Prof. Dr. Jennifer Elrick

Jennifer Elrick is a scholar in residence at the institute from May until June 2024. Jennifer is an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, where she also holds the endowed Chair in Multiculturalism. Her research focuses on connections between migration governance, diversity, and social stratification. Under this umbrella, her most recent work focuses on two complementary themes. The first is the social construction of state classifications (e.g., entry categories in immigration policies) and their built-in selection dynamics along the lines of race/ethnicity, class, morality, and other social distinctions. The second is the material and symbolic effects of these institutionalized classifications on people who fall under them. She is also interested in exploring people’s “bottom-up” perceptions of the “top-down” classifications developed by states. Her research employs qualitative methods, including interviews, focus groups, and (archival) document analyses. It is multi-national in scope, focusing on Canada, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

During her stay time, she will be laying the foundations for a new project that explores public perceptions of immigrants who fall under different state categories, especially categories for “high skilled immigrants,” “low skilled migrants,” “family immigrants,” and “refugees.”