Carolyn Liebler
Assistant Professor
Ph.D. 2001 University of Wisconsin - Madison
Room 1148 Social Sciences
tel.: 612-626-7252
email: liebl003@umn.edu
Interest Areas
Race and Ethnicity; Sociology of the Family and Life Course; Social Demography; Social Stratification; Indigenous Peoples; Social Support and Well-Being.
Current Research
“Identities among Mixed-Race Indigenous People.” In a multi-method study, I investigate ways in which mixed-race reports and multiracial identities—and the relationship between them—are affected by local racial context and personal connections to race groups or homelands. To do this, I use census data in close concert with in-person interviews with American Indians, Alaska Natives, and Pacific Islanders.
In a related project, graduate student Nicole Martin and I use stable personal characteristics (such as age, gender, veteran status, and birth state) to find identifying characteristics of people who have “become” American Indian between 1990 and 2000.
A third project, with graduate student Andrew Halpern-Manners, provides a set of “bridging” tools for researchers working with multiple-race responses in public-use data.
“Aggregate Stability and Individual Change in Social Support.” I use simultaneous latent structure analysis to reveal surprising consistency in the ways in which white, married adults exchange help and support with their friends and families. Even more surprising is the extent of individual-level change between socially structured patterns of support.
“Pathways through Midcourse.” With graduate student collaborators Sarah Flood and Gina Allen, I use latent life pathway methods to depict and understand the contingent timing of economic and family role changes in later adulthood, as dependent on gender and marital status.
Recent Publications
“Pondering Poi Dog: The Importance of Place to the Racial Identification of Mixed-Race Native Hawaiians,” with Shawn Malia Kana’iupuni. 2005. Ethnic and Racial Studies, 28(4): 687-721.
“Ties on the Fringes of Identity.” 2004. Social Science Research, 33(4): 702-723.
“American Indian Ethnic Identity: Tribal Specification in the 1990 Census.” 2004. Social Sciences Quarterly, 85(2): 310-323.
"Pacific Identities: Patterns in the Racial Identifications of Mixed-Race Pacific Islanders" with Shawn Malia Kana’iupuni. 2003/2004. The Journal of Intergroup Relations,30(4): 23-48.
“Gender Differences in the Exchange of Social Support with Friends, Neighbors, and Coworkers at Midlife,” with Gary D. Sandefur. 2002. Social Science Research,31: 364-391.