Jennifer Silva

Dr. Jennifer Silva serves as Associate Professor at Indiana University's Paul H. O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, where she joined in 2019 after teaching sociology at Bucknell University and completing NSF-funded postdoctoral research at Harvard University. Her interdisciplinary work bridges sociology and public policy through rigorous qualitative analysis of class, inequality, and health.

Her educational foundation includes:

• Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Virginia (2010)
• M.A. in Sociology, University of Virginia (2006)
• B.A., Wellesley College (2004)

Silva's research centers on social determinants of health, working-class culture, and transitions to adulthood, employing ethnographic methods to explore how economic insecurity shapes identity and well-being. Her current Russell Sage Foundation project integrates women's health records with in-depth interviews in rural communities, revealing critical barriers to health equity. She examines how class narratives influence political engagement, particularly among white working-class populations in declining industrial regions.

Analysis of her recent publications shows consistent focus on qualitative exploration of class-based vulnerability across three interconnected domains: health disparities in marginalized communities (particularly rural women), pandemic-induced economic anxiety among middle-class families, and the erosion of traditional adulthood pathways for working-class youth. Her methodology emphasizes narrative analysis of lived experience within structural constraints.

Her scholarly impact is recognized through:

• ASA Outstanding Book Award Honorable Mention (2020)
• Russell Sage Foundation Scholar designation (2020)
• ASA Consumers and Consumption Publication Award (2019)
• NSF and ASA research grants
• Prestigious Harvard postdoctoral fellowships

Silva actively translates research into policy through collaborations with Brookings Institution and American Enterprise Institute, securing substantial external funding while generating media coverage in The New York Times, The Atlantic, and NPR. Her work directly informs social policy design through projects like the Brookings Middle Class Initiative and American Family Diaries ethnographic series. Current research teams integrate public health data scientists with qualitative researchers to address social mobility barriers in post-industrial communities.