Matthew Hughey

University of Surrey Scholar Award, University of Surrey - Sociology

Matthew serves as Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Connecticut (USA). As a frequent global traveller, he also holds affiliate positions at Nelson Mandela University (South Africa), the University of Barcelona (Spain) and the University of Cambridge (England). He examines the forms and functions of race and racism and has received numerous awards and support from sources such as the American Sociological Association, National Science Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation and the Society for the Study of Social Problems. Based on his prior research on whiteness in the US, Matthew will use his time in England to study the growth of nationalism, reactionary populism and white racial identity formation. In particular, he will examine how local, all-white groups in the greater London area respond to both real and imagined racial changes. This project is a well-timed, cross-national, natural experiment that fits well with Surrey Sociology’s mission to develop “field-defining and conceptually driven empirical research… [through] extensive collaborations with European and international researchers and networks.” As a Fulbright scholar Matthew will share his work internationally, learn from British colleagues and pursue his other passion of cricket.