Sociology Research Area

Dr. Matt Bakker conducts research on the economic and political dimensions of transnational migration between Latin America and the United States. He has published widely on migrant political transnationalism across the US-Mexico divide and on the making of migrant remittances as a development tool. His latest research has focused on local immigration policies in the United States and examined efforts by social movements and local government officials to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities and their migrant detention and deportation apparatus.

Dr. Janine DeWitt’s research documents exclusionary housing practices by mapping racial covenants in Arlington (1900s – 1960s). Racial covenants are now illegal; these clauses were placed in deeds to limit who could purchase or occupy land, based on race, ethnicity, or religion. The research team plans to expand the project to Northern Virginia, exploring the resilience and agency of African Americans as they navigated an adverse housing environment during the Jim Crow era. While this project centers on events occurring in the past, the team’s research offers a foundation for contemporary dialogues about housing equity. Her book, Navigating Place-Based Learning: Mapping for a Better World, outlines the value of critical place-based teaching.

Dr. Delario Lindsey has always been interested in the sociology of cities, urban inequality and urban development. While at Marymount, his research has focused on understanding the issues shaping development and community change in the greater DMV. He serves as the principal investigator of an IRB-approved research project that explores the processes influencing community change in historically African-American communities in Arlington, Virginia. In particular, this project seeks to understand the social, political and economic forces contributing to the sustainability of diverse, stable a