Yasser Payne Ph.D.
Professor
Joint Appointment Africana Studies
University of Delaware
337 Smith Hall
Newark, DE 19716
302-831-1236
Biography
Yasser Arafat Payne is a Professor of Sociology in the Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. Dr. Payne’s street ethnographic research program examines policing and reentry; economic well-being and educational inequality; and gun violence with street-identified Black Americans by utilizing Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR)—the process of doing research and activism with street-identified populations. Dr. Payne’s work has appeared in Sociological Forum, Journal of Social Issues, Sociology Compass, and Race & Justice. Furthermore, Dr. Payne and his colleagues have also authored the book project titled "Murder Town USA: Homicide, Structural Violence and Activism in Wilmington" (Rutgers University Press).
Researching Interests
Dr. Payne has organized a street ethnographic research program centered on exploring notions of resilience and resiliency with The Streets of Black and Brown America using an unconventional methodological framework entitled: Street Participatory Action Research (Street PAR)—the process of involving street identified Black populations on the actual research team. Street PAR projects can take on many forms, but at the very least, they take on the following three features: (1) research orientation; (2) intervention for Street PAR members; and (3) a vehicle for action and activism in local communities.
Challenging the dominant arguments in the literature, Dr. Payne asserts that all of The Streets of Black and Brown America are in fact, resilient. Also, his research program focuses on racial identity, street identity, school violence, physical violence, Gangster Rap music and culture as well as the topic of street participatory action research.
Teaching Interests
Dr. Payne's specialized courses focus on the lived or ethnographic experiences of street-identified populations. Specifically, he offers undergraduate (SOCIO/BAMS381) and graduate courses (SOCIO/BAMS650) on street ethnography. Also, Dr. Payne teaches an undergraduate course on Gangster Rap Music and Culture (BAMS373) as a way to complement his street ethnographic portfolio. Further, he teaches a graduate course entitled Racial Stratification (SOCIO661), which examines race as a multifaceted construct, or gendered and classed concepts in the fields of sociology, criminology, and Africana studies. Lastly, it should be noted that several of Dr. Payne's courses draw on core ideologies and/or theories extending from an Ancient East African worldview. And in one instance, he teaches a course squarely on this topic (Egypt BAMS367).
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