Our Faculty
sociology
PAUL ALMEIDA
Professor Almeida’s research centers on the efficacy of collective action at the local, national and global levels of social and political life. He currently works on environmental and economic justice-based social movements.
Email: palmedia@ucmerced.edu
IRENEE R. BEATTIE
Professor Beattie studies educational inequality along the lines of race, class, gender and sexuality. A current project uses quantitative analysis and focus groups to understand intersectional variation in academic outcomes among LGBTQ+ college students.
Email: ibeattie@ucmerced.edu
KYLE DODSON
Professor Dodson studies the role of political institutions in fostering political behavior and attitudes, with an emphasis on cross-national differences and over-time change.
Email: kdodson2@ucmerced.edu
CHARLIE EATON
Dr. Eaton investigates the power of elites in politics and the economy, as well as policy and organizational strategies to rebalance power and wealth towards ordinary people. In his latest research, Dr. Eaton examines how billionaires from finance and from big tech adopted more oligarchical roles in US politics.
Email: ceaton2@ucmerced.edu
EDWARD OROZCO FLORES
Professor Flores' research focuses on labor, immigration, religion, and local social movements. He is faculty director of the UC Merced Community and Labor Center
Email: eflores52@ucmerced.edu
TANYA GOLASH-BOZA
Professor Golash-Boza’s research focuses on the intersection between racism, capitalism and the law, with an emphasis on deportation, incarceration, and gentrification.
Email: tgolash-boza@ucmerced.edu
LAURA HAMILTON
Professor Hamilton studies gender, family and education, with a specific focus on the transitions to adulthood among college students.
Email: lhamilton2@ucmerced.edu
yang lor
Professor Lor studies education, stratification, culture, race & ethnicity, Asian Americans, and political participation.
Email: ylor2@ucmerced.edu
Amanda Mireles
Professor Mireles studies social inequality, gender, and the family.
Email: amireles5@ucmerced.edu
Andrea Polonijo
Professor Polonijo studies health disparities along axes of socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity. Her current projects focus on social determinants of vaccination across the life course.
Email: apolonijo@ucmerced.edu
Daisy Reyes
Professor Reyes is primarily interested in how race and ethnicity are constructed and mobilized within institutions, with particular focus on sites critical for social mobility, like colleges and universities. Her newest project examines the mobility trajectories of college-educated Latinx millennials with specific attention to their financial experiences and familial arrangements.
Email: daisy.reyes@ucmerced.edu
ZULEMA VALDEZ
Professor Valdez specializes in the study of social inequality in labor markets, entrepreneurship, and health from an intersectional perspective (race, class, & gender) and among Latinas/os in the U.S.
Email: zvaldez@ucmerced.edu
Meredith Van Natta
Professor Van Natta's research explores the intersection of citizenship and science, medicine, and technology policy. Her current project examines how immigrant patients and their healthcare providers in the U.S. balance health risks against the threat of detention and deportation.
Email: mvannatta@ucmerced.edu
Contact
Charlie Eaton
Sociology Graduate Program Chair
Email: ceaton2@ucmerced.edu
Website: sociology.ucmerced.edu