Victor Tan Chen
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VICTORTANCHEN
InstituteforResearchonLaborandEmployment
UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley
2521ChanningWay#5555
Berkeley,CA94720‐5555 510.643.6811
victor.chen@berkeley.edu
EMPLOYMENTANDEDUCATION
UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley.NationalScienceFoundationandAmerican
SociologicalAssociationpostdoctoralfellow,InstituteforResearchonLaborand
EmploymentandtheDepartmentofSociology.2012‐2014.PI:NeilFligstein
HarvardUniversity,PhDinSociologyandSocialPolicy.2012.
Dissertation:“Meritless:UnemployedAutoworkers,theSocialSafetyNet,andthe
CultureofMeritocracyinAmericaandCanada.”
 Committee:WilliamJuliusWilson(cochair),KatherineS.Newman(cochair),
BruceWestern
 LaborandEmploymentRelationsAssociation’sThomasA.KochanandStephen
R.SleighBestDissertationAward
Master’sThesis:“GlobalConfederates:FromSocialMovementsto‘Movementsof
Movements,’theStrangeCareerofGlobalJusticeActivism.”
 Committee:WilliamJuliusWilson(chair),MartinK.Whyte,SidneyG.Tarrow
HarvardCollege,BAinHistoryandLiterature,magnacumlaude.1998.
SeniorThesis:Chen,Victor.“Mariners,Renegades,andCannibals:Class,Race,and
NationintheNationalMaritimeUnion,1920‐1950.”
 Gradedsummacumlaudebythesenior‐facultyreviewer.
 StoredinHarvardUniversityArchives.
ACADEMICPUBLICATIONS
Newman,KatherineS.,andVictorTanChen.TheMissingClass:PortraitsoftheNearPoor
inAmerica.Boston:BeaconPress,2007.
Chen,VictorTan,andKatherineS.Newman.“StreetwiseEconomics.”InChutesand
Ladders:NavigatingtheLow‐WageLaborMarket,byKatherineS.Newman.NewYork
andCambridge,MA:RussellSageFoundationandHarvardUniversityPress,2006.
Victor Tan Chen
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WORKSINPROGRESS
Chen,VictorTan.Meritless:HardTimesfortheUnskilledandUnemployedandthe
ParadoxofMeritocracy.Berkeley:UniversityofCaliforniaPress,undercontract.
OTHERPUBLICATIONS(SELECTED)
Chen,VictorTan,andKatherineS.Newman.“TheMissingClass:TheNearPoor.”Poverty
&Race16,no.6(November/December2007):3‐8.
Newman,KatherineS.,andVictorTanChen.“TheCrisisoftheNearPoor.”TheChronicle
ofHigherEducation54,no.6(2007):B10‐11.
RESEARCHANDTEACHINGINTERESTS
Socialstratificationandinequality;economicsociology;comparativesocialpolicy;work
andlabormarkets;urbansociology;qualitativemethods.
HONORSANDGRANTS
LaborandEmploymentRelationsAssociation.CowinnerofThomasA.Kochanand
StephenR.SleighBestDissertationAward.2012.
FragileFamiliesSummerDataWorkshop,ColumbiaUniversity.Selectedattendee
atworkshopdevotedtotheFragileFamiliesandChildWellbeingStudy.2012.
GraduateSociety,HarvardUniversity.DissertationCompletionFellowship.2011‐
2012.
JoblessnessandUrbanPovertyResearchProgram,HarvardUniversity.
Dissertationaward,$30,000grant.2009.
WeatherheadCenterforInternationalAffairs,HarvardUniversity.Canada
ResearchFellow,$10,000grant.2009.
LibraryJournal,BestBusinessBooksof2007.TheMissingClasswasnamedoneof
thetwobestbooksontheUSeconomy.2007.
HarvardMultidisciplinaryPrograminInequality&SocialPolicy.Doctoral
fellowship,includinga2005EuropeanNetworkonInequality(ENI)fellowshipat
SciencesPoParis.2002.
NationalScienceFoundationGraduateResearchFellowship.Honorablemention.
2002.
JensAubreyWestengardFund.HarvardUniversityawardforsummerresearch.2002.
Victor Tan Chen
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InvestigativeReportersandEditors.Computer‐assistedreportingfellowship.2000.
TEACHINGANDRESEARCHEXPERIENCE
Instructor/TeachingFellow
Sociology96:CommunityResearchInternship,HarvardUniversity,Spring2004
Designedandtaughtanundergraduateseminarinwhichstudentsinternedatnonprofit
organizationsandreflectedontheirpublicservicethroughreadingsinsociologyand
otherfields.Asthecourse’ssoleinstructor,developedcoursesyllabus,assisted
studentsinsecuringinternships,ledweeklydiscussions,invitedguestspeakers,
evaluatedresponsepapersandtermpapers,andassignedgrades.
ResearchAssistant
HarvardUniversity,2003‐2006
Assistedwithresearchthatledtotwopublications:
 Newman,KatherineS.ChutesandLadders:NavigatingtheLow‐WageLabor
Market.NewYorkandCambridge,MA:RussellSageFoundationandHarvard
UniversityPress,2006.
 Putnam,RobertD.“EPluribusUnum:DiversityandCommunityintheTwenty‐
firstCentury.”ScandinavianPoliticalStudies30,no.2(2007):137‐74.
PRESENTATIONSANDMEDIA
Chen,VictorTan.“TheRiseofMeritocraticMoralityandtheFailureofInstitutions:A
StudyofUnemployedAutoworkersintheUSandCanada.”InvitedlectureatOregon
StateUniversity’sSociologyProgramandSchoolofPublicPolicy.December3,2013.
Chen,VictorTan.“TheFailureofInstitutionsandtheCultureofMeritocracy:AStudyof
UnemployedAutoworkersintheUSandCanada.”InvitedlectureatRutgersUniversity’s
SchoolofManagementandLaborRelations.November22,2013.
Chen,VictorTan.“TheFailureofInstitutionsandtheCultureofMeritocracy:AStudyof
UnemployedAutoworkersintheUSandCanada.”InvitedlectureattheUniversityof
California,Berkeley’sCanadianStudiesProgramColloquiumSeries.October17,2013.
Chen,VictorTan.“Meritless:Blue‐CollarResponsestoUnemploymentinaCultureof
Meritocracy.”InvitedlectureatStanfordUniversity’sEconomicSociologyWorkshop.
June3,2013.
Chen,VictorTan.“‘MyJobWasLikeMyMotherandFather’:TheImpactofSocialPolicy
ontheFamiliesofUnemployedAutoworkersinDetroitandWindsor.”Invitedlectureat
theUniversityofMichigan’sDepartmentofSociology.December5,2011.
Victor Tan Chen
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Chen,VictorTan.“‘MyJobWasLikeMyMotherandFather’:TheImpactofSocialPolicy
ontheFamiliesofUnemployedAutoworkersinDetroitandWindsor.”Invitedlectureat
theCityCollegeofNewYork’sSocialScienceSeminar.December1,2011.
Chen,VictorTan.“‘MyJobWasLikeMyMotherandFather’:TheImpactofSocialPolicy
ontheFamiliesofUnemployedAutoworkersinDetroitandWindsor.”Invitedlectureat
NorthwesternUniversity’sSchoolofEducationandSocialPolicy.November29,2011.
Chen,VictorTan.“‘IntellectualAutobiography.”InvitedlectureatSarahLawrence
College.October31,2011.
Chen,VictorTan.Interview.It’sANewDay(WJZD).June24,2009.
Chen,VictorTan.GuestSpeaker.“JournalismandtheAmericanRoad.”DavidDent,Class
Instructor.NewYorkUniversity.October28,2008.
Chen,VictorTan.“TheMissingClass:PortraitsoftheNearPoorinAmerica.”Invited
lectureattheNewYorkPublicLibrary,Mid‐ManhattanBranch.December10,2007.
Newman,KatherineS.,andVictorTanChen.“TheMissingClass:PortraitsoftheNear
PoorinAmerica.”InvitedlectureforBookTV(C‐SPAN2)/CambridgeForum(WGBH).
December5,2007.
Chen,VictorTan.“TheMissingClass:PortraitsoftheNearPoorinAmerica.”Invited
lectureatUnitedforaFairEconomy,Boston.December5,2007.
Newman,KatherineS.,andVictorTanChen.“TheMissingClass:PortraitsoftheNear
PoorinAmerica.”InvitedlectureattheNewAmericaFoundation,Washington,DC.
October1,2007.
Chen,VictorTan.Interview.LateMorningswithJeffSchechtman(KVON).September24,
2007.
Chen,VictorTan.Interview.SoundOffwithSasha(WGCU).September7,2007.
MEDIAREFERENCESTOWORK(SELECTED)
Longhofer,Wesley,ShannonGolden,andArturoBaiocchi.“Afreshlookatsociology
bestsellers.”Contexts,Spring2010.
Cords,SarahStatz.“RisingTides.”LibraryJournal.March15,2008.
Herbert,Bob.“SharingThePain.”NewYorkTimes,March11,2008.
Green,James.“Dirtywork.”BostonGlobe.November4,2007.
Victor Tan Chen
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“KatherineNewmanonTheMissingClass.”BillMoyersJournal(PBS),November2,
2007.
Herbert,Bob.“SendIntheClowns.”NewYorkTimes,October6,2007.
“KatherineNewman:‘TheMissingClass’(Beacon).”TheDianeRehmShow(NPR),
October1,2007.
Uchitelle,Louis.“IsThere(MiddleClass)LifeAfterMaytag?”NewYorkTimes,August26,
2007.
ADDITIONALSKILLS
Computer:Stata,PHP,MySQL,CSS,HTML/XHTML,andUnix.
Journalism:WorkedasareporterforNewsday.FoundingeditorofInTheFray,an
award‐winningmagazinedevotedtopersonalstoriesonglobalissues.Wroteforthe
MiamiHerald,theOregonian,thePhiladelphiaDailyNews,andtheMinorityLawJournal.
Nonprofitmanagement:ServedaspresidentandexecutivedirectorofInTheFray,
Inc.,a501(c)(3)nonprofit.Managedboard/staffinallareas,includinggrantwritingand
marketing.AuthoredbiennialreportfortheAsianAmericanFederationofNewYork.
Other:Proficientinreading,writing,andspeakingSpanish(researcher‐writerinChile
forLet’sGotravelguide;summerstudyinSpain).Blackbeltintaekwondo(ATA).
REFERENCES
WilliamJuliusWilson
LewisP.andLindaL.GeyserUniversityProfessorandDirectoroftheJoblessnessand
UrbanPovertyResearchProgram
HarvardKennedySchoolofGovernment
Mailbox103
79JFKStreet
Cambridge,MA02138
bill_wilson@harvard.edu
Phone:617‐496‐4514
Fax:617‐495‐5834
KatherineS.Newman
JamesB.KnappDeanoftheZanvylKriegerSchoolofArtsandSciences
TheJohnsHopkinsUniversity
237Mergenthaler
3400N.CharlesSt.
Baltimore,MD21218
knewman@jhu.edu
Victor Tan Chen
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Phone:410‐516‐4065
Fax:410‐516‐4100
BruceWestern
ProfessorofSociologyandDirectoroftheMalcolmWienerCenterforSocialPolicy
HarvardUniversity
430WilliamJamesHall
33KirklandStreet
Cambridge,MA02138
western@wjh.harvard.edu
Phone:617‐495‐8697
Fax:617‐496‐5794
NeilFligstein
Classof1939Chancellor'sProfessorandDirectoroftheCenterforCulture,
Organization,andPolitics
UniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley
DepartmentofSociology
Berkeley,CA94720
fligst@berkeley.edu
Phone:510‐642‐4766and510‐642‐6567
Fax:510‐642‐0659