Ursula Elinor Moffitt

Ursula Moffitt is currently an NSF postdoctoral fellow working with professor Onnie Rogers in the department of psychology at Northwestern University. Ursula's research focuses on contextualized racial, gender, and national identity development through a social justice lens. Her work has been published in academic journals including Identity, Frontiers in Psychology, the International Journal of Intercultural Relations, and the Journal of Adolescence. Ursula is on the editorial board at Identity and is a member of multiple research societies, including the Society for Research on Adolescence and the International Society for Research on Identity. Ursula received her PhD in psychology from the University of Potsdam in Germany, working with Professor Linda Juang and Professor Moin Syed (externally). She also holds an MA in Turkish German social sciences from Humboldt University in Germany, and a BA in psychology from Reed College. Ursula was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Current Work:

Ursula is interested in the ways in which individuals navigate socio-cultural norms, policies, and expectations as they come to make sense of who they are, and in turn how they impact their environments through their beliefs and behaviors. Currently she is focusing on two research areas in particular. First, she is examining how White youth and young adults make sense of race and their own racial identities within the context of systemic racism. To do so, she has used qualitative interview methods, while also working on a conceptual model drawing on the seminal work of counseling psychologist Janet Helms. Second, she is conducting a mixed-methods longitudinal study with diverse college students, investigating the interrelated processes of racial and gender identity development in relation to political activism and university belonging during the current pandemic and presidential election.

Research Area Keyword(s):

racial identity; identity development; racism; whiteness; intersectionality