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Raj Andrew Ghoshal

Associate Professor of Sociology, Elon University

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About Raj

Ghoshal's research and teaching address race and class inequality, political sociology, social movements, and crime and punishment, with focus on the United States. His current research investigates how Americans think about race and racism. He has published on racial discrimination, boundaries, and memorialization of past violence; on American politics and social movements; and on pedagogies of civic engagement.

In the News

Opinion: "A Crime Boom? Politicians are Misleading Us.," Raj Andrew Ghoshal, The Charlotte Observer, July 24, 2024.
Opinion: "Fake History: Confederate Memorials Erase Our Past," Raj Andrew Ghoshal, The Winston-Salem Journal, August 30, 2017.

Publications

"Racial Appraisals by White, Black, Hispanic, and Multiracial Americans" Sociology of Race and Ethnicity (forthcoming).

Examines how Americans of varied demographic backgrounds think in different and similar ways about what race is. First published article to systematically compare racial appraisals across different demographic groups.

"A Social Movement Generation: Cohort and Period Trends in Protest Attendance and Petition Signing" (with Neal Caren and Vanesa Ribasa). American Sociological Review 76, no. 1 (2011): 125–151.

Explores trends in political participation—specifically protest attendance and petition signing—in the United States from 1973 to 2008. Finds that protest participation is largely influenced by generational differences, though most of this is due to changes in population composition, not wider diffusion to new social groups. 

"Argument Forms, Frames, and Value Conflict: Persuasion in the Case of Same-Sex Marriage" Cultural Sociology 3, no. 1 (2009): 76-101.

Evaluates what kinds of arguments most effectively shape opinions in same-sex marriage debates. Findings suggest that narrative appeals along with non-narrative appeals that directly challenge ideas of same-sex marriage as inherently a religious issue are most likely to induce greater favourability toward same-sex marriage.