Robert J. Durán
  • Director of Graduate Recruitment
  • Associate Professor

Biography

Dr. Durán has been at the Texas A&M University since 2018. He received his Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Colorado in 2006 and previously was a tenured and promoted associate professor at New Mexico State University (2006-2014) and University of Tennessee (2014-2018). His research focuses upon four areas: 1) gangs; 2) police shootings; 3) disproportionate minority contact for juveniles; and 4) neighborhood segregation shaped by racial and ethnic inequalities. As a criminologist and urban ethnographer, I have primarily concentrated my research on institutions of social control and how they vary between Mexican American barrios, White suburbs, and Black neighborhoods in the Southwest and Southeast along with individual and group efforts to resist unequal treatment. My overall devotion to my academic career is towards assisting grassroots empowerment strategies in marginalized communities by using research to change institutional policies and practices.

Courses Taught at Texas A&M

  • SOCI 304: Criminology
  • SOCI 317: Racial and Ethnic Relations
  • SOCI 403: Sociology of Latinos
  • SOCI 489: Race, Ethnicity, Crime and Justice
  • SOCI 627: Foundations of Crime, Law and Deviance
  • SOCI 627: Race, Ethnicity, Crime and Justice

 

Office Hours: WF: 9:45am–12:00pm. In person or Zoom Link

Research Interests

  • Criminology and Race
  • Racialized Social Control
  • Latina/o/x Criminology/Sociology
  • Violence
  • Urban Ethnography
  • Youth Justice

Educational Background

  • University of Colorado Boulder

Awards & Honors

  • 2021 Glasscock Internal Faculty Residential Fellow. 2021-2022. Melbern G. Glasscock Center for Humanities Research. Texas A&M University.
  • 2019 Recipient of Coramae Richey Mann Award for outstanding contributions of scholarship on race, ethnicity, crime, and justice. American Society of Criminology, Division on People of Color and Crime.
  • 2013 Recipient of 2012-2013, Professor of the Year. Selected by the students of the Criminal Justice Department at New Mexico State University for demonstrating enthusiastic support, dedication and going above and beyond in support of your students.
  • 2011 Recipient of New Scholar Award. American Society of Criminology, Division on People of Color and Crime.
  • 2010 Junior Faculty of the Year Award (Scholarship and Teaching). New Mexico State University. Hispanic Faculty and Staff Caucus.
  • 2005 Racial/Ethnic Minority Graduate (Scholar-Activist) Scholarship. Society for the Study of Social Problems.
  • 2004 Graduate Part-Time Instructor of the Year. University of Colorado-Sociology Department.
  • 2004 Residence Life Teaching Award. University of Colorado.

Selected Publications