YANG LOR
ASSOCIATE TEACHING PROFESSOR
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED
YLOR2@UCMCERCED.EDU
ABOUT
As of July 2026, I am an Associate Teaching Professor in the Department of Sociology and the UC Merced Presidential Chair in Asian American and Pacific Islander Engagement at the University of California, Merced. Prior to joining UC Merced, I served as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. I earned my Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley in 2018.
Born in a refugee camp in Thailand to Hmong parents who fled persecution in Laos in the aftermath of the Vietnam War, I am one of ten children and the first person in my family to attend college. I received my B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Asian American Studies from Stanford University and my M.A. in Sociology from the University of California, Berkeley.
My teaching and research interests span a range of topics, including education, social stratification, Hmong Americans, race and ethnicity, and political participation. I have published peer-reviewed research on immigrant political participation, the educational experiences of low-income immigrant youth, and social class differences in college application patterns among high-achieving students. Throughout my career, I have taught sociology courses at the University of California, Berkeley; the University of California, Davis; the University of the Pacific; and the University of California, Merced, as well as Asian American Studies courses at California State University, Sacramento.
PUBLICATIONS
EDUCATION
Signorini, Adriana, Yang Lor, Tommy Tran, Elena Navarro, Tina Li, Adelina Murillo, Francisco Guerrero, Myron Ramirez, and Adya Misra. 2026. "Assessing the Impact of a Student-Faculty Pedagogical Partnership to Infuse Equity and Improve the Student Learning Experience at a Minority-Serving Institution." International Journal for Students as Partners 10(1):1–35.
Lor, Yang. 2024. "Hmong American Educational Attainment 2000-2020." Hmong Studies Journal 26(1): 1-16.
Lor, Yang. 2023. Unequal Choices: How Social Class Shapes Where High-Achieving Students Apply to College. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
Lor, Yang. 2019. "Ties that Bind: Family Obligations as Immediate and Anticipatory Obstacles." Race, Ethnicity, Education 22(5): 666-682.
Lor, Yang 2018. "Narratives of Interdependence and Independence: The Role of Social Class and Family Relationships in Where High-Achieving Students Apply to College." Research in the Sociology of Education 20: 107-128.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
Lor, Yang. 2009. "Hmong Political Involvement in St. Paul, Minnesota and Fresno, California." Hmong Studies Journal 10: 1-53.
TEACHING RESOURCE
Lor, Yang. 2022. “Sampling Cities to Examine Correlation Between Proportion of College Graduates & Median Income”. TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology, April. Washington, D.C.: American Sociological Association.
BOOK REVIEWS
Lor, Yang. 2022. Review of Immigrant Agency: Hmong American Movements and The Politics of Racialized Incorporation by Yang S. Xiong. Newark, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 2022, in Hmong Studies Journal 22.
Lor, Yang. 2020. Review of Amplified Advantage: Going to a “Good” College in an Era of Inequality, by Allison L. Hurst. Washington, D.C.: Lexington Press, 2019, in Social Forces 99(2).
Lor, Yang. 2012. Review of Hmong America: Reconstructing Community in Diaspora, by Chia Youyee Vang. Chicago: University of Illinois Press, 2010, in Journal of Asian American Studies 15(1).
RESEARCH
Overall Research Agenda
My primary research is aimed at increasing our understanding of how race/ethnicity, social class, and inequality shape the educational experiences of students. Specifically, I examine how schools, families, and communities influence the experiences, understandings, and decisions of high school students from different social backgrounds. I draw upon in-depth interviews I conduct with high school students to enhance our knowledge about the mechanisms that link students’ social backgrounds to their educational experiences and outcomes. I have published in peer-reviewed journals about immigrant political incorporation (Hmong Studies Journal, 2009), the educational attainment and experiences of Hmong American students (Race, Ethnicity, Education, 2019; Hmong Studies Journal, 2024) and the college application experiences of students from different social class backgrounds (Research in the Sociology of Education, 2018). My book Unequal Choices: How Social Class Shapes Where High-Achieving Students Apply to College was published in 2023 by Rutgers University Press as part of their American Campus book series that explore recent developments and public policy issues in higher education in the United States.
I am currently conducting a qualitative study examining how social context shapes Hmong American college students' sense of belonging and identity. By comparing students' experiences in Wisconsin and California—two states with sizable Hmong populations but markedly different racial demographics—the project investigates how campus racial climates, institutional environments, and peer support influence students' experiences of inclusion, recognition, and cultural affirmation. Through this comparative approach, the study seeks to advance understanding of how social and institutional contexts shape identity development, academic engagement, and well-being among underrepresented college students.
TEACHING
As an instructor, I am guided by the mission of helping students develop a critical understanding of history and the social world by interrogating taken for granted beliefs and assumptions. Central to this mission is cultivating a sociological perspective that enables students to recognize how society is socially constructed. I begin by helping students understand how social environments shape individual opportunities and constraints, making some life pathways more likely than others. I also encourage students to examine how society is organized around social categories, including race, gender, class, and sexuality, who has the power to define these categories, and how they contribute to systems of social and economic inequality.
My teaching is informed by my experiences as a first generation college student, my work with diverse student populations, including student parents, returning students, first generation students, and international students, and my research on poverty, inequality, and education. These experiences have reinforced the importance of creating an inclusive learning environment in which all students feel valued and supported. To achieve this, I prioritize active learning strategies that encourage students to apply sociological concepts, collaborate with their peers, and strengthen their analytical and critical thinking skills through meaningful assignments.
While my immediate goal is to help students develop a sociological imagination that enables them to better understand and navigate the social world, my broader aim is to cultivate a habit of critical inquiry. I want students to continually ask why society is organized the way it is, rather than accepting existing social arrangements as natural or inevitable. By questioning taken for granted assumptions, students become better equipped to recognize systems of privilege and inequality, challenge unjust social norms, and imagine more equitable alternatives. I hope this perspective empowers marginalized students to better understand the structural forces that shape their experiences while encouraging more advantaged students to critically reflect on their own social positions and responsibilities.