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Amy Cooter

(She/her)
Director of Research, Academic Development, and Innovation, Middlebury

I aim to understand how masculinity and whiteness are intersecting, lived experiences that shape people's attitudes about nationalism and racial politics in contemporary US society. I have studied how Michigan Militia members understand themselves as a group that lauds an historical moment where white men had a monopoly of social power, but who see themselves as the last line of defense for American values of equality and justice. Understanding how militia men navigate this contradiction yields insights into lower-middle class white men's understanding of race and who is a "real" American.

Experience

  • 2022–present
    Senior research fellow, Middlebury's Center for Terrorism, Extremism, and Counterterrorism
  • 2013–2022
    Senior Lecturer in Sociology, Vanderbilt

Education

  • 2013 
    University of Michigan, PhD
  • 2005 
    Vanderbilt University, BA

Publications

  • 2011
    Neo-Nazi Nationalism, Studies in Ethnicity and Nationalism
  • 2006
    Neo-Nazi Normalization: The Skinhead Movement and Integration into Normative Structures, Sociological Inquiry

Grants and Contracts

  • 2007
    National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship
    Role:
    Funding Source:

Professional Memberships

  • American Sociological Association
  • Southern Sociological Society

Honours

National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow