New Faculty Spotlight: Welcome Jelani Ince

What is your Research Focus?

My research employs the lens of cultural sociology to examine how racial diversity is managed in formal organizations through the ordinary procedures and the social interactions between actors, as well as how social movements shape the political process in response to racial injustice. One project incorporates two years of ethnographic data collection in an interracial religious organization in St. Louis, MO to understand how social interactions shape the contours and trajectories of contemporary diversity efforts as well as the impact of these efforts on actors within the organization. Another project focuses on how digital communities and social movement behavior shape public opinion and influence the political process. Specifically, I examine the Black Lives Matter movement and the various tactics that movement actors use to disseminate information about movement activity, deploy frames for recruitment, inclusion, and resistance, and shape how Americans talk about the perpetuation of racialized state violence. My research has received support from the Ford Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation, and the Religious Research Association.

What opportunities at the UW excite you?

I am excited that the UW is uniquely situated to advance new and exciting pathways towards understanding how organizations are capable to build the future that we need, while also considering the enduring legacy of the past on present-day relationships, institutions, and systems. I am thrilled to work in a department that is poised to lead these necessary and critical interventions. I am also excited about building relationships with other faculty and mentors within the UW system, in large part due to the Faculty Development Program organized by Prof. Alexes Harris. It is important to connect with other underrepresented faculty who are committed to each other’s success and flourishing within a predominately white university