Beka Guluma

I am a Ph.D. candidate in Sociology at Stanford University. My research examines the relationship between immigration, and racial and ethnic identity with a particular focus on Black immigrants and Africa. My current work centers on Oromo immigrants from Ethiopia. Drawing on in-depth interviews and participant observation in the Washington, D.C. and Minneapolis/St. Paul metro areas, I explore how Oromo immigrants’ integration into American society, and ethnic and racial identities are and continue to be informed by ethnic conflict in the homeland. In my research, I attend to how homeland ethnic rivalries migrate from Ethiopia to the United States and both shape the transmission of Oromo identity across generations and inform how Oromo immigrants stay involved in homeland affairs.

My research has been generously supported by several grants including the Stanford University Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity (CCSRE) Dissertation Fellowship and the Stanford University Ethnography Lab Graduate Fellowship. Prior to advancing to candidacy, I earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Michigan and an M.A. in Sociology from Stanford University. For more information on my professional record, see my CV.

My name is pronounced "bay-kah" and my preferred pronouns are he/him/his.

Recent Publications

Guluma, Beka, and Aliya Saperstein. 2022. “Consistent Divisions or Methodological Decisions? Assessing the U.S. Racial Hierarchy Across Outcomes.” Race and Social Problems 14(3):189-207.