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Sophie Bjork-James

Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University
Chapter Member: Tennessee SSN
Areas of Expertise:

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About Sophie

Bjork-James has over ten years of experience researching both the US based Religious Right and the white nationalist movements. Bjork-James is finalizing a book manuscript on race and evangelical politics in the United States and is beginning a new project on anti-racist responses to the white nationalist movement. Bjork-James work has appeared in American Anthropologist, Oxford Bibliographies, Sex Roles: A Journal of Research, and The Ethnic Studies Review. Bjork-Jamesis co-editor of the book, Beyond Populism: Angry Politics and the Twilight of Neoliberalism (University of West Virginia Press, 2002). Bjork-James has appeared on the NBC Nightly News, NPR’s All Things Considered, and BBC Radio 4’s Today.

Contributions | No Jargon Podcast | In the News | Publications

Contributions

We Crushed the Curve, the Far-Right Took This as a Recruitment Tool

Commentary,

Nearly Two Centuries Ago, a QAnon-Like Conspiracy Theory Propelled Candidates to Congress

Commentary,

In the News

" The Biggest Threats to American Democracy? White Nationalists and Politicians Who Embrace Them," Sophie Bjork-James, Opinion, Los Angeles Times, October 10, 2020.
Sophie Bjork-James quoted on feedback loop between Donald Trump’s Twitter feed and right-wing extremist movements, "Far-Right Internet Groups Listen for Trump’s Approval, and Often Hear It" The New York Times, November 4, 2018.
Sophie Bjork-James quoted on many in the movement trying to use anti-immigrant sentiment as a recruitment tool, "‘Unite the Right 2’ Exposes White Nationalist Movement in Disarray " The Hill, August 12, 2018.
Sophie Bjork-James quoted on how age-old misogyny morphed into an explicit ideology of hate., "The Rise of Male Supremacist" The New Republic, April 4, 2018.
Sophie Bjork-James quoted on journalists dilemma of correctly covering the resurgence of the white nationalist movement, "Reporters Grapple With the ‘Right’ Way to Cover the Far Right" The Christian Science Monitor, December 28, 2017.
Guest to discuss confederate symbols provide flash points for conflict on NBC Nightly News, Sophie Bjork-James, August 13, 2017.
Guest to discuss Donald Trump's presidential campaign has inspired white supremacist groups' activity online. on All Things Considered, Sophie Bjork-James, July 5, 2016.

Publications

Beyond Populism (with Jeff Maskovsky) (West Virginia University Press, 2020).

Examines the new destructive projects of resentment that have surfaced in the political spaces opened by neoliberalism’s failures, particularly since the financial collapse of 2008. Contextualizes the recent history of the Global North.

"Training the Porous Body: Evangelicals and the Ex-Gay Movement" Anthropologist 120, no. 4 (2018): 647-658.

Examines how US evangelical opposition to LGBT rights stems from a unique understanding of sexuality and the person.

"Feminist Ethnography in Cyberspace: Imagining Families in the Cloud" Sex Roles: A Journal of Research 73, no. 3 (2015): 113-124.

Explores the relevance of the ethnographic study of the Internet for feminist scholars interested in families.