NCID-1316
Yan Ciupak
Assistant Professor of Sociology
Northern Michigan University
Education/Degree:
1 Sociology of Education (University at Buffalo)
About
Dr. Ciupak is an assistant professor of sociology in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the inaugural faculty director for international initiatives at Northern Michigan University. Her scholarship encompasses immigrant studies, Chinese society and culture, educational access and equity, and international education. Her new book, On the Nexus of Local and Global: Chinese Higher Education and College Students in the Era of Globalization (2016), reveals the complex interplay between globalization, social mobility, and educational choices. A recent chapter "Education of Immigrants' Children" (2015) reviews four decades of empirical research in the United States and identifies new research agenda and direction. Recognizing her expertise in the area, Dr. Ciupak was recently invited to contribute an entry on Asian-American families for an encyclopedia. Dr. Ciupak is actively involved in the internationalization endeavors of her institution, establishing global partnerships and promoting cultural and educational exchange. Dr. Ciupak has been invited as a speaker or colloquium participant by the US Embassy, Federal National Committee on United States-China Relations, and multiple academic institutions both within the United States and overseas. Through teaching, advising, scholarship, service, and activism, Dr. Ciupak advocates for educational access and diversity, intercultural communications, and world peace.
Current Work
Dr. Ciupak is currently working on the following: (a) Asian-American Families. In Macmillan Encyclopedia of Intimate and Family Relationships. New York, NY: Macmillan (b) An inter-institutional, interdisciplinary research project on blind folk musicians in north China from the social-cultural perspective (Collaborating with Folklore and Popular Literature Research Institute in Shanxi University, China). (c) Literature review and pilot study on mindfulness movement in the U.S. and Mindful/Contemplative Sociology.(d) A Routledge book chapter (edited by St. John, et al, forthcoming 2018): "The Architecture of Capitals: A Rigorous Qualitative Inquiry Framework and Its Application in China."Dr. Ciupak’s upcoming chapter "Architecture of Capitals: A Rigorous Qualitative Inquiry Framework" (Routledge) examines recent developments and challenges in critical qualitative inquiry and proposes a framework termed the "Architecture of Capitals Accumulation, Transmission and Regulation (AOC)." AOC provides a multi-level conceptual and analytical framework linking micro level individual actions and interactions to macro structures and policies. The characteristics of an AOC design include a stratified sampling method of interviewees, multi-sites fieldwork whenever possible, "crystallization" of data, and a concerted multi-level analysis. Residing on both theory and methods, AOC can be understood as a critical-empirical approach: theories are generated from publicly engaged empirical data, and is centered on the distribution and flow of resources which help analyze social equality and justice. This framework is particularly powerful to aid studies on equality-related topics such as social class, race/ethnicity, gender, regional disparity, social movements, etc.The paper further explores the application of this framework in China, exploring opportunities, challenges, and strategies in conducting critical qualitative policy research in contemporary China.
Research Area Keyword(s)
China, ethnomusicology from the sociological perspective, Immigrants, International education, Sociology of education and culture