General Research Areas:

Racial and Ethnic Relations/Stratification, Identity Politics, Immigration, Social Mobility, Social Psychology 

Current Research: 

I am interested in exploring the ways the racialized political economy of a nation—as well as the ideologies, cultures, and political interests tied to that economy— shape the lived realities of its most marginalized populations. Specifically, I ask: How (and why) does racial inequality and racial conflict persist in countries that claim to be “post-racial” societies? In what ways is the upward social mobility of racial/ethnic minorities bound by the histories, cultures, laws, and policies of the nation-state they reside in? What are the universal AND particular aspects of race that reproduce both similar AND disparate modes of racial inequality across national contexts? And lastly, from a social psychology standpoint, how do a nations’ de facto and de jure notions of race, citizenship, and status shape the intergroup relations and identity boundary processes of its native and immigrant populations? 

Overall, my work aims to improve the lives of marginalized populations in the United States and abroad by highlighting the role of racial capitalism in shaping the micro-level (identity formations), meso-level (individual/collective political behaviors, social networks, inter- and intra-group relations) and macro-level (social inequities, policy decisions) processes of a society. To do so, I draw on a range of quantitative and qualitative methods and data sources.

Curriculum Vitae

Recent Publications: 

Bryan, B. & Alao, T. (2023). “Exploring the Implications of Criminal Justice Contact for Housing”, in McCabe, B. & Rosen, E. (ed.) The Sociology of Housing: An Edited Volume. University of Chicago Press.

Corrington, A., Fa‐Kaji, N. M., Hebl, M. R., King, E. B., Stewart, D., & Alao, T. (2022). The impact of organizational statements of support for the black community in the wake of a racial mega‐threat on organizational attraction and revenue. Human Resource Management, 61(6), 699-722. 

Additional Links: 

“LinkedIn” (hyperlink: https://www.linkedin.com/in/temi-alao/)