Anthony James Williams
Biography
My dissertation uses mixed methods to examine discretion and punishment in California prisons. Broadly, my research examines how systems of power are both maintained and resisted, with a focus on Blackness, racism, race & ethnicity, and urban sociology.
Degrees
- M.Phil. in Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles, 2020
- M.A. in Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles, 2019
- B.A. (honors) in Sociology, University of California, Berkeley, 2016
Fields of Study
Incarceration; Race & Ethnicity; Urban Sociology; Gender & Sexuality; Social Movements
Publications
Peer Reviewed Articles
- Williams, A.J. Forthcoming. “Defining a Black Research Ethic.” Chapter for Routledge Encyclopedia on Race & Racism, “Urban Spaces” section, edited by Dr. Marcus Anthony Hunter.
- Willliams, A.J. 2021. The Need for Interdisciplinary Approaches to Criminal (in)Justice. Symbolic Interaction 44(4):861-64.
- Williams, A.J. 2020. “Wayward in Sociology?” Contexts 19(4):82-3.
- Williams, A.J. 2016. “The Road to Private Prison Divestment: Inside the University of California student campaign.” Boom: A Journal of California.
- Williams, A. 2016 “South African Healthcare: Utopian Dream or Failed Reality?” Mellon Mays Undergraduate Journal.
Research Briefs
- Williams, A. 2018. “Why Black Women Organizers Need to Care for Themselves and Each Other — and How They Can Do It.” Scholar Strategy Network.
- Williams, A. 2015 “#MasculinitySoFragile.” American Sociological Association Sex & Gender Newsletter.
Awards & Grants
- Graduate Research Fellowship Program (National Science Foundation), 2019-22
- Predoctoral Research Development Grant (Social Science Research Council), 2021-22
- Engaged Student Grant w/Torres, M & Siliunas, A (Radcliffe Institute), 2019-21
- Honorable Mention, Pre-Doctoral Fellowship (Ford Foundation), 2019-20
- Graduate Studies Enhancement Grant (Social Science Research Council), 2019-21
- Graduate Student Paper Award (Association of Black Sociologists), 2018-19
- Community Assistance Program Award (Urban Teachers Network), 2018-19
- Outstanding Teaching Award for TAs (UCLA Dept. of Sociology), 2018-19
- Graduate Summer Research Mentorship (UCLA), 2018-19
- Graduate Dean’s Scholar Award (UCLA), 2017-22
- Eugene V. Cota-Robles Fellowship (UCLA), 2017-22
Conference Presentations
Black in Public: How witnessing among strangers subverts surveillance on public transit
- 2019 Association of Black Sociologists Conference (Panel), New York, NY
- 2019 American Sociological Association Conference (CUSS Section Rountable), New York, NY
- 2019 Black Doctoral Network (Panel), Newark, NJ
I don’t know these people: How Race, Gender, and Disability Shift Interactions
Among Strangers on Los Angeles Transit
- 2018 Association of Black Sociologists Conference (Roundtable), Philadelphia, PA
It Means Loving Yourself Enough: Black Women Leaders and Self Care in the #BlackLivesMatterMovement
- 2017 Queer Graduate Conference (Panel), University of California, Los Angeles, CA
- 2016 American Sociological Association Annual Conference (Roundtable), WA
- 2016 American Sociological Association Annual Conference, (Honors Roundtable), WA
#MasculinitySoFragile: Twitter as a Public Sociology Tool to Dismantle Toxic Masculinities
- 2016 Invited lecture—California State University Stanislaus, Turlock, CA
#MasculinitySoFragile: Dismantling Toxic Masculinity from the Inside Out
- 2016 Center for Race & Gender’s Thursday Forum Series (Lecture), Univ. of California, Berkeley
Being a Visible Marker: How Black Queer Women Activists Battle Microaggressions
- 2015 Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship Regional Conference (Panel), Stanford University
- 2015 Chicago Research Symposium: Humanities and Social Sciences (Panel), Univ. of Chicago
The G-Study: Examining men who have sex with men on Grindr
- 2014 Multicultural Community Center Research Symposium (Lecture), Univ. of California, Berkeley