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Ricarda Hammer is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley. Her work bridges colonialism, postcolonialism, empire, and race with a focus on the Caribbean as a site of global historical transformation. Department of Sociology, University of California, Berkeley Co-leader of the Anticolonial Lab (with Michael Rodríguez-Muñiz and Tianna Paschel) Former Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor Research Interests: Anticolonial Politics Imperial Legacies Racial Capitalism Caribbean Studies Radical Democracy Black Atlantic Thought Article Trends: Ricarda's recent publications emphasize the intersections of colonial history, racial capitalism, and radical anticolonial theory. Her work increasingly incorporates Du Boisian frameworks and examines the erasure of Caribbean revolutionary imaginaries from European political genealogies. Labs & Teams: At Berkeley, Ricarda co-leads the Anticolonial Lab, which investigates global anticolonial solidarity movements with special attention to the Caribbean and Bay Area resistance networks.

• Anticolonial Politics
• Empire
• Citizenship
• +7 more

Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Brown University and an affiliated faculty member with the American Bar Foundation in Chicago, IL. Her research focuses on challenging conventional paradigms of race and racism within criminal justice systems, emphasizing cultural sociology and organizational dynamics. She holds a Ph.D., M.A., and B.A. from Northwestern University. Her award-winning book, Crook County: Racism and Injustice in America's Largest Criminal Court , critically examines systemic racism in Chicago's criminal courts and has received over 11 accolades, including the ASA Distinguished Book Prize. Her recent work, The Waiting Room , explores the societal impacts of pretrial incarceration around Cook County Jail. Van Cleve’s research integrates ethnography, content analysis, and historical methods to study discretion and bias in legal institutions. Her articles, such as 'Criminal Justice through ‘Colorblind’ Lenses' (2015) and 'The Organizational Utility of Welfare Rationale in the Criminal Justice System' (2017), have won prestigious awards and advanced critical race theory in sociology. She has provided legal commentary on MSNBC, CNN, and NPR, addressing police accountability and systemic reform. Her honors include the Meenakshi Narain Excellence in Research Mentoring Award (2024) and the 2017 Kimberlé Crenshaw Outstanding Article Award.

• Sociology
• Law
• Mass Incarceration
• +5 more

Jason Hackworth is a Professor in the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toronto. His work centers on urban political economy, with a focus on North American cities, racial discrimination, and neoliberalism. He has authored two influential books— The Neoliberal City (2007) and Faith-Based (2012)—and numerous journal articles. Research Interests: Urban political economy frameworks Racial capitalism and systemic inequality Neoliberal urban policy critiques Land abandonment and population shrinkage in Rust Belt cities Intersection of religion and economic development Recent Publications (2021–2025): His work explores racialized dimensions of urban decline, gentrification in low-demand environments, and critiques of conservative economic rhetoric. Articles like "Racial Capitalism in Urban Studies" (2025) and "W.E.B. Du Bois and the Urban Political Economy Tradition" (2021) highlight his focus on systemic racism and historical urban analysis.

• Urban political economy
• Racial discrimination in urban contexts
• Economic geography
• +3 more

Jennifer Pitts is Professor of Political Science and the Committee on Social Thought at the University of Chicago, holding a Ph.D. from Harvard University (2000). She serves on faculty boards for the Human Rights Program and Stevanovich Institute for the Formation of Knowledge, contributing to interdisciplinary initiatives at the university. Her educational background includes: Ph.D. in Political Science, Harvard University, 2000 Pitts' research investigates modern political and international thought with specific focus on British and French intellectual traditions from the eighteenth to nineteenth centuries. She critically examines empire through the lens of international law history and global justice , revealing tensions between liberal political theory and imperial practices. Her work demonstrates how European thinkers grappled with legal relations to non-European societies, highlighting contradictions in universalist claims during colonial expansion. Recent publications show sustained engagement with conceptual frameworks of international law, analyzing figures like Tocqueville, Du Bois, and Burke. Her scholarship bridges political theory , historical analysis , and legal studies , with increasing attention to planetary-scale challenges and anti-colonial thought. The trajectory moves from historical case studies toward contemporary implications for global justice. Scientific awards: No awards documented in source materials As a professor, Pitts advises graduate students in political science and social thought though specific mentees aren't listed. Her research is supported through university appointments rather than external grants detailed in the sources. She contributes to academic discourse through editorial work including the Cambridge University Press Ideas in Context series. Pitts participates in institutional frameworks including the Human Rights Program and Stevanovich Institute for the Formation of Knowledge, focusing on interdisciplinary approaches to knowledge formation and human rights advocacy within the university structure.

• Modern political thought
• International thought
• British and French political thought (18th-19th century)
• +3 more

Michael Rodríguez-Muñiz is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, where he co-directs the Latinx Social Science Pipeline initiative and the Anticolonial Lab. He joined Berkeley's faculty through the Latinx and Democracy cluster, focusing on critical race and Latinx studies within academic and community contexts. His educational background includes: PhD in Sociology from Brown University MA in Sociology from the University of Illinois-Chicago BA in Political Science and Mexican and Caribbean Studies from Northeastern Illinois University His research centers on race, knowledge production, and temporality within Latinx communities, with emphasis on demographic politics, anticolonial movements, and Du Boisian theory . Current projects examine Puerto Rican diasporic resistance, state repression, and the political construction of population statistics, utilizing ethnographic and qualitative methodologies to challenge dominant demographic narratives. His publication portfolio reveals consistent engagement with Latinx political representation, demographic change discourse, and racial knowledge systems. Recent works critically analyze majority-minority projections, ethnoracial diversification attitudes, and the intersection of race with political trust, demonstrating methodological rigor through community-engaged scholarship. His award-winning book Figures of the Future: Latino Civil Rights and the Politics of Demographic Change (2021) received: Otis Dudley Duncan Book Award (2023) Mary Douglas Book Prize (2022) ASA Latino/a Section Best Book Award (2022) Charles Tilly Distinguished Book Award Honorable Mention (2022) As co-director of the Anticolonial Lab and Latinx Social Science Pipeline, Rodríguez-Muñiz bridges academic research with community action through initiatives like Digitizing the Barrio—a Puerto Rican community archive in Chicago—advancing anticolonial praxis and Latinx representation in knowledge production.

• Race and Ethnicity
• Sociology of Knowledge and Culture
• Latinx Politics and Identity
• +6 more

José Itzigsohn is a Professor in the Department of Sociology at Brown University. His research focuses on decolonizing sociological theory, racialized modernity, and alternative economic systems. He holds a Ph.D. from Johns Hopkins University. His current work emphasizes rethinking sociology through the lens of W.E.B. Du Bois and Anna Julia Cooper, critiquing racial/colonial structures in knowledge systems. Education: Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University Research interests include global intersections of class/race in racial and colonial capitalism, marginalized communities' solidarity economies, and antiracist theoretical frameworks. He advocates for a sociological discipline rooted in historical global analysis and racial justice. His theoretical work challenges Eurocentric paradigms, emphasizing relational global sociology. No recent articles were explicitly listed in the provided materials. Professional activities include organizing book launches (e.g., The Sociology of W.E.B. Du Bois ) and public engagements on decolonizing academic disciplines.

• Du Boisian Sociology
• Decolonizing Sociological Theory
• Racialized Modernity
• +4 more

Reiland Rabaka serves as Professor of African, African American, and Caribbean Studies in the Department of Ethnic Studies at the University of Colorado Boulder's College of Arts and Sciences. He is Founder and Director of the Center for African & African American Studies and holds a Research Fellowship at the University of South Africa (UNISA). His academic leadership spans critical race scholarship, Africana studies, and decolonial theory. Rabaka's research focuses on African and African American history, politics, and social movements , with specialized expertise in Black feminist theory, Black sexuality studies, and Black popular music . His work bridges critical race theory with decolonial frameworks, examining cultural production as resistance across eras from the Civil Rights Movement to contemporary hip hop. Key contributions include reconstructing Du Bois's intersectional sociology and analyzing music as liberation praxis. His 19 books and 100+ publications reveal consistent engagement with W.E.B. Du Bois's theoretical legacy Black radical traditions Music as political expression Decolonial epistemologies Recent works like The Funk Movement (2025) demonstrate evolving focus on gendered cultural production within liberation movements. Scientific recognition includes: National Endowment for Humanities/Arts/Science funding Eugene M. Kayden Book Award Cheikh Anta Diop Book Award National Council for Black Studies’ Distinguished Career Award Rabaka's media presence spans NPR, BBC, CNN, and The New York Times , translating scholarship into public discourse. His community engagement includes distinguished teaching awards and service citations, while his creative work as poet and musician informs his interdisciplinary approach to Black cultural studies.

• African and African American history
• African and African American politics
• African and African American social movements
• +7 more

Kalasia Ojeh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political, Social and Cultural Sciences at Kean University, where she teaches Methods of Social Research, American Ethnic and Racial Groups, and Statistics. As a Black sociologist and scholar-activist, her work challenges race-neutral ideologies in sociology through centering theories developed by and for people of African descent. She holds a PhD from the University of Cincinnati, an MA from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a BA from Franklin & Marshall College. Her research focuses on sociology of race and racism, status attainment, and the historiography of Black scholarship within sociological canon. Dr. Ojeh's current book project, A (Re)Introduction to Du Bois (co-authored with Earl Wright II), establishes Du Boisian Sociology as the study of race-centered social patterns impacting societal structure. Her publications analyze the Atlanta Sociological Laboratory's pragmatic methodologies and contrast early Black sociological contributions with mainstream journals like the American Journal of Sociology. Her recent work trends emphasize reclaiming Black intellectual heritage in sociology, examining race as a social construction, and critiquing exclusionary practices in academic historiography through historical comparative analysis and theoretical reclamation.

• Sociology of Race and Racism
• Status Attainment
• Black Studies
• +3 more

Karida L. Brown is a Professor of Sociology at Emory University, with affiliations in the Department of Sociology and the Emory College of Arts and Sciences. She holds a PhD from Brown University and has held academic appointments at UCLA, Fisk University, and the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. Her research focuses on historical and cultural sociology, with emphases on race, racialization, and the legacy of W.E.B. Du Bois. She has authored award-winning books including *Gone Home: Race and Roots through Appalachia* and co-authored *The Sociology of W.E.B. Du Bois*. Education includes a PhD in Sociology (Brown University, 2016), MPA in Government (University of Pennsylvania, 2009), and BBA in Risk Management (Temple University, 2004). She has received grants from the William T. Grant Foundation, Ford Foundation, and Mellon Foundation, among others. Her work bridges academia and public scholarship, including curating exhibitions like *Gone Home* and co-editing *The New Brownies Book: A Love Letter to Black Families*, which won a 2024 NAACP Image Award. Awards include the ASA Best Dissertation Award (2017) and Cox Book Award (2019). She advises graduate students in sociology and African American studies and serves on editorial boards for journals like *Southern Cultures* and *Ethnic and Racial Studies*.

• Historical Sociology
• Cultural Sociology
• Race & Ethnicity
• +7 more

Reem Abou-Samra is a Lecturer in the Department of American Culture at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. She holds a Ph.D. in Political Science from Wayne State University, with minors in World and American Politics, and dual Master's degrees in Political Science and Near Eastern Studies. Her research focuses on identity politics, Islamic studies, and the intersection of race, religion, and power in American and Middle Eastern contexts. She teaches courses on Arab American Studies and utilizes a dialectical approach emphasizing agency and structure in her pedagogy. Education: Ph.D., Political Science (Political Theory), Wayne State University, 2014 M.A., Political Science (Political Theory), Wayne State University, 2012 M.A., Classical Modern Languages, Literatures, and Cultures (Arabic and Islam), Wayne State University, 2009 B.A., Political Science, University of Massachusetts, 2006 Research Interests: Muslim American identity and patriotism, Pan-Arabism, hadith authentication, Du Boisian theory, and the cultural history of SWANA (Southwest Asia and North Africa) regions. Teaching: Courses include 'Arab in America' and 'Introduction to Arab-American Studies.' Her pedagogy emphasizes interactive discussions to empower students' agency in shaping narratives and environments. Labs/Teams: Engaged with interdisciplinary research in American Culture and Arab/Muslim American Studies programs at the University of Michigan.

• American Studies
• Arab and Muslim American Studies
• Political Theory
• +4 more

Ali Meghji is an Associate Professor in Social Inequalities at the Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge. His research bridges critical race theory and postcolonial sociology to explore global racialization dynamics, challenging methodological nationalism in race scholarship. He co-edits the British Journal of Sociology and Sociology Compass , chairs the BSA’s Post/decolonial Transformations subgroup , and contributes to editorial boards of key journals. Visiting Fellow, Harvard’s Weatherhead & Hutchins Centres Research Fellow, Sidney Sussex College His work, funded by the Isaac Newton Trust and Cambridge School of HSS , examines the global dimensions of Black sociological thought through archival analysis of W.E.B. Du Bois, Franklin Frazier, Anna Julia Cooper, St Clair Drake, and Ida Wells-Barnett. He supervises graduate research in critical race theory , empire studies , and de/postcolonial sociology . Recent articles engage with topics like colonial continuities, global racial orders, and epistemic disobedience, reflecting his focus on interdisciplinary synergies between critical race theory, decolonial thought, and global crises. His editorial work advances decolonizing methodologies in British sociology. Scientific Awards Governing Body Fellow Ali leads courses such as SOC12 Empire, Colonialism, Imperialism and the MPhil in Marginality and Exclusion . He contributes to debates on post-racial ideologies, cultural consumption, and racialized social systems, particularly in the contexts of Trumpamerica , Brexit Britain , and COVID-19 disparities.

• Critical Race Theory
• Postcolonial Sociology
• Decolonial Theory
• +4 more

Melissa F. Weiner serves as Professor of Sociology in the Sociology & Anthropology Department at College of the Holy Cross, specializing in critical race and decolonial scholarship examining white supremacist mechanisms of racism and colonialism across the United States and Dutch Kingdom. Her research critically analyzes educational systems, historical slavery legacies, and transnational racial formations. Her academic foundation includes: BA in Sociology and BS in Journalism from Boston University (2000) Ph.D. in Sociology from University of Minnesota - Twin Cities (2006) Weiner's research centers on the intersections of race, colonialism, and education, with particular focus on Dutch primary schooling and US educational justice movements. She employs critical discourse analysis and historical sociology to expose how textbooks and classroom practices perpetuate racial hierarchies while advancing decolonial frameworks through works like Smash the Pillars: Decoloniality and the Imaginary of Color in the Dutch Kingdom (2018). Analysis of her fifteen most recent publications reveals consistent thematic threads: Dutch colonial amnesia in education (2014-2018), transnational slavery studies (2022-2023), and contemporary critiques of racial erasure in academic discourse (2023). Her methodology bridges historical analysis with ethnographic classroom observation, demonstrating how racial neoliberalism operates through seemingly neutral educational structures across national contexts.

• Critical Race Theory
• Decolonial Sociology
• Racism
• +5 more

David Cort is Professor of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, specializing in social demography, health disparities, and labor stratification. His research examines HIV stigma dynamics, occupational hierarchies, and migration outcomes. Key publications analyze how stigma beliefs influence sexual behaviors across 22 African countries, workplace inequality in Sweden, and top-earner segregation in capitalist economies. Methodological work addresses biases in international field research. Current projects include NSF-funded studies on economic inequality and global health interventions. Teaches graduate courses in quantitative methods and social stratification.

• Social Demography
• Social Epidemiology
• Migration Studies
• +3 more

Michael W. Murphy is an Associate Professor in the Department of Black Studies at Occidental College. His research and teaching adopt anticolonial and environmental frameworks to examine sociological thought, with a focus on the socioecological implications of racialization, colonialism, and slavery. He joined Occidental in 2022 after serving as an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Pittsburgh. Education: B.A., University of San Diego M.A., Ph.D., Brown University His pedagogy emphasizes critical reflection on the intersection of human meaning and action within sociohistorical and ecological contexts. At Occidental, he teaches courses such as Black Ecological Thought , Blackness and Anarchism , and Du Boisian Social Theory and Analysis . Research employs comparative, historical, ethnographic, spatial, and visual methods. His current book project, The Plantation Problem: An Inquiry into the Environmental Significance of Race , critiques colonial epistemologies in race-environment discourse by centering Rhode Island's colonial legacy. Professional Affiliations: Published in journals like Environmental Justice , The Journal of World-Systems Research , and Environmental Sociology .

• Environmental Sociology
• Critical Environmental Justice
• Anticolonial Studies
• +5 more

Robert Gooding-Williams is the Brooks and Suzanne Ragen Professor of Philosophy at Yale University. Previously affiliated with institutions including Columbia University, University of Chicago, and Amherst College, he holds both a BA (1975) and PhD (1982) from Yale. His work bridges political philosophy, race theory, and cultural criticism, with a focus on W.E.B. Du Bois and Afro-Modern political thought. Upcoming publications include Democracy and Beauty (Columbia UP, 2025), examining Du Bois's political aesthetics. Research interests emphasize intersections between racial politics and aesthetic theory, modernist philosophy, and critical race studies. His 2025 Political Philosophy and Race Speaker Series at Yale explores these themes further. Awards include the Guggenheim Fellowship (2020) and Yale’s prestigious Wilbur Cross Medal (2023). Teaching and research have consistently focused on marginalized voices in political theory.

• Political Philosophy
• Race Theory
• African-American Political Thought
• +3 more