Irene Bloemraad, University of California, Berkeley
Dr. Irene Bloemraad is the Class of 1951 Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley, where she is also the founding Director of the Berkeley Interdisciplinary Migration Initiative and holds the Thomas Garden Barnes Chair of Canadian Studies. Bloemraad studies the challenges and promise of reconciling immigration with democratic ideals of participation and equality. A proud product of the Saskatoon public school system, she received her B.A. (Political Science) and M.A. (Sociology) from McGill University and her Ph.D. (Sociology) from Harvard University.
She investigates immigrants’ political incorporation – as citizens, voters, protestors and engaged community members – as well as native-born citizens’ reactions to immigration and diversity. Her work shows the ways that social and public policies of multiculturalism, immigrant integration, and the mitigation of economic inequality ease tensions around diversity and democracy. She is the author or co-editor of numerous works.
Irene participated in panel 6.