580 California St., Suite 400
San Francisco, CA, 94104
Key research themes
1. How does culture fundamentally shape human development and identity across social and institutional contexts?
This research area explores the constitutive role of culture in shaping psychological development, identity formation, and social functioning from early childhood onward. Culture is conceptualized not just as a set of beliefs or values but as an institutional reality embedding individuals within systems of rights, roles, and responsibilities. Understanding culture as both a universal developmental context and a variable set of practices elucidates how human ontogenesis is intertwined with cultural environments, impacting language acquisition, social identity, community participation, and transmission of cultural knowledge.
Key finding: This paper emphasizes culture as an institutional reality that fundamentally shapes human psychological development. It highlights the mutual constitution of biology and culture, arguing that culture provides the 'medium' in... Read more
Key finding: This work analyzes cultural change and diversity as emergent properties of socially learned behavior, emphasizing how cultural transmission shapes group-specific practices and adaptations. It underscores processes of... Read more
Key finding: Focusing on art therapy practice, this paper illustrates how culture, diversity, and identity intersect with social justice, highlighting the historical marginalization of Black identities. It critically examines how culture... Read more
2. In what ways is the concept of race understood, constructed, and contested within anthropology, sociology, and related fields?
This theme investigates the complex conceptual and empirical debates about race as a social, biological, and political category. It foregrounds anthropology and sociology's critical interrogation of race as a social construct with significant material consequences, such as racism and health disparities. The research emphasizes distinctions between race as a categorization and race as a process of racialization, exploring issues of racial identity, scientific validity, ideological use, and systemic inequality within various geopolitical contexts.
Key finding: This qualitative study reveals anthropologists’ varied interpretations of race beyond simplistic social construction claims. It categorizes approaches as 'constructors,' 'shifters,' and 'reconcilers', highlighting divergent... Read more
Key finding: This paper contextualizes the sociology of race and ethnicity within its historical and disciplinary development, emphasizing the need for structural and institutional analyses of race. It critiques earlier sociological... Read more
Key finding: This defense of the racialization concept clarifies it as a conceptual tool distinguishing socially constructed racial categories from biological race realities. It argues against a unified theory of racialization due to its... Read more
Key finding: This chapter critiques the abstraction in contemporary race theory and advocates for materially grounded approaches that integrate micro-level social contexts with global processes such as migration. It highlights the... Read more
Key finding: This study critically examines the scientific validity of race from biological, sociological, and anthropological perspectives, particularly addressing IQ differences and genetic distinctions. It traces the historical... Read more
3. How do sociocultural theories and communication studies address the intersections of race, culture, learning, and identity?
This theme focuses on exploring race and culture from sociocultural and communication theoretical perspectives, especially relating to learning and identity development. It critiques traditional deficit models of minority achievement and challenges ahistorical and decontextualized treatments of race in communication scholarship. The research underscores interactive, culturally situated understandings of learning and identity, promoting reflexivity in interpersonal and institutional contexts, and seeks pedagogical and theoretical frameworks that capture race as a dynamic, relational, and power-laden phenomenon.
Key finding: This article synthesizes sociocultural theory with research on race and learning to address limitations in existing deficit-based explanations of minority student achievement. It emphasizes culture as moment-to-moment... Read more
Key finding: This paper critiques mainstream communication theory for its significant Eurocentric and color-blind biases, noting the near-absence of substantive analyses of race and racism. It argues race is treated as an ahistorical,... Read more
Key finding: Using a diversity theatre workshop as a case study, this paper shows how experiential, narrative approaches can facilitate deeper engagement with complex social identities, including race and culture. Storytelling enables... Read more
Key finding: This article replicates and extends findings on the use of autobiographical theatre to promote diversity learning. It highlights the role of relational engagement, narrative embodiment, and dialogical reflection in... Read more
Key finding: This study addresses the often overlooked role of therapists' own cultures, especially White therapists, in cross-cultural clinical encounters. It argues for a multi-dimensional, reflexive engagement with therapists'... Read more