Sociology Faculty Directory
Demetrius Murphy
Assistant Professor
Demetrius Murphy
Ph.D.
Contact
404 McGuinn Hall
Email: demetrius.murphy@bc.edu
Education
- Ph.D., University of Southern California
- M.A., Vanderbilt University
- B.B.A., University of Notre Dame
Courses
AADS/SOCY 2600: Black Placemaking in the United States and Brazil
Research Interests
Race and Ethnicity; Urban Sociology; Culture; Economic Sociology
Department
Biography
Demetrius Miles Murphy is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and African & African Diaspora Studies. He focuses on flourishing, social infrastructure, and the Black class and status structures in the Americas. He has two ongoing book projects. The first one, Affirming Blackness: Brazilian Race-making and Resistance in the Digital Age (tentative title), examines how Brazilians use social media to challenge anti-Blackness and highlight their racial experiences. His second book project, tentatively titled A Place to Flourish: Black Social Infrastructure, Wellbeing-Making, and Futurity in Los Angeles County, examines how gathering sites are created and maintained, as well as their role in fostering overall well-being. His research has received awards from the American Sociological Association’s sections of Race and Ethnic Minorities and Latina/o Sociology, the Association of Black Sociologists, and the Society for the Study of Social Problems. The Russell Sage Foundation, the John and Dora Haynes Foundation, and the Institute for Humane Studies have funded his work.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
“Affirming Blackness in a “Colorblind” Anti-Black Nation: How Brazilians Negotiate Police Killings of Afro-Brazilians.” Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 2024.
“Quem pode ser a dona?: Afro-Brazilian Women Entrepreneurs and Gendered Racism.” Gender, Work & Organization, 2023.
“Aquilombamento, Entrepreneurial Black Placemaking in An Anti-Black City.” Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, 2022.
RECENT AWARDS AND PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS
- USC W.E.B. Du Bois and Ida B. Wells-Barnett Graduate Student Scholars Award. 2025 – 2021.
- The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS) Grant. 2025.
- ASA Minority Fellowship Program, Cohort 50. 2024.
- Haynes Lindley Doctoral Dissertation Fellowship. 2024.
- Russell Sage Foundation Dissertation Research Grant. 2024 – 2023
- SSSP Global Division Student Paper Competition Award. 2023.
- Association of Black Sociologists Devon T. Wade Student Paper Award. 2022.
- ASA Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities James E. Blackwell Graduate Student Paper Award. 2022.
- SSSP Kauffman Foundation Best Student Paper Award in Social Entrepreneurship and Innovation. 2022.