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Jesse Yeh

Assistant Professor of Instruction

Ph. D. in Public Policy and Sociology from the University of Michigan
Curriculum Vitae
  • 847-467-6158
  • 620 Lincoln St, #204
  • Office Hours: Spring 2024 I Monday 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m. in person; Tuesday 11:00 a.m.-1:00 p.m. via Zoom by appt. Email to schedule

Jesse Yeh is an Assistant Professor of Instruction at the Center for Legal Studies at Northwestern University. Prof. Yeh has a Ph. D. in Public Policy and Sociology from the University of Michigan. 

Prof. Yeh’s research examines the role of social differences in contemporary US right-wing politics. Prof. Yeh’s current book project, Crime Is Other People: Punitive Consciousness and the Racial Politics of Law-and-Order, interrogates how liberal and conservative activists engage with political discourses around lawbreaking and punishment. In particular, the book zooms in upon two current contestations: undocumented migration and racialized police violence. Prof. Yeh received an Honorable Mention for the Katherine Luke Paper Award, as well as the Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award from the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP)’s Critical Race and Ethnic Study Division. Prof. Yeh’s teaching and research interest more broadly includes race and immigration, sex and gender, law and crime, and politics and social movements.

Courses Taught

  • Legal_St 101-8 Undocumented Americans (FYWS)
  • Legal_St /SOCIOL 348 Race, Law, and Politics

Selected Publications

  • Under Review. “Can He Say That, Who’s Going to Stop Him: Liberal and Conservative Racial Norm Enforcement Against Trump’s Racial Derogation.” American Journal of Cultural Sociology.
  • Under Review. “Litigation Politics: Countermovement Activity in Campus Sexual Assault Litigation.” Law and Society Review. (co-authors Sandra Levitsky and Elizabeth Armstrong).