Andrea Hunter

Bio & Education

Ph.D., Cornell University

Research

The major aims of my research are to explore the linkages between the life course, families, and social structure, and to broaden research on African Americans, especially families. I have sought to meet these aims by (a) asking fundamental questions about the family and the interconnected lives of its members, and (b) reframing old questions and expanding interpretations of aspects of black family life that have defined the field of black family studies.  Specifically, my research focuses on three major areas: (1) variations in the structure and social organization of families and social networks, and their effects on individuals’ roles, behavior, and well-being across the life span; (2) constructions of gender and the ways in which gender affects family roles and life course trajectories, and (3) family history, the life course, and social change.  Underlying these research foci is an interest in the social, economic, and cultural transformations affecting African American families.  My approach is interdisciplinary, I draw primarily on life course theory and feminist perspectives, and I use a variety of methodological approaches (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method) in my research.

A PODCAST: A COLORED GIRL SPEAKS

I have sought to reveal everyday people living ordinary lives who do so with agency, with dignity, with great verve, and with the full range of harmony and chaos a human being can extract from life; my aim is to uncover the human experience as well as to impact publics.

Listen to A Colored Girl Speaks.

SELECTED PUBLICATIONS

• Hunter, A. G., Dansokho, S.C, Tarver, S., Herring, M.L, Fletcher, A. C. (2019). Social capital and parenting in African American families. Journal Child and Family Studies, 28, 547
• Hunter, A. G., Stewart, A.J (Editors) (2015). Psychology, history, and social justice: The social past in the personal present. Journal of Social Issues, 71(2).
• Hunter, A. G. (2017). Letter from an Ivory Tower. Stories from the front room: How higher education faculty of color overcome challenges and thrive in the academy. Harris, M., Sellers, S., Orly, C., Gooding, F.W. (Eds), Rowman and Littlefield.
• Hunter, A. G., Stewart, A. J. (2015). Past is prologue: History, psychology, and social justice. Journal of Social Issues, 71(2), 221 – 228.
• Hunter, A. G., Rollins, A. (2015). We made history: Collective memory and the legacy of the Tuskegee Airmen, Journal of Social Issues, 71(2), 264 – 278.
• Rollins, A., Hunter, A. G. (2013). Racial socialization of biracial youth: Maternal messages and approaches to address discrimination. Family Relations, 62, 140-153.
• Hunter, A. G., & Johnson, D. J. (2012). A certain kind of vision: Revealing structure, process, and meanings in African American families. In J. Jackson, C. H. Caldwell, & S. Sellers (Eds.). Social Science Research in Black Populations. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan Press.
• Hunter, A. G., Friend, C. A., Williams-Wheeler, M. & Fletcher, A. C. (2012). Race, gender, and religious differences in the social networks of children and their families. Youth & Society, 44, 450-475.
• Hunter, A.G. & Stewart, A. J. (Eds.). (June 2015). Psychology, History and Social Justice: The Social Past in the Personal Present [Special issue]. Journal of Social Issues, 71 (2), 219-439. doi:27.0018/99-36me0w
• Friend, C. A., Hunter, A. G., & Fletcher, A. C. (in press) Parental racial socialization and the academic achievement of African American children: A cultural-ecological approach. Journal of African American Studies