Faculty research in Sociology
A Chat with Bruce Haynes
Bruce Haynes is an expert on race, ethnicity, and urban society. His work has focused on topics such as segregation, the link between race and ethnicity, and the black middle class. His latest book, Down the Up Staircase: Three Generations of a Harlem Family, is his most personal—telling the history of his family while examining the precariousness of the black middle class. He wrote the book with his wife, Syma Solovich, and published it in April 2017. UC Davis College of Letters and Science writing intern Noah Pflueger-Peters sat down with Dr. Haynes to talk about his new book and his compelling life and research...Read More
A Chat with Orly Clerge
How has the expansion of the Black American middle class and the increase in the number of Black immigrants among them since the Civil Rights period transformed the cultural landscape of New York City? In her new book The New Noir: Race, Identity & Diaspora in Black Suburbia, Orly Clerge explores this question and more. Exploring the lived experiences of the people in Queens and Long Island through ethnographic methods, Clerge discovered a racial consciousness spectrum and heterogeneity of experiences among and between people living in these two suburbs of NYC. Presenting deep and rich exploration of history of racial and stratification, the book investigates issues of urbanization and suburbanization, migration, race, class, and...Read More
Confronting "Crimmigration": Caitlin Patler
By Phyllis Jeffrey - Caitlin Patler’s passion for immigration research was sparked by a very particular time and place. Bringing together approaches from sociology of law, race and ethnicity, as well as literature on immigration, she channels her experiences of 1990s California into work with wide-reaching resonances. Read More
Low-Wage Workers Are Often Trapped, Unable to Advance
By Alex Russell - Low-wage workers know they have to enhance their skills to escape low-wage jobs, but long hours and multiple jobs make skill-building and education nearly impossible, according to a new policy brief released by the Center for Poverty Research at the University of California, Davis. Read More
Migrations of the Mind: David Kyle
By Loren Michael Mortimer - What does it take to leave one’s homeland in search of an uncertain future? Why do entire communities migrate to faraway lands in ways not explained by rational self-interest? Such questions have long intrigued David Kyle, associate professor of sociology and founding member of the Temporary Migration research cluster at UC Davis. In a recent paper, he offers some potential answers. Read More
Monitoring Militarization: Erin Hamilton
By Michael Haggerty – At a time when the issue of immigration is more fiercely debated than ever, how does border militarization affect migrant families? In a recent paper, Associate Professor of Sociology Erin Hamilton seeks to find out. Read More
Robert Faris: Teens, Bullying, and Social Media
Being a teenager is difficult for anybody, but it’s especially hard for people who deal with bullying, social aggression and substance use. Associate Professor Robert Faris, an expert in social conflict, wants to know how these issues spread through the social networks of teenagers in and out of school. Read More
The Future of Climate Change: John R. Hall
By Phyllis Jeffrey - With new physical evidence appearing every day, why does climate change remain a subject of contention, confusion—even flat-out denialism? Approaching climate change through collective orientations toward time and imaginings of the future, Research Professor of Sociology John R. Hall seeks to shed light on the sociological side of the climate change conundrum. Read More