Michael Sierra-Arévalo
Associate Professor of Sociology · University of Texas at Austin
I study and write about culture, risk, violence, and the law.
About
I am Associate Professor of Sociology and Associate Director of the Liberal Arts Honors Program at the University of Texas at Austin. I also serve on the City of Austin's Public Safety Commission (District 1), and provide evidence-based expert opinion in legal cases concerning police training, policy, use-of-force, and civil rights.
My book, The Danger Imperative: Violence, Death, and the Soul of Policing, shows how policing's cultural emphasis on danger shapes police violence in the U.S. My research papers on policing, firearms, and violence prevention are published in leading academic journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Criminology, Law & Society Review, and Criminology & Public Policy.
My public writing can be found inTexas Monthly, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and Times Higher Education.
Currently, my research focuses on:
1) community-informed AI models to evaluate police interactions.
2) open-source tools to explore data on police who are shot on duty.
3) online sports-betting among U.S. college students.
I received my Ph.D. in Sociology from Yale University and my B.A. in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin.
My book, The Danger Imperative: Violence, Death, and the Soul of Policing, shows how policing's cultural emphasis on danger shapes police violence in the U.S. My research papers on policing, firearms, and violence prevention are published in leading academic journals, including Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Criminology, Law & Society Review, and Criminology & Public Policy.
My public writing can be found inTexas Monthly, The Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, and Times Higher Education.
Currently, my research focuses on:
1) community-informed AI models to evaluate police interactions.
2) open-source tools to explore data on police who are shot on duty.
3) online sports-betting among U.S. college students.
I received my Ph.D. in Sociology from Yale University and my B.A. in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin.