Dr. Sandra Levitsky

Biography

Sandra R. Levitsky is the Arthur F. Thurnau Professor and Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan's College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. She completed her Ph.D. at the University of Wisconsin in 2006 and earned a J.D. from the University of Minnesota in 1997. Her research primarily lies at the intersection of sociology and law, focusing on political sociology and social movements. Levitsky's work explores how contemporary social welfare challenges are reshaping cultural understandings of social needs and the concept of rights and entitlements within the U.S. context. Her book, 'Caring for Our Own: Why There Is No Political Demand for New American Social Welfare Rights,' published by Oxford in 2014, challenges existing narratives around social welfare politics by considering not only the state's responsiveness but also how American families perceive unmet social needs. Currently, she is engaged in a large-scale study examining how colleges and universities respond to pressures from various sectors to address the long-standing issue of sexual violence on campuses.

Research Interests