Christopher Hu

About Me

Hi there! I am an educational ethnographer who studies race, ethnicity, class, and immigration (among many things). Currently, I am a PhD candidate in the social foundations of education at the University of Virginia’s School of Education and Human Development. Previously, I was a high school chemistry teacher in rural Virginia. Questions? Want to connect? Email me at ch7dm@virginia.edu!

• Research & Teaching Interests: the social-cultural-historical foundations of schooling and education, sociology & anthropology of education
• Education:
  Ph.D., Education—Social Foundations, University of Virginia, 2025 (anticipated)
  M.Ed., Educational Psychology—Social Foundations, University of Virginia, 2020
  B.S., Chemistry (minor in Education), Washington and Lee University, 2015

Current Projects

• Education and the Pursuit of Success in a Chinese Immigrant Community: I am in the process of finalizing my dissertation, which examines the collective cultural practices of a highly educated professional-class Chinese community in the white affluent suburbs of NJ. How do immigrant communities navigate racialized America? How do immigrant communities define what it means to be successful? This project is funded through a doctoral fellowship (AY24-25) awarded by the Chiang Ching-Kuo Foundation.
• Community-Engaged & Youth-Centered Research: I am a graduate student researcher affiliated with the University of Virginia’s Equity Center, 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