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Elena G. van Stee

@elenavanstee.bsky.social
1.5K followers 405 following 95 posts

PhD Candidate in Sociology @upenn.edu | Fellow in Sociology @harvard.edu | Incoming managing editor @contexts.org‬ | www.elenavanstee.com

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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 14/05/2026
Join my research team! I'm hiring 1-2 research assistants to transcribe and analyze interviews for my study on parent-child relationships in the transition to adulthood. Send a cover letter and CV/resume to evanstee@sas.upenn.edu. More details ⬇️
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 22/12/2025
I'm thrilled to share the final issue from Contexts Magazine's outgoing editorial team: @aminghaziani.bsky.social, @sethabrutyn.bsky.social, and @lettapage.bsky.social! Working with this team over the past few years has been an absolute joy. ➡️ journals.sagepub.com/toc/ctxa/24/4
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 22/10/2025
What does it mean to be independent, and why are people trying to claim this label? Join ghaltomo.bsky.social and me at the @harvard.edu Culture Workshop on Tuesday (10/28) to explore these questions from emerging adulthood (me) to old age (Guillermina)! Zoom link ⬇️
Harvard Sociology Culture and Social Analysis Workshop (Elena van Stee and Guillermina Altomonte)
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 20/10/2025
A gun-curious sociology professor? Check out @davidyamane.bsky.social's essay in our new @contexts.org issue! @wakeforest.bsky.social @sagepub.com @asanews.bsky.social
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
New on the @contexts.org blog! @shdoron1.bsky.social recaps his recent #ASR study in a new post, "How the rich turn sludge into money." TLDR: Lots of paperwork, plus a few PowerPoints ▶️ contexts.org/blog/sludge/ @asanews.bsky.social @asa-ipm.bsky.social @ipratnu.bsky.social
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 19/05/2025
Are you planning to submit that manuscript this summer? I would love to work with you! Shoot me an email for more details ➡️ evanstee@sas.upenn.edu www.elenavanstee.com/editing
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 02/05/2025
Happening on Tuesday!! RSVP by the end of today to place your (free!) lunch order and submit questions for our panelists. This event is open to the public! Lunch, too :)
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 25/04/2025
Do you study vulnerable communities? Join me for this panel on trauma-informed research practices, hosted by @harvard.edu's Committee for Engaged Sociology and open to the public. I’ll be moderating a conversation with Dr. Shawn Ginwright and two therapists from the Boston community. RSVP👇
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 01/04/2025
New @contexts.org blog! In an era of #CollegeForAll, @elenaah.bsky.social explores the hidden struggles of graduates in the United States and Spain who feel “stuck” despite their degrees. contexts.org/blog/after-c...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
New pub! 🎉 In @sssreligion.bsky.social, Melissa Wilde, Tessa Huttenlocher & I present new data on the wealth owned by U.S. religious groups 100 years ago. ⛪ Stay tuned - the data set itself will be available on The Association of Religion Data Archives very soon!
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 20/02/2025
Hot off the presses! 🎉 It's the short & sexy sociology you already know and love—plus, this issue comes with a playlist! 🎧 tinyurl.com/W25Playlist cc: @contexts.org @aminghaziani.bsky.social @sethabrutyn.bsky.social @lettapage.bsky.social
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Currently reviewing proofs for a new article on U.S. #religious #wealth #inequality in 1916, and the hierarchy is remarkably similar to @ryanburge.bsky.social 's contemporary analysis (minus Hindus). Coming soon in @jssreligion.bsky.social with Melissa Wilde & Tessa Huttenlocher!
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Media narratives often portray Asian American and White families as competing for limited seats at prestigious institutions. But what happens when the tuition bill arrives? 💸 Find my latest *in brief* on the @contexts.org blog: contexts.org/articles/who...
In Brief: Whose parents are paying?
by Elena G. Van Stee | February 5, 2025 | Fall 2024
Media coverage of race and higher education in the United States often portrays Asian American and White families as competing for limited seats at prestigious institutions. What happens, though, when it’s time for those admitted students to go to school? New research aims to untangle patterns in these families’ college spending. 
The study, published by Kimberly Goyette and colleagues in Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, uses data from the 2015-2016 academic year drawn from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS). In their analysis, the authors find that Asian American parents paid more for their children’s college education compared to White parents, despite having lower average incomes. In part, this reflects the fact that Asian American college students were more likely to attend selective schools. But, by acknowledging the under-acknowledged diversity within the Asian American group and breaking the data down by immigrant generation, the scholars note important nuance. Parental spending was highest among three ethnic groups—Chinese, Japanese, and Korean Americans—and among recent immigrants. In fact, by the third generation in the United States, differences in Asian American and White parents’ college spending were no longer significant.
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 10/02/2025
ICYMI: Ernesto Castañeda (@drernestocast.bsky.social) & Daniel Jenks (@jenksd.bsky.social) share migration insights from their new @rsf.org book, REUNITED. ▶️ contexts.org/blog/family-... 📚 www.russellsage.org/publications... @latinoworld.bsky.social @theimmigrationlab.bsky.social @upenn.edu
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 20/01/2025
Who gets to claim #MLK? @profhajaryazdiha.bsky.social's research reveals how different groups have strategically interpreted Dr. King's words to advance their own causes—often in ways that directly conflict. Find our 2024 conversation on the @contexts.org blog ▶️ contexts.org/blog/mlk-mem...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 16/01/2025
Where did the wealth go? Shay O'Brien (@shayobrien.bsky.social) can tell you! Find Shay's essay & data viz on the @contexts.org blog ▶️ contexts.org/blog/the-gen... @harvardkennedy.bsky.social @harvard.edu @sasemeeting.bsky.social @asanews.bsky.social
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 15/01/2025
This week on the @contexts.org blog, @shayobrien.bsky.social (@harvardkennedy.bsky.social) weighs in on a topic near and dear to my own heart: #families & #wealth! 💰 ➡️ contexts.org/blog/the-gen...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 14/01/2025
Setting ambitious writing goals for 2025? Whether you need copyediting, developmental editing, or help translating your research for broader audiences—or if you don’t know what you need!—I’d love to work with you. 📝 ➡️ elenavanstee.com/editing ✉️ evanstee@sas.upenn.edu
Freelance social science editing: copyediting, developmental editing, research translation.
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
I first met Andy when we were clueless undergrads stressing about the GRE at @asanews.bsky.social back in 2018. I'm thrilled to see more of Andy's work with @aminghaziani.bsky.social out in the world, including their latest in @sociusjournal.bsky.social! 😍 journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
Situational Fluidity and the Use of Identity Labels in Interactions (Andy Holmes & Amin Ghaziani)

Abstract
The number of people who identify as LGBTQ+ more than doubled in the past decade, and with this growth has come an upsurge of expressive identity labels. However, that there are more labels available does not explain how people decide which to use. On the basis of 52 interviews, the authors show that LGBTQ+ people adopt multiple terms and adjust their usage relative to the interactional demands at hand. Inspired by research in psychology and population studies on sexual fluidity, the authors call the sociological variant situational fluidity. Two pathways motivate it. First, respondents anchor newer labels with established terms in the interest of smoother interpersonal interactions. Second, anticipating resistance encourages some individuals to alter their preferred labels in order to buffer against possible policing or pushback. This process-based account offers an alternative to traditional linear models that propose the achievement of a self that is articulated with a single and stable term.
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 13/01/2025
In our present era of book bans, challenges to K-12 gender curriculum, and legislative battles over gender-affirming care, it seems the left and right have nothing in common when it comes to kids. Mallory Rees & Abigal Saguy have insights: contexts.org/articles/par... @contexts.org
"Parenting gender, from left to right" (review of Mallory Rees & Abigail Saguy 2024, "Following a Child's Lead and Setting Kids Up for Success: Convergence and Divergence in Parenting Ideologies on the Political Right and Left" in Social Forces). Written by Elena G. van Stee (University of Pennsylvania) for Contexts Magazine)
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
+1 Read (or re-read) @victorerikray.bsky.social's standout blog post here: contexts.org/blog/the-cla...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 19/12/2024
New @contextsmag.bsky.social blog! Don't miss @aminghaziani.bsky.social in conversation with @alondra.bsky.social 👇
Contexts blog: Q&A with Alondra Nelson
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Wondering about the possibilities of #AI for qualitative research? Check out Corey Abramson's new blog post for @contextsmag.bsky.social! ➡️ contexts.org/blog/soc-ai/
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 25/11/2024
This week on the @contextsmag.bsky.social blog, Roman Williams discusses how he’s combining sociology + photography to bridge religious divides. 📷 Find our conversation about Roman’s new book, #SacredSnaps, and his commitment to doing sociology *with* the public ➡️ contexts.org/blog/roman-w...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 19/11/2024
Resilience. Vulnerability. Protest. And joy... no matter what's to come. The Contexts Magazine Fall 2024 issue is now live and free to read, download, and share through Dec. 15! contexts.org/articles/f24... @aminghaziani.bsky.social @sethabrutyn.bsky.social @asanews.bsky.social
Contexts Magazine Fall 2024
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 07/11/2024
Coming soon to the Contexts blog: Interfaith Photovoice founder Roman Williams discusses his work combining sociology + photography for intergroup and interfaith engagement. It's not just sociology *for* the public, it's sociology *with* the public! 📷
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 15/02/2024
It's your favorite quarterly holiday . . . Happy New Issue Day! The Contexts Winter 2024 issue is live and free to read, download, and share through March 15. Use our clickable table of contents to find your weekend reading! contexts.org/articles/win...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 15/02/2024
Check it out! @sethabrutyn.bsky.social interviews Malcom Gladwell for Contexts' (new! free-to-read!) Winter '24 issue. Thanks for sharing, @philipncohen.bsky.social!
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 14/02/2024
"Only 4% of the White, working-class counties that formed part of the New Deal Democratic coalition still vote Democratic today. Motorville is one of them." Read @stephanieternullo.bsky.social 's latest for Contexts! ➡️ contexts.org/blog/motorvi...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 09/02/2024
Next in our line-up of Contexts pro recyclers: Jennifer Silva! Check out Silva's "Working Class Growing Pains" for a stellar example of what it can look like to ♻ your book into a Contexts feature essay. Read more: contexts.org/submission-g... @aminghaziani.bsky.social @sethabrutyn.bsky.social
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 06/02/2024
Wondering what it looks like to recycle your published work into a Contexts feature essay? Emily Huddart Kennedy is a pro! Learn how to pitch your feature here: contexts.org/submission-g... @sethabrutyn.bsky.social @aminghaziani.bsky.social
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 30/01/2024
I'm excited to present "Parent/Young Adult Relationships in College & Beyond: Pandemic Insights & New Research Directions" at Harvard's Culture & Social Analysis Workshop on Feb 27. Join me! (far-flung friends, you can join via zoom!) ➡ cultureworkshop.sociology.fas.harvard.edu
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 30/01/2024
Wondering what it looks like to ♻️ your published work into a Contexts feature essay?   @jessistreib.bsky.social (@DukeSociology) is a pro!   Learn how to pitch your feature here: contexts.org/submission-g...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 29/01/2024
Are you #ContextsCurious? @aminghaziani.bsky.social & @sethabrutyn.bsky.social want to help you recycle your published research into a Contexts feature essay! Learn how to pitch your feature idea here: contexts.org/submission-g...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 26/01/2024
Wondering what it looks like to ♻️ your published work into a #Contexts feature? Check out my recent article in JMF...then find its sexy sidekick in our Summer '23 issue. 👉 contexts.org/blog/qa-with... @aminghaziani.bsky.social @sethabrutyn.bsky.social
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 25/01/2024
Inside every journal article…there’s a Contexts feature essay waiting to be born (and maybe a blog post inside of that!)   Read more: contexts.org/submission-g... @sethabrutyn.bsky.social @aminghaziani.bsky.social
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 24/01/2024
Want to share your research with a broader audience?  Pitch Contexts the "magazine version" of your current–even published–work!  @aminghaziani.bsky.social & @sethabrutyn.bsky.social want to hear your feature pitches; I’m here for the blog.  More: contexts.org/blog/recycli... #RecyclingisRad
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 22/01/2024
Scholars highlight working-class resentment as a driving force behind Trump’s 2016 election. But Jennifer Silva finds a different trend among young adults. So, what changed? Check out my essay, "Unplugging from Politics" on the Contexts blog ➡️ contexts.org/articles/unp...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 18/01/2024
This week on the Contexts blog, we're excited to feature a special interview with @profhajaryazdiha.bsky.social about how political misappropriations of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s legacy can fuel right-wing movements. Check it out! ▶️ contexts.org/blog/mlk-mem...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 15/01/2024
On #MLKDay2024, we're talking with @profhajaryazdiha.bsky.social about the political struggle over Martin Luther King, Jr.'s memory—and how misuses of his legacy are used to fuel right-wing movements. Watch the video here ▶️ contexts.org/blog/mlk-mem...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 12/01/2024
Continuing the conversation on #race in #Europe, Trica Keaton (@trica.bsky.social) asks, “Why are French authorities acknowledging racial profiling but doing nothing about it?” Find it on the Contexts blog: contexts.org/blog/france-...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 09/01/2024
New blog! 📢 Check out @hollyhummer.bsky.social's essay on women's family decision-making during #COVID19 TLDR: It's a good time *not* to have children.  Read it here: contexts.org/blog/gendere...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 19/12/2023
Many thanks to @dromishai.bsky.social for this wonderful contribution to the Contexts blog! Find it here: contexts.org/blog/better-...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 18/12/2023
Religious practice is often associated with being more politically and civically engaged, but what about spiritual practices? @evanstewart.bsky.social & @jlkucinskas.bsky.social have answers! Find the latest episode of @AMSS_Section Moral Matters here ➡️ open.spotify.com/show/1H3TRs8...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 24/11/2023
New on the Contexts blog! We've got a video Q&A with Dr. Laurel Westbrook & Dr. stef m. shuster featuring their Fall '23 feature titled “Transgender Joy: Flipping the Script on Marginality." Find it here: contexts.org/blog/qa-west...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 22/11/2023
New episode alert! This month on *Moral Matters* we're tapping into Josh Murray's sociological insight re: the recent UAW strike 🚗 Find the ASA AMSS section podcast (hosted by Kerby Goff & yours truly!) on Spotify: open.spotify.com/episode/6kka...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 16/11/2023
"Noticing and nurturing joy are necessary steps to challenging inequality" Laurel Westbrook & stef shuster's joyful new feature essay is *free* to read, download, and share through Dec 15!)  ➡️ journals.sagepub.com/toc/ctxa/22/4
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 15/11/2023
Have working-class young adults inherited their parents’ politics? The fall Contexts issue went live today, and I’m excited to share my *in brief* featuring Jen Silva's research on political disengagement among working-class young adults. Find it here:  journals.sagepub.com/toc/ctxa/22/4
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 07/11/2023
What's it like to be the target of a book ban? Arlene Stein knows firsthand. Check out Arlene's guest essay, then watch our interview on the Contexts blog: contexts.org/blog/book-ba...
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Elena G. van Stee @elenavanstee.bsky.social · 06/11/2023
Check out my Contexts post re: how #dyadic #interviewing can illuminate--as Priya Fielding-Singh & Marianne Cooper put it--"the pinch between what [respondents] want to feel and what they do feel." (JMF). contexts.org/blog/dyadic-... #attunement
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