STEM Ed

I am a sociologist who studies the relationship between technological change and inequality. Drawing upon research and theory in sociology and other disciplines, the main objective of my academic work is to investigate the cultural processes that shape inequality in the digital age. I am particularly interested in how organizations and institutions understand and shape technological competence, make sense of new technologies, and act as gatekeepers to contribute to racial/ethnic, socioeconomic, and gender inequality in education and healthcare.

In my work I ask: What does it means to be good with technology and how does this differ from stereotypes about technological ability? How do educational and healthcare organizations and institutions shape technology learning and sort technologies to shape inequities by race/ethnicity, social class, and gender? More broadly, my research calls into question the digital divide logic that groups historically marginalized in technological fields are victims of their own deficits—that they lack the skills to create a more equitable technological future. In contrast, my work illuminates how organizational and institutional gatekeeping dynamics perpetuate digital inequality and, more hopefully, cases where inequities do not occur that reveal how they may be addressed.

Overall, my work offers new instruments and evidence, novel theoretical tools, and insights to inform policy and practice about inequality in education and healthcare in the digital age.