About.
Dr. Carla Shedd is Associate Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University whose research and teaching focuses on: education; criminalization and criminal justice; race and ethnicity; law; social inequality; and urban policy. Shedd’s first book, Unequal City: Race, Schools, and Perceptions of Injustice (October 2015, Russell Sage), has won multiple academic awards, including the prestigious C. Wright Mills Award, which is given to the top social-science book in the field of social inequality. Unequal City examines Chicago public school students' perceptions of injustice and contact with police within and across various schools and neighborhoods, and deeply probes the intersections of race, place, education, and the expansion of the American carceral state. Shedd’s second book project, When Protection and Punishment Collide: America’s Juvenile Court System and the Carceral Continuum, draws on her one-of-a-kind empirical data to interrogate the deftly intertwined contexts of NYC schools, neighborhoods, and juvenile justice courts, in this dynamic moment of NYC public policy shifts (e.g., school (re-)segregation, “Raise the Age,” and “Close Rikers.”).
Dr. Shedd received her Ph.D. in Sociology from Northwestern University, and graduated from Smith College with a double major in Economics and African American Studies. Dr. Shedd began her career as an Assistant Professor of Sociology and African American Studies at Columbia University until The Graduate Center, CUNY recruited her with tenure and promotion. Fellowships from the Ford Foundation, Russell Sage Foundation, Columbia University, and Northwestern University have supported Shedd's research and writing. Shedd has been featured on MSNBC, C-SPAN's Washington Journal, PBS NewsHour, and WNYC's Brian Lehrer Show; and her work has been written about in several major publication outlets.
Services.
Dr. Shedd is able to speak to the following topics in her lectures: racial/ethnic inclusion and diversity; educational justice; the “carceral continuum” (e.g., criminalization, policing, school disciplinary practices, restorative justice and/or police-free schools); youth perceptions of opportunity and inequality, criminal and juvenile punishment/justice, juvenile court processes, urban policy intersections, and much more. She is experienced in leading public and private, in-person and virtual, events including:
Common Reads: Choose Unequal City or another book as a “Common Read” for your school/organization. Dr. Shedd can join the discussion and facilitate a q&a.
Media Appearances & Panel Moderation Services: Put Dr. Shedd’s research in conversation with your event, film, theatrical productions, or artistic experience.
Racial Justice workshops/policy consulting: Dr. Shedd can tailor her expertise to your school/organization’s educational, training, and policy development needs.
Dr. Shedd is currently accepting booking for events, lectures, and speaking engagements.