CSDE Research Areas:
- Demographic Measurements and Methods
- Environments and Populations
- Health of People and Populations
- Wellbeing of Families and Households
In the News:
- Harris Highlights the Importance of Laws that Address Legal Monetary Sanctions (12/14/2023)
- Arnold Ventures Award to Support Monetary Sanction Collective Research (02/25/2022)
- Harris, Trainee Kennedy, and Co-Author Publish Study on Unequal Impacts of Monetary Sanctions (12/03/2021)
- CSDE Affiliate Alexes Harris Guest Edits UW’s Viewpoint Magazine (11/02/2020)
- Disarming and Defunding UW Police: What Does That Look Like? A Conversation for the University of Washington Community (08/04/2020)
- Alexes Harris Comments on Criminalization of Poverty for The Appeal's Political Report (04/27/2020)
- Alexes Harris Comments on New Hope Act for Formerly Incarcerated Residents at KNKX (03/11/2019)
- Alexes Harris to speak at Be The Match and Why Race Matters UW Event (10/10/2018)
- Alexes Harris Wins UW Distinguished Teaching Award (04/30/2018)
- Publications by CSDE Affiliates Featured in Russell Sage Foundation Press Spring Catalog (02/12/2018)
- Alexes Harris Discusses Her Research on Legal Financial Obligations (12/05/2017)
- Alexes Harris Elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences (08/15/2017)
- Alexes Harris Adds Context to Controversial Court Case (06/06/2017)
- Alexes Harris and Team Track Monetary Sanctions in Multiple States (04/25/2017)
- Alexes Harris Discusses Unfair Bail and Government Oversight with Bloomberg (04/03/2017)
- Alexes Harris Highlighted by The American Prospect (11/21/2016)
- VICE Talks Socioeconomic Targeting with Alexes Harris (11/07/2016)
Alexes Harris, Ph.D., is the Presidential Term Professor and Professor of Sociology at the University of Washington. Dr. Harris’ work has spanned the criminal justice system, including juvenile justice, case processing outcomes, and monetary sanctions. Her research is fundamentally centered on issues of inequality, poverty and race in the United States' systems of justice. Her book, A Pound of Flesh: Monetary Sanctions as a Punishment for the Poor details the ways in which sentenced fines and fees often put an undue burden on disadvantaged populations and place them under even greater supervision of the criminal justice system. The book has received widespread media coverage, including by The New York Times, National Public Radio, The Nation, The New Yorker, and the Los Angeles Times. Her research has been published in peer reviewed journals such as American Journal of Sociology, American Sociological Review, Ethnography, Crime and Public Policy, and Law and Society Review. Her current project extends this line of research in eight states with funding from Arnold Ventures. Dr. Harris' research areas include:
- Qualitative research methods
- Criminal justice system processing
- Multi-state multi-method data collection