Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration

Race, ethnicity, and migration (REI) are fundamental to the social organization of the United States and beyond. Faculty in the Department of Sociology deploy a wide range of theoretical perspectives and methodologies to interrogate the social constructions and consequences of race, ethnicity, and immigration in the 21st century. Our Faculty and doctoral students engage in cutting-edge research examining the significance of REI across diverse contexts and social processes, including urban spaces, digital platforms, science and medicine, social movements, formal organizations, civic engagement, and popular culture, among others. We offer theoretical overview courses on race and immigration as well as focused topics such as the "Politics of Diversity," Place Inequality," "Immigration and Society," "Global Mobility and Inequality," and "Biological Citizenship."

The sociology faculty are currently engaged in a wide range of research related to the sociology of race, ethnicity, and immigration. These include projects on: race and residential real estate practices in neighborhoods (Dinzey-Flores); the intersection of race and genetics (Bliss); racialized incorporation of immigrants in the United States (Chaudhary); race and the production and performance of popular culture (Chaudhary); racial dimensions of U.S. immigration policy (Lee); race x gender in digital culture and networked movements (Jones); the meaning of diversity in U.S. biomedicine (Bliss; Lee); and race and labor market inequality in the new economy (Mai). The methods employed include quantitative analyses of large data sets, ethnography and interviews, archival analysis, field and survey experiments, and digital ethnography. Thus, work in the race, ethnicity, and immigration program area reflects the diverse multi-method approach to research and training in the sociology department at Rutgers.

Graduate students collaborate with faculty and work on a range of projects on topics including: race, gender, and urban violence; racialized labor market integration processes; Puerto Rican settlement and integration; group threat and politics; performance of race in popular music; multiracial identification and the media; race, culture, and prison order; and racism, biomedicine, and health disparities.

At the undergraduate level, we offer a variety of courses across the levels of the curriculum on minority groups, comparative immigration studies, race relations, and immigrant minorities in the United States.