Daanika Gordon

Daanika Gordon is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Tufts University, with a secondary appointment in Studies in Race, Colonialism, and Diaspora. Her research explores the intersection of racial inequality, urban governance, and policing through organizational and interactional lenses.

• PhD, University of Wisconsin–Madison (2018)
• MS, University of Wisconsin–Madison (2013)
• BA, Development Studies & Sociology, UC Berkeley (2009)

Her work connects theories of race and racism with urban political economy and organizational behavior, focusing on how:

• Policing functions as a tool for urban governance
• Racial inequalities emerge from race-neutral policies
• Segregation is dynamically produced through relational processes

Recent publications analyze police funding debates, data science applications in policing, and the bureaucratic dissociation of race. Her groundbreaking 2022 book Policing the Racial Divide won the 2023 Edwin H. Sutherland Book Award.

She teaches sociology of race, criminal legal systems, and research design while serving on the advisory committee for the Tufts University Prison Initiative. Her research has been funded by:

• Institute for Citizens & Scholars
• Bernstein Faculty Fellowship
• Neubauer Faculty Fellowship
• National Science Foundation