YANG LOR
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ASSISTANT TEACHING PROFESSOR
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DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, MERCED
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YLOR2@UCMCERCED.EDU
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ABOUT
As of July 2024, I am an Assistant Teaching Professor and the Undergraduate Program Chair in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Merced. Previously, I was a Visiting Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, California. I completed my Ph.D. in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley in 2018.
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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 my family and I am the first person in my family to attend college. I obtained my B.A. in sociology with a minor in Asian American Studies from Stanford University and my M.A. in sociology from UC Berkeley.
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My teaching and research interests span a range of topics, including education, stratification, Hmong Americans, race and ethnicity, and political participation. I have published peer-reviewed papers on the political participation of immigrants, the educational experiences of low-income immigrant youths, and social class differences in where high-achieving students apply to college. Throughout my career, I have taught at UC Berkeley, UC Davis, Sacramento State University, and the University of the Pacific.
PUBLICATIONS
EDUCATION
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Lor, Yang. 2024. "Hmong American Educational Attainment 2000-2020." Hmong Studies Journal 26(1): 1-16.
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Lor, Yang. 2023. Unequal Choices: How Social Class Shapes Where High-Achieving Students Apply to College. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press.
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Lor, Yang. 2019. "Ties that Bind: Family Obligations as Immediate and Anticipatory Obstacles." Race, Ethnicity, Education 22(5): 666-682.​
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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.
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POLITICAL PARTICIPATION
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Lor, Yang. 2009. "Hmong Political Involvement in St. Paul, Minnesota and Fresno, California." Hmong Studies Journal 10: 1-53.
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TEACHING RESOURCE
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​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.
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BOOK REVIEWS
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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.​
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TEACHING
Teaching Philosophy
As an instructor, I am guided by the mission of helping students develop a critical analysis of history and the social world through interrogating taken-for-granted beliefs and ideas. In particular, I seek to instill in students a sociological lens with which to understand the social construction of society. I do this, first, by helping students understand the ways in which social environments constrain individual choices, making some pathways in life more likely and others less likely. Second, I help students see how society is demarcated by social groups (by race, gender, class, sexuality, etc.), who possess the power to define boundaries for these groups, and the consequences of such categorizations for social and economic stratification.
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My teaching is informed by my own experience as a first-generation college student, my previous teaching experiences with a variety of student populations (e.g. student parents, returning students, first-generation students, international students) and the knowledge that I have accumulated from my research on poverty, inequality, and education. I prioritize building an inclusive classroom for marginalized students, designing classroom activities that promote the application of sociological concepts, and developing assignments that cultivate students’ analytical skills.
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While my primary goal is to instill in students a sociological perspective that enhances their ability to understand and navigate the social world, my ultimate aim is to provide students with a critical thinking mindset, which revolves around questioning why society is the way it is. When students stop taking things around them for granted or accepting things the ways they are, it will spur them to challenge societal norms that can lead to a more just and equitable society. In the process, it will expose advantaged students to their privilege and marginalized students to a different understanding of society that can be empowering.
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List of Courses Taught as Instructor of Record
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University of California, Merced
Introduction to Sociology
Sociological Research Methods
Sociological Theory
Sociology of Education
Race and Racism
Social Stratification
Social Inequality
Senior Capstone Course
Teaching Seminar (Teaching Pedagogy Course)
University of the Pacific
Introduction to Sociology
Prejudice and Racism
Social Inequality
Sociology of Education
University of California, Davis
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Race Relations
California State University, Sacramento
Hmong American Experience
Southeast Asians in the U.S.
Asian American Experience
Contemporary Asian American Experience