Faculty Bio

Angela Gonzales

Assistant Professor of Development Sociology

339 Warren Hall
Cornell University
Ithaca, NY 14853-7801
Email: aag27@cornell.edu
Phone: (607) 255-1795

Training

Ph.D.

2002 Harvard University (Sociology)
M.A.  1996 Harvard University (Sociology)
Ed.M. 1995 Harvard University (Education)
B.S.  1990 University of California, Riverside (Sociology)

Areas of Interest

» American Indian Studies
» Comparative Race and Ethnicity
» American Indian Economic Development
» Cultural Studies
» Tribal Sovereignty and Nation-Building
» Sociology of Identity

Research

My research focuses on two distinct but related areas—changes in the use and meaning of indigenous individual and collective/communal identity and the expansion and development of tribal government gaming. The common thread uniting these lines of research is my interest in the sociological processes underlying development and contemporary constructions of identity in the United States.

Animating my research are the following questions: (1) what are the structural forces influencing current constructions and contestations of indigenous individual and collective/communal identity; (2) how have these processes created (or been created by) political opportunities and engendered new norms and forms of identity; (3) how have changes in political opportunity structures influenced (and been influenced by) development projects pursued by indigenous groups; and (4) what are the ramifications of these development projects on the social organization and identity of indigenous peoples and communities? In addressing these questions, I use a diverse range of research methods, including in-depth qualitative interviews, focus group interviews, participant observation, and secondary analysis of census and other quantitative data. This mixed or multidimensional approach enables me to engage my research questions from multiple directions and to progress toward integrative models linking identity and development that elucidate both “lived experiences” and the structural forces impacting and influencing these experiences.

Selected Publications

Gonzales, A. (forthcoming 2005). “Reframing Theory, Reclaiming Identity: Reconfiguring Indigenous Identity through Narrativity and Relationality.” In Indigenous Research: Theory and Practice, edited by Jennifer Denetdale and Gregory Cajete. Santa Fe, NM: School of American Research Press.

Gonzales, A. (2003). “Native American Communities.” Pp. 960-966 in Encyclopedia of Community: From the Village to the Virtual Village, edited by Karen Christensen and David Levinson. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

Gonzales, A. (2003). “American Indians: Contemporary Reality, Future Trajectory.” Pp. 43-56 in Challenges for Rural America in the Twenty-First Century, edited by David L. Brown and Louis E. Swanson. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press.

Gonzales, A. (2003). “Gaming and Displacement: Winners and Losers in American Indian Casino Development.” International Social Sciences Journal 175(1):123-133.

Gonzales, A. (2001). "Urban (Trans)Formations: Changes in the Use and Meaning of American Indian Identity." Pp. 169-185 in American Indians and the Urban Experience, edited by Susan Lobo and Kurt Peters. Walnut Creek, CA: Alta Mira Press.

Gonzales, A. and J. Kertesz. (2001). “Engendering Identity and Power in Native North America.” Pp. 43-52 in Gender Mosaics: Social Perspectives, edited by Dana Vannoy. Los Angeles, CA: Roxbury Press.