I am an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Sociology Department at Bryn Mawr College and author of Grasping for the American Dream: Racial Segregation, Social Mobility, and Homeownership. My research interests include urban sociology, housing, racism and the sociology of technology.
Housing is a good that structures access to a variety of other societal benefits and shapes many important life outcomes. Housing is a focal point for my research on stratification, racial inequality and urban space because disparities in housing are fundamental to how urban inequality operates. In my work I examine race, inequality and social problems across a variety of other domains as well including Social Media and public urban space. Moving forward, I am pursuing work that can help to address spatial inequalities and structural racism.
My identity and experiences as a light skinned bi-racial Black-White woman have shaped my interest in studying structural racism. Since much of my teaching and scholarship focuses on the Black experience in the US, I think it is important to counter the longstanding history of sociology as a discipline focusing on Black people with a deficit approach. While not ignoring the suffering caused by structural racism, I also seek to celebrate Black culture and Black joy in my research and teaching.