Cherise A. Harris

Cherise A. Harris teaches Race, Gender, and the Mass Media; Ethnic and Race Relations; Sociology of Inequality; Sociology of Racial Identity; and Middle Class Minorities. The second edition of her newest book, Getting Real About Race (co-edited with Stephanie M. McClure, Georgia College) was published by Sage in 2017. Her first book, The Cosby Cohort: Blessings and Burdens of Growing Up Black Middle Class, was published in 2013 by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.

Cherise Harris Curriculum Vitae (pdf)

Cherise Harris joined the Connecticut College faculty in 2009 as an assistant professor of sociology.

She was the inaugural recipient of the College's Helen Mulvey Faculty Award in 2012, presented to an assistant professor who regularly offers classes that challenge students to work harder than they thought they could and to reach unanticipated levels of academic achievement.

Some recent articles and book chapters by Harris include:

• Harris, Cherise A. and Kristie A. Ford. Forthcoming. “‘Where’s Your Man?’: Intersectionality in the Adoption Stories of Two Black, Single Female Sociologists.” Michigan Family Review.
• Harris, Cherise A. 2018. "'I’m Not Racist—Some of My Best Friends Are ...': Debunking the Friends Defense and Revisiting Allyship in the Post-Obama Era.” Pp. 318-336 in Getting Real About Race (2^nd edition), edited by Stephanie McClure and Cherise A. Harris, Sage Publications.
• Harris, Cherise A. and Stephanie McClure. 2018.  "'But My Mother Says It’s Rude To Talk about Race!': How and Why We Need to Discuss Race in the United States."  Pp. 1-13 in Getting Real About Race. edited by Stephanie McClure and Cherise A. Harris, Sage Publications.
• Khanna, Nikki and Cherise A. Harris. 2015. “Discovering Race in a ‘Post-Racial’ World: Teaching Race through Primetime Television." Teaching Sociology 43, 1: 39-45.
• Harris, Cherise A. and Keisha Edwards Tassie. 2012. "The Cinematic Incarnation of Frazier's Black Bourgeoisie: Tyler Perry's Black Middle-Class." Journal of African American Studies 16, 2: 321-344.
• Harris, Cherise A. and Nikki Khanna. "Black Is, Black Ain't: Biracials, Middle-Class Blacks, and the Social Construction of Blackness." Sociological Spectrum 30: 1-32. 2010.
• Khanna, Nikki and Cherise A. Harris. "Teaching Race as a Social Construct: Two Interactive Class Exercises." Teaching Sociology 37, 4: 369-378. 2009.

Some recent presentations include:

• Harris, Cherise A. and Kristie A. Ford. “Intersectionality in the Adoption Stories of Two Black, Single, Female Sociologists.” The Adoption Initiative Conference, Montclair, NJ. 2016.
• Mouzon, Dawne M. and Cherise A. Harris. “Race and Social Class Differences in Women’s Perceived Marital and Motherhood Opportunities.”  The Annual Meetings of the Eastern Sociological Society, New York, NY. 2015.
• Harris, Cherise A.  "The Reproductive Implications of the Marriage Squeeze for Single, Heterosexual, Black Middle Class Women."  The Annual Meetings of the Midwest Sociological Society, Chicago, IL. 2013.
• Khanna, Nikki and Cherise A. Harris.  "Teaching White Privilege Through an Analysis of Primetime Television."  The Annual Meetings of the Southern Sociological Society, Atlanta, GA. 2013. 

Professor Harris has delivered invited lectures, including:

• "Understanding Power and Privilege in Early Childhood Education." Carelot Children’s Centers. Norwich, CT. 2017.
• "This Ain’t The Cosby Show: What it Really Means to Grow Up Black Middle Class."  Alpha Kappa Delta Sociological Honor Society Induction Ceremony, The University of Vermont. Burlington, VT. 2013.
• "Serving Strategically and the Art of Saying 'No.'" The Annual Meetings of the Southern Sociological Society.  New Orleans, LA. 2012.
• "Defining on Our Own Terms: Perceptions of Masculinity and Femininity in the Black Community." 17^th Annual Black Solidarity Conference, Yale University. New Haven, CT. 2012.
• "The Love and Trouble Tradition: Black Male-Female Relationships."  Loyola University-Chicago, Chicago, IL. 2009.

She is also on the editorial board for Teaching Sociology. 

Visit the sociology department website.

Majoring in Sociology.