Michael McQuarrie

Michael McQuarrie is a sociologist at Arizona State University where he directs the Center for Work and Democracy and acts as an Associate Professor in the School of Social Transformation. The main purpose of his work at the Center for Work and Democracy is to address the exclusion of working people from the polity and the marginalization of their voices in their communities and workplaces. In particular, the Center is concerned with the institutional, organizational, and political dimensions of marginalization and empowerment.

McQuarrie’s own research concerns are protest and politics, governance, organizations, civil society, and political culture. He is currently conducting ethnographic research in George Floyd Square, the autonomous zone at the site where George Floyd was murdered on May, 25, 2020. Other projects include: place and politics, urban governance, social movement repertoires, and the politicization of care. McQuarrie teaches classes on populism and right-wing authoritarianism, social movements, social change organizations, political sociology, urban sociology, and care and social solidarity. He has conducted qualitative research around the world, including in New York, Cleveland, Mumbai, London, Berlin, Nottingham, and Minneapolis.

Prior to arriving at Arizona State, he held appointments at the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the University of California, Davis. McQuarrie has a Ph.D in sociology from New York University and a Masters in history from Duke University. Prior to starting his doctoral work at NYU, he worked as a labor organizer in West Virginia, Ohio, and New York, and he worked as a community organizer in the South Bronx.