James Y. Chu
B.A., Stanford University, 2011
M.A., Stanford University, 2011
Graduation Year
2020
Dissertation Title
The Organization of Status: Institutions and the Contingent Consequences of Hierarchy
Placement
Assistant Professor of Sociology, Columbia University
My research is concerned with how social institutions and policy interventions lead to inequality and conflict, even when they are designed to do the opposite. What role do ranking systems play in the reproduction of inequality in access to higher education? Do reputations introduce self-fulfilling cycles that widen gaps in student achievement? Do status hierarchies insulate people from aggression, or expose them to it? My work uses social network analysis, field experiments, and other quasi-experimental methods of causal inference to rigorously test answers to these sociological questions. Prior to graduate school, I designed and evaluated education programs for children living in rural China.
Latest Publications
Journal Articles & Book Chapters
Sophia L. Pink, James Chu, James Druckman, David G. Rand, and Robb Willer. 2021. "Elite Party Cues Increase Vaccination Intentions among Republicans." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Andrew G. Walder and James Chu. “Generating a Violent Insurgency: China’s Factional Warfare of 1967-1968.” American Journal of Sociology 126, 1 (July 2020): 99-135.