Sociologist Alondra Nelson Joins Faculty of the Institute for Advanced Study

In Body and Soul, she argues, based on archival research and interviews, that the Black Panther Party was not only a radical political movement, but also a public health movement. The activists established a national network of neighborhood clinics, providing basic health services and implementing screening and counseling programs for genetic disease. Nelson’s work also shows how the group intervened in debates over the medicalization of violence, and challenged theories about the alleged inherent biological inferiority of people of African descent. This highly original book garnered several scholarly awards, including the 2013 Mirra Komarovsky Book Award for the best sociological monograph from the Eastern Sociological Society.

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Sociologist Alondra Nelson Joins Faculty of the Institute for Advanced Study

Alondra Nelson, an acclaimed sociologist, author, and researcher who explores questions in science, technology, and social inequality, has been appointed Professor and Harold F. Linder Chair in the School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, effective July 1, 2019.