Earl Smith

Earl Smith, PhD is Emeritus Professor of Sociology and the Rubin Distinguished Professor of American Ethnic Studies at Wake Forest University. Dr. Smith is also the former director of the American Ethnic Studies Program as well as former Chairperson of the Department of Sociology, Wake Forest University. Prior to his appointment at Wake Forest University, Professor Smith was the Dean, Division of Social Science at Pacific Lutheran University (PLU) in Tacoma, Washington. He also served as Chairperson of the Department of Sociology at PLU. Professor Smith has numerous publications (books, articles, book chapters etc.) in the area of professions, social stratification, family, urban sociology, and has published extensively in the area of the sociology of sport. His most recent book is Way Down in the Hole (2023). Gender, Power and Violence: Responding to Intimate Partner Violence in Society Today (2019) which followed on the heels of Policing Black Bodies: How Black Lives are Surveilled and How to Work for Change (2018). His sport-focused books are: Sociology of Sport and Social Theory (2010) and Race, Sport and the American Dream (3rd edition 2014). His other books include: African American Families: Myths and Realities (2nd ed., 2014), The Social Dynamics of Family Violence (2nd ed., 2016), Prisoner Reentry and Social Capital (2010), Interracial Intimacies (2009); Interracial Relationships (2009); African American Families (2007). He received his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Connecticut at Storrs.