Roger Cadena

Roger Cadena is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and scholar of race, ethnicity, culture, and politics. Dr. Cadena primarily uses qualitative interview methods to learn more about US Latinos’ ethnic, racial, and political identities, voting behavior, and how they navigate political polarization. Dr. Cadena also uses quantitative analyses to explore these topics across the US Latino population.

Education

Ph.D. in Sociology, University of Notre Dame
M.A. in Sociology, University of Notre Dame
M.A. in International Relations, University of Chicago
B.A. in Social Sciences Teacher Education, Illinois State University

Specialization in Teaching

Dr. Cadena is currently teaching the following course.
SOC 105: Introduction to Sociology

In the future, Dr. Cadena will likely teach the following courses.
SOC 325: Racial and Ethnic Group Relations
SOC 360: Social Theory

Research Interests

In research published in the Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, Ethnic and Racial Studies, and LatinxTalk, I draw on in-depth interviews with US Latino Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to rethink what it means to be Latino in the current political climate. These published articles have primarily focused on the perceived “puzzle” of Latino Republicans. In my unpublished, developing research, I further explore how Latino Democrats navigate the tensions between their political behavior, ethnoracial identities, and the two-party political system. I also employ quantitative methods using Pew Research Center and other data sources to study these relationships.

Finally, I also aim to further sociological theory by looking to previously “denied” scholars like W.E.B. Du Bois and Stuart Hall for their prescient insights on contemporary politics, culture, and identities. For example, my article published in Sociology Compass explores Du Bois’ theorization of school curricula as ideologically and politically significant for shaping peoples’ worldviews and identity formations.

My goal for the coming years is to convert my dissertation research into an academic book, draw on my interview data to publish research in Sociology, Political Science, and Interdisciplinary journals, use available survey data sets to continue my quantitative analyses, and reinvigorate social theory by bridging conventional and underappreciated scholarly perspectives.