Robert Chase

Robert Chase is an Associate Professor of History at Stony Brook University's College of Arts and Sciences. As a historian specializing in the post-1945 United States with particular focus on carceral studies, civil rights movements, and labor history, his scholarship examines how social justice movements have confronted mass incarceration systems through legal and political strategies.

• Ph.D. from University of Maryland (2009)
• Recipient of ACLS Sustaining Public Engagement Grant (2022-2023)
• Visiting fellowships at multiple institutions including University of Connecticut Humanities Institute

His research investigates:

• Prisoners' Rights Movement - Analyzing southern penal institutions' racial hierarchies during 1960-1980s
• Migration Detention Systems - Historical connections between border control and carceral institutions
• Racialized Law Enforcement - Through projects like Writing Beyond the Prison: Reimaging the Carceral Ecosystem

Selected publications include:

• We Are Not Slaves (UNC Press, 2020) - Winner of four major academic awards
• Caging Borders and Carceral States (UNC Press, 2019) - Co-edited volume with immigration historians
• Journal articles in Journal of American History and Journal of Urban History

His scientific awards include:

• 2020 American Society of Criminology Best Book Award
• 2020 Southern Historical Association H.L. Mitchell Award
• 2019 ACLS Public Engagement Grant
• 2015-2016 Fellowships at Rutgers, SMU, and Case Western

Professor Chase has publicly engaged with national media outlets (CNN, MSNBC) and leads graduate student mentorship in:

• Carceral State History
• 20th Century Racial Politics
• Prison-Labor Systems
• Southwestern Border Studies