Dr. Matthew Lassiter

Biography

Matthew Lassiter is a scholar of twentieth-century United States history with a focus on political history, urban and suburban studies, and racial and social inequality. He currently serves as the Louis Evans Professor of History and the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan, where he also directs graduate studies. Lassiter's recent work includes the publication of 'Suburban Crisis: White America and the War on Drugs' in 2023 by Princeton University Press. He is also the author of 'Silent Majority: Suburban Politics in the Sunbelt South' (2006) and a co-editor of 'Myth of Southern Exceptionalism' (2009). In addition to his publications, he co-directs the U-M Carceral State Project and is involved in the Policing and Social Justice HistoryLab, which features collaborative projects between undergraduate and graduate students. His selected publications have addressed critical themes in civil rights and policing, including the collaborative digital exhibit 'Detroit Fire: Police Violence, Crime, Politics, and the Struggle for Racial Justice in the Civil Rights Era.'

Research Interests

Experience