Robert Gay

Professor of Sociology at Connecticut College since 1988, Robert Gay specializes in democracy, civil society, and organized crime in Brazil. He serves as a core faculty member within the Sociology Department and previously chaired the department for fifteen years while directing the Toor Cummings Center for International Studies and the Liberal Arts (CISLA) for two terms.

• B.A., University College London
• M.A., Syracuse University
• Ph.D., Brown University

Gay's research centers on ethnographic fieldwork in Rio de Janeiro's favelas, examining political organization, drug trafficking networks, and violence. His work bridges political sociology and criminology through longitudinal studies of marginalized communities, with particular focus on how informal power structures operate within Brazilian urban landscapes. He has published three major scholarly books documenting testimonies from key figures in Brazil's organized crime ecosystem.

His publication trends reveal a deepening engagement with criminal governance structures, evolving from early studies of neighborhood associations to intimate analyses of drug faction leadership. This trajectory highlights Brazil's complex interplay between state institutions and extralegal power networks.

• ACLS research grant for ethnographic fieldwork
• Lemann Visiting Scholar at Harvard University (2007)

Gay has mentored numerous honors students through Connecticut College's rigorous sociology program while securing significant external funding for his Brazil-based research. His departmental leadership included extensive curriculum development and international partnership building through CISLA. Though not directing a formal lab, his field research established critical connections with academic and community networks in Rio de Janeiro.