Erin L. McAuliffe

Erin is a political sociologist, sociologist of immigration, and a law and society scholar. Drawing on qualitative and comparative-historical methods, Erin explores the ways in which the state and individuals themselves negotiate and verify entitlement to citizenship, especially under conditions of contested family relations and/or ethnic identity. Her work lies at the intersection of immigration law, family law, and child welfare. Her current U.S. work looks at the negotiation of family relations and citizenship of refuge-seeking youth (unaccompanied minors). Her work in Southeast Asia looks at processes of citizenship verification among rural populations in Myanmar's Shan State (eastern borderlands) as well as among migrant communities in Northern Thailand, especially the challenges faced by single mothers, their children, and orphans. Prior to starting at Michigan, Erin received her M.A. in International Studies through a FLAS Fellowship in Burmese at the University of Washington. Erin also previously worked with a team on digital data literacy and management in Myanmar, worked for educational organizations in Thailand and Myanmar, and worked in the Committee for Human Rights and Humanitarian Aid in the German Parliament.

Recent Publications:

McAuliffe, Erin L. 2023. "'The Ancestral Line is through the Father:' The Gendered Production of Statelessness in Rural Myanmar." Law & Social Inquiry. Online Advance. 

Hess, Kimberly, Erin L. McAuliffe, Miriam Gleckman-Krut, & Shoshana Shapiro. 2022. "Learning from 2020: How the Challenges of Remote Teaching Reinforce the Need for Care-Informed Pedagogy." Teaching Sociology, 50(1): 3-16.