Matthew Clair
Assistant Professor of Sociology and, by courtesy, of Law
Bio
Matthew Clair is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology and (by courtesy) the Law School. His research interests include law and society, race and ethnicity, cultural sociology, criminal justice, and qualitative methods. He is the author of the book Privilege and Punishment: How Race and Class Matter in Criminal Court.
Learn more at his personal website: https://www.matthewclair.org/
Academic Appointments
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Assistant Professor, Sociology
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Assistant Professor (By courtesy), Stanford Law School
Program Affiliations
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American Studies
Professional Education
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Ph.D., Harvard University, Sociology (2018)
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A.M., Harvard University, Sociology (2015)
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A.B., Harvard College, Government (2009)
2024-25 Courses
- Classics of Modern Social Theory
SOC 170, SOC 270 (Win) - Crime and Punishment in America
AMSTUD 179A, CSRE 179A, SOC 179A, SOC 279A (Win) - Workshop: Qualitative and Fieldwork Methods
SOC 380W (Aut, Win, Spr) -
Independent Studies (10)
- Coterminal MA directed research
SOC 291 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Coterminal MA individual study
SOC 290 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Coterminal MA research apprenticeship
SOC 292 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Curricular Practical Training
SOC 392 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Graduate Directed Research
SOC 391 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Graduate Individual Study
SOC 390 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Senior Thesis
SOC 196 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Undergraduate Directed Research
SOC 191 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Undergraduate Individual Study
SOC 190 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Undergraduate Research Apprenticeship
SOC 192 (Aut, Win, Spr)
- Coterminal MA directed research
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Prior Year Courses
2023-24 Courses
- Classics of Modern Social Theory
SOC 170, SOC 270 (Spr) - Workshop: Qualitative and Fieldwork Methods
SOC 380W (Spr)
2021-22 Courses
- Classics of Modern Social Theory
SOC 170, SOC 270 (Aut) - Crime and Punishment in America
AFRICAAM 179A, AMSTUD 179A, CSRE 179A, SOC 179A, SOC 279A (Aut) - Sociology Colloquium
SOC 396 (Aut, Win, Spr) - Workshop: Qualitative and Fieldwork Methods
SOC 380W (Aut, Win, Spr)
- Classics of Modern Social Theory
Stanford Advisees
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Doctoral Dissertation Reader (AC)
Amy Casselman Hontalas, Reagan Ross, Kia Turner, Iris Zhang -
Doctoral Dissertation Co-Advisor (AC)
Caylin Moore -
Doctoral (Program)
Michael Cerda-Jara, Nya Hardaway, Jasmin Salazar
All Publications
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Blood, Powder, and Residue: How Crime Labs Translate Evidence into Proof (Book Review)
SOCIAL FORCES
2021; 100 (1)
View details for DOI 10.1093/sf/soab056
View details for Web of Science ID 000687760100026
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Being a Disadvantaged Criminal Defendant: Mistrust and Resistance in Attorney-Client Interactions
SOCIAL FORCES
2021; 100 (1): 194-217
View details for DOI 10.1093/sf/soaa082
View details for Web of Science ID 000687760100033
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Unequal Before the Law
NATION
2020; 311 (13): 32–36
View details for Web of Science ID 000598974700011
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Jurors' Subjective Experiences of Deliberations in Criminal Cases
LAW AND SOCIAL INQUIRY-JOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN BAR FOUNDATION
2018; 43 (4): 1458–90
View details for DOI 10.1111/lsi.12288
View details for Web of Science ID 000452022500013
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Racialized legal status as a social determinant of health
SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE
2018; 199: 19–28
Abstract
This article advances the concept of racialized legal status (RLS) as an overlooked dimension of social stratification with implications for racial/ethnic health disparities. We define RLS as a social position based on an ostensibly race-neutral legal classification that disproportionately impacts racial/ethnic minorities. To illustrate the implications of RLS for health and health disparities in the United States, we spotlight existing research on two cases: criminal status and immigration status. We offer a conceptual framework that outlines how RLS shapes disparities through (1) primary effects on those who hold a legal status and (2) spillover effects on racial/ethnic in-group members, regardless of these individuals' own legal status. Primary effects of RLS operate by marking an individual for material and symbolic exclusion. Spillover effects result from the vicarious experiences of those with social proximity to marked individuals, as well as the discredited meanings that RLS constructs around racial/ethnic group members. We conclude by suggesting multiple avenues for future research that considers RLS as a mechanism of social inequality with fundamental effects on health.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2017.03.010
View details for Web of Science ID 000429514500002
View details for PubMedID 28359580
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Destigmatization and health: Cultural constructions and the long-term reduction of stigma
SOCIAL SCIENCE & MEDICINE
2016; 165: 223–32
Abstract
Research on the societal-level causes and consequences of stigma has rarely considered the social conditions that account for destigmatization, the process by which a group's worth and status improve. Destigmatization has important implications for the health of stigmatized groups. Building on a robust line of stigma reduction literature in psychology, we develop a sociological framework for understanding how new cultural constructions that draw equivalences and remove blame shape public and structural stigma over time. We examine historical transformations of cultural constructions surrounding three stigmatized groups in the United States: people living with HIV/AIDS, African Americans, and people labeled as obese. By tracing this process across cases, we find that the conditions that account for destigmatization include the credibility of new constructions, the status and visibility of actors carrying these constructions, the conclusiveness of expert knowledge about stigmatized groups, the interaction between new constructions and existing cultural ideologies, and the perceived linked fate of the stigmatized and dominant groups. We also find that the reduction of structural and public forms of stigma often depend on distinct processes and constructions. To conclude, we propose a framework for the comparative study of destigmatization as an essential component of promoting a culture of health.
View details for DOI 10.1016/j.socscimed.2016.03.021
View details for Web of Science ID 000383296400026
View details for PubMedID 27020492
View details for PubMedCentralID PMC5758051
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HOW JUDGES THINK ABOUT RACIAL DISPARITIES: SITUATIONAL DECISION-MAKING IN THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE SYSTEM
CRIMINOLOGY
2016; 54 (2): 332–59
View details for DOI 10.1111/1745-9125.12106
View details for Web of Science ID 000379847100006
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What is missing? Cultural processes and causal pathways to inequality
SOCIO-ECONOMIC REVIEW
2014; 12 (3): 573–608
View details for DOI 10.1093/ser/mwu011
View details for Web of Science ID 000344417500005