Colloquium Series: Maria Krysan

The Fair Housing Act of 1968 outlawed housing discrimination by race and provided an important tool for dismantling legal segregation. But almost fifty years later, residential segregation remains virtually unchanged in many metropolitan areas, particularly where large groups of racial and ethnic minorities live. Why does segregation persist at such high rates and what makes it so difficult to combat? In Cycle of Segregation, sociologists Maria Krysan and Kyle Crowder examine how everyday social processes shape residential stratification. Past neighborhood experiences, social networks, and daily activities all affect the mobility patterns of different racial groups in ways that have cemented segregation as a self-perpetuating cycle in the twenty-first century. 

Maria Krysan is a Professor in the Department of Sociology and Senior Scholar at the Institute of Government and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois Chicago. She focuses her research on racial residential segregation and racial attitudes. Earning her Ph.D., at the University of Michigan in 1995, Dr. Krysan regularly engages with the media, having had press coverage in outlets including Chicago Public Radio, Chicago Tribune, New York Times, Washington Post, Slate.com, HLN/CNN, City Lab, WGN Radio, Vox.com, Teen Vogue, and many others.