Aliya Saperstein

Associate Professor of Sociology

Ph.D., University of California, Berkeley, 2008

CV

Google Scholar Citations page

Email:

asaper@stanford.edu

Phone:

650-725-4115

About

Professor Saperstein received her B.A. in Sociology from the University of Washington and her Ph.D. in Sociology and Demography from the University of California-Berkeley. In 2016, she received the Early Achievement Award from the Population Association of America. She has also been a Visiting Scholar at Sciences Po and the Russell Sage Foundation.

Her research focuses on the social processes through which people come to perceive, name, and deploy seemingly immutable categorical differences —such as race and sex—and how such processes create and maintain social inequality. Her current research projects explore several strands of this subject, including:

The relationship between individual-level racial fluidity and the maintenance of group boundaries, racial stereotypes, and hierarchies.
The implications of methodological decisions, especially the measurement of race/ethnicity and sex/gender in surveys, for studies of stratification and health disparities.

This research has been published for social science audiences in the American Journal of Sociology,the Annual Review of Sociology, Demography, Gender & Societyand Ethnic and Racial Studies,among other venues, and for general science audiences in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciencesand PLoS One. It also has been recognized with multiple article awards, and gained attention from national media outlets, including NPR and The Colbert Report.

Selected Publications

Journal Articles & Book Chapters

Horowitz, Adam L., Aliya Saperstein, Jasmine Little, Martin Maiers and Jill A. Hollenbach. 2019. "Consumer (Dis-)interest in Genetic Ancestry Testing: The Roles of Race, Immigration, and Ancestral Certainty." New Genetics and Society, DOI: 10.1080/14636778.2018.1562327

Morning, Ann and Aliya Saperstein. 2018. “The Generational Locus of Multiraciality and Its Implications for Racial Self-Identification ." The ANNALS of the American Academy of Political and Social Science 677(1): 57–68.

Saperstein, Aliya and Andrew M. Penner. 2016. “Still Searching for a True Race? Reply to Kramer et al. and Alba et al.” American Journal of Sociology122(1): 263-85.

Magliozzi, Devon, Aliya Saperstein, and Laurel Westbrook. 2016. “Scaling Up: Representing Gender Diversity in Survey Research.” Socius2: 2378023116664352.

Saperstein, Aliya, Jessica M. Kizer, and Andrew M. Penner. 2016. "Making the Most of Multiple Measures: Disentangling the Effects of Different Dimensions of Race in Survey Research." American Behavioral Scientist60(4):519-537.

Westbrook, Laurel and Aliya Saperstein. 2015. “New Categories Are Not Enough: Rethinking the Measurement of Sex and Gender in Social Surveys.” Gender & Society29(4): 534-60.

Penner, Andrew M. and Aliya Saperstein. 2015. “Disentangling the Effects of Racial Self-identification and Classification by Others: The Case of Arrest." Demography52(3):1017-24.

Saperstein, Aliya, Andrew M. Penner and Jessica M. Kizer. 2014. "The Criminal Justice System and the Racialization of Perceptions." The Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science651: 104-21.

Saperstein, Aliya and Andrew M. Penner. 2014. "Beyond the Looking Glass: Exploring Fluidity in Racial Self-Identification and Interviewer Classification." Sociological Perspectives57(2): 186-207.

Bailey, Stanley R., Aliya Saperstein and Andrew M. Penner. 2014. "Race, Color and Income Inequality Across the Americas." Demographic Research31(24): 735-756.

*Editor's Choice Award*

Saperstein, Aliya and Aaron Gullickson. 2013. “A Mulatto Escape Hatch? Examining Evidence of U.S. Racial and Social Mobility in the Jim Crow Era.” Demography50(5): 1921-42.

*2013 IPUMS Research Award, Minnesota Population Center*

Saperstein, Aliya, Andrew M. Penner and Ryan Light. 2013. “Racial Formation in Perspective: Connecting Individuals, Institutions and Power Relations.” Annual Review of Sociology39: 359–378.

Penner, Andrew M. and Aliya Saperstein. 2013. “Engendering Racial Perceptions: An Intersectional Analysis of How Social Status Shapes Race.” Gender & Society27(3): 319-44.

*2014 Kimberle Crenshaw Outstanding Paper Award, SSSP Racial and Ethnic Minorities Division*

Saperstein, Aliya and Andrew M. Penner. 2012. “Racial Fluidity and Inequality in the United States.” American Journal of Sociology118(3): 676-727.

*2013 Roger V. Gould Prize, American Journal of Sociology*

*2014 Oliver Cromwell Cox Best Article Award, ASA Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities*

Saperstein, Aliya. 2012. “Capturing Complexity in the United States: Which Aspects of Race Matter and When?” Ethnic and Racial Studies35(8): 1484-1502.

Freeman, Jonathan, Andrew M. Penner, Aliya Saperstein, Matthias Scheutz and Nalini Ambady. 2011. “Looking the Part: Social Status Cues Shape Race Perception.” PLoS One6(9): e25107.

Related News