Last modified 09/28/2007 by Shauna Morimoto

Shauna A. Morimoto Ph.D. Candidate Department of Sociology University of Wisconsin-Madison 1180 Observatory Drive Madison, WI 53706-1393 Email: smorimot@ssc.wisc.edu

Research Interests

My broad interests are in how gender, race and class structures interact with and inform state policy and institutions. My dissertation is an in-depth comparative study of civic life drawing on over 120 interviews with high school students, teachers and administrators. I explore the relationship between civic education and civic engagement among young people with an emphasis on how issues of gender, race and ethnicity shape the meanings of U.S. citizenship for high school students. I attempt to resolve the paradox of why young people are highly engaged in local volunteerism but politically disinterested or disengaged. Theoretically, I connect this project with three broad issues: understanding citizenship as a social and civic practice particular to generational shifts in youth culture; examining the gendering of educational practices that place young men and women in "service" roles; and challenging stereotypes of young people of color as disengaged from or dangerous to their communities.