Christopher Hu, Ph.D.

About Me

Hi there! I am an ethnographer who studies race, immigration, and education. I am an assistant professor of social and cultural studies in education at The University of Alabama. I completed my PhD in the social foundations of education at the University of Virginia. Previously, I was a high school chemistry teacher in rural Virginia. Questions? Want to connect? Email me at chu8@ua.edu!

• Research & Teaching Synopsis: My work is grounded in the social-cultural-philosophical-and-historical foundations of schooling and education. At the core of my research is an enduring theoretical interest in understanding how and why education and the social structure of race are intricately intertwined. In particular, I study Asian immigrant and Asian American communities, their perspectives on education, and their racialization within educational contexts. The key theoretical constructs throughout my work include racialization, power, politics, and equity. I engage these questions through ethnographic, qualitative, and discourse analytic methods.

Current Projects

• Education and the Pursuit of Success in a Chinese Immigrant Community: My dissertation examines the collective cultural practices of a highly educated professional-class Chinese community in the white affluent suburbs of NJ. My analysis focuses on how immigrant communities navigate racialized America, define what it means to be successful, and interpret education as a modality to achieve status preservation and social esteem. I am currently in the process of revising this work into both journal articles and an eventual monograph.
• Community-Engaged & Youth-Centered Research: I am affiliated with the University of Virginia’s Center for Community Partnerships, which formed an educational research-practice partnership with local school districts. I am thinking about discourses of equity and justice in education through ethnographically grounded perspectives.

Select Publications