Mary Patrice Erdmans

Mary Patrice Erdmans is a Professor of Sociology at Case Western Reserve University, affiliated with the Department of Sociology. She earned her Ph.D. from Northwestern University in 1992. Her research explores migration and ethnicity (particularly Poles and Polish Americans), social movements, intersectional inequalities, and narrative methods, with fieldwork including oral histories of Solidarność refugees in Poland.

Erdmans's scholarship investigates transnational migration, political activism, and gender/class dynamics. Her publications analyze Polish-American communities, teen motherhood, and affirmative action, employing ethnographic and historical-comparative approaches. Recent work focuses on unauthorized migration patterns and identity narratives.

Her contributions have been recognized with multiple awards including the Betty and Alfred McClung Lee Book Award, Oskar Halecki Prize (twice), and a Fulbright Scholarship. She served as president of the Polish American Historical Association.