Sociology

Adriana Ceron

ISPS Graduate Policy Fellow 2025

Adriana Cerón is a PhD candidate in Sociology at Yale University. Her research uses multiple methods to examine the impact of U.S. immigration policy, immigration enforcement, and legal statuses on the lives of immigrants and their families, particularly those from Central America. Currently, Adriana’s work contributes to the growing literature on the aftermath of deportation. Her dissertation unravels the far-reaching consequences of the deportation regime on Salvadorans deported from the U.S., including those who return to the U.S. after deportation. She earned her B.A.

Yuan Hsiao

Assistant Professor of Sociology

Yuan Hsiao’s major research explores the intersection of digital media, social networks, and collective action. His research brings a network perspective to understanding questions pertinent to a variety of online and offline social processes. Examples include how networks on social media contribute to political mobilization, how gang members engage in online and offline conflict relationships, how personal relationships affect the spread of religion, or how community networks affect health behavior.

Grace Kao

IBM Professor of Sociology and Professor of Ethnicity, Race, and Migration (Secondary); Faculty Director; Education Studies; Director, Center for Empirical Research on Stratification and Inequality (CERSI)

Grace Kao is IBM Professor of Sociology; professor of ethnicity, race, and migration; faculty director of education studies; and director of the Center for Empirical Research on Stratification and Inequality (CERSI). She studies race, ethnicity, and immigration as they collectively relate to education and relationships among young people. She also has interests in the effects of migration on young people and has written papers on these topics in Mexico, China, and Spain.

Daniel Karell

Assistant Professor of Sociology

Daniel Karell’s research interests lie at the intersection of culture, communication, and contentious politics. Much of his work draws on digital media data and computational methodologies. Some of Daniel’s current projects examine: how social media shape instances of political unrest and violence; the role of discourse and networks in the growth of extremist online communities; and how people justify and tolerate violence against members of other groups.

Marissa King

Professor of Management and Sociology

Marissa King is an Professor in the School of Management with a secondary appointment in Sociology. Professor King’s current research examines patterns of antidepressant, stimulant, and antipsychotic utilization. In general, her research analyzes the spatial and temporal dimensions of innovation and diffusion. To understand how large-scale phenomena arise from local behavior, she has studied cases ranging from the rise in autism prevalence during the past decade to the organizational foundations of the antislavery movement in the late 19th century.

Julia Lin

ISPS Director's Fellow 2025

Julia Lin is a junior in Silliman College majoring in Sociology on the intensive track. She is interested in workforce, labor, and immigration policy. In the past, she has interned for the Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor and has held roles with the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication and Rank the Vote. On campus, she is a Research Assistant for Professor DeLuca and a counselor for the Yale & You program. During her time at Yale, she has served on the board of Yale Votes: A Student Initiative and the Rural Students Alliance at Yale.

Rourke O'Brien

Associate Professor of Sociology

Rourke O’Brien is an associate professor of sociology. His research focuses on the causes and consequences of social and economic inequalities with substantive interests in household and public finance, economic mobility and population health.

Carlo Sariego

Carlo Sariego is a doctoral candidate in the joint-degree PhD program in Sociology and Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. They are an interdisciplinary sociologist with research and teaching interests in gender/sexuality, medical sociology, and science and technology studies.

Philip Smith

Professor of Sociology; Associate Director Center for Cultural Sociology

Philip Smith is responsible for a dozen books and over sixty articles and chapters. Most recently he is co-author of Incivility: The Rude Stranger in Everyday Life (Cambridge 2010). He is also author of Why War? The Cultural Logic of Iraq, the Gulf War and Suez (Chicago, 2005), Punishment and Culture (Chicago, 2008). His textbook Cultural Theory: An Introduction (Blackwell 2001) has been translated into several languages and is now available in a second edition.

Fanmei Xia

ISPS Graduate Policy Fellow 2025

Fanmei Xia is a PhD student in the Department of Sociology at Yale University. Her research interests are in reproduction, migration, and education. For her current project, she is focused on people’s reproductive decisions and the choice/intention of not having children. She employs multi-methods across different projects. Prior to Yale, she had a background in psychology, public policy, and economics.

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Sociology