Dr. Shelby O Neill

Biography

Shelby O’Neill is a sociologist and postdoctoral research associate at the Watson Institute at Brown University. She is currently writing an ethnography on U.S.-bound migration from a small village in Guanajuato, Mexico, centering on the experiences and aspirations of migrants and their families. Her work engages with broader topics of documentation, displacement, and social mobility, exploring the distinct ways U.S. immigration policy impacts people's lives and the complex relationships with home that emerge alongside migratory departure. O’Neill holds a PhD in Sociology from Princeton University. Her research involves years of close engagement with migratory communities, and her dissertation, entitled “Bury People: Migration from a Mexican Rancho,” tracks the experiences of migrants from her village as they navigate life with temporary documentation in agricultural work, while paying specific attention to the policies that shape these experiences. She aims to capture the detailed lives of migrants, including their reasons for migrating, aspirations, doubts, workdays, and their relationships with home.

Research Interests