
Catherine Sue Ramirez
- Title
- Professor & Chair
Food justice
Agricultural systems remain unbalanced in the fight for environmental justice and equitable societies. Food justice research examines how communities can ensure everyone has access to healthy, affordable options. It unpacks settler colonialism, racism, and heteropatriarchy’s influences on our contemporary nutritional landscape and supports community-engaged, alternative food movement scholarship.
Alison Alkon
- Title
- Associate Teaching Professor of Community Studies, Affiliate faculty, Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
Madeleine P Fairbairn
- Title
- Associate Professor
Julie H Guthman
- Title
- Distinguished Professor Emerita
Matthew B Sparke
- Title
- Distinguished Professor of Politics
Health equity
Notions of health and wellness take many forms, and the varying degrees of access to healthcare present obstacles for individuals, organizations, and communities. From studying the pharmaceutical industry to understanding alternative forms of healing through traditional medicine, faculty analyze how equity plays out in today’s health systems. This provides a social science edge to the campus’ strength in genomics, ensuring community health is at the center of scientific progress.
Nancy N Chen
- Title
- Professor
James Battle
- Title
- Associate Professor
Matthew B Sparke
- Title
- Distinguished Professor of Politics
Technology studies
Research examines how the Internet and other technologies impact individual and community social connections, well-being, and health. Some faculty study how biotechnology and genomic resource mapping provide the promise of better health for all. Others dig into how to leverage technology for sustainable development and agriculture, producing tangible social benefits for those most affected by inequity.
Christopher Benner
- Title
- Professor
Nancy N Chen
- Title
- Professor
Lindsey L Dillon
- Title
- Associate Professor
James Battle
- Title
- Associate Professor
Madeleine P Fairbairn
- Title
- Associate Professor
Julie H Guthman
- Title
- Distinguished Professor Emerita
Criminology, law, and abolition
Faculty research how crime and the law shape our communities and ponder the role of people and institutions in promoting justice. Through quantitative methods, experimentation, surveys, and field research, faculty explore complex topics like the implications of international law or the psychological effects of incarceration. Their frameworks provide liberatory pathways to prison abolition and related public policy initiatives.
Hiroshi Fukurai
- Title
- Professor of Sociology and Legal Studies
Craig W Haney
- Title
- Distinguished Professor
International and global affairs
Working toward global justice across and beyond this hemisphere, faculty study the international political and social climates that inform and mold today’s communities. These insights provide comparative examples to better understand global dynamics affecting the Americas and beyond, from medicine to law and activism. We take into account the role of geopolitics and diaspora communities to form a holistic view of nation and state tensions.
Nancy N Chen
- Title
- Professor
Hiroshi Fukurai
- Title
- Professor of Sociology and Legal Studies
Steven McKay
- Title
- Professor
Catherine Sue Ramirez
- Title
- Professor & Chair
Matthew B Sparke
- Title
- Distinguished Professor of Politics
Jessica K Taft
- Title
- Professor
Youth and educational equity
Dedicated to using multiple methods of social science research across disciplines, this area centers on the experiences of children and adolescents. It hones in on minors’ pursuit of education in varied contexts and explores how identity influences self-understanding and the ability to participate in advocacy. Affiliated faculty tackle big questions surrounding the difference between majority/minority, north/south, and child/adult perspectives.