Dr. Olivia Perlow
Olivia
Perlow
Professor
Sociology
African and African American Studies
Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies
Latina/o and Latin American Studies
College of Arts and Sciences
(773) 442-4773
o-perlow@neiu.edu
Courses Taught
SOC 105: Social Inequalities and Social Change
SOC 316: Race and Ethnic Relations
SOC 318: Sociology Through Film
SOC 344: African American Women: Feminism, Race & Resistance
SOC 350: Sociology of Black Communities
AFAM 200: Intro to African and African American Studies
AFAM 302: Africans in the Diaspora
Research Interests
Dr. Olivia Nichole Perlow is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Sociology, African & African American Studies, Latino/a/x and Latin American Studies, and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Northeastern Illinois University. Her specializations are social inequalities, critical carceral studies, and liberatory pedagogies. Most of her work comes out of a critical race (black) feminist framework in which she examines intersecting oppressions based on race, class, gender, sexuality, and so forth. She is the published author of multiple articles, book chapters, and co-editor of the anthology Black Women's Liberatory Pedagogies: Resistance, Transformation and Healing Within and Beyond the Academy. She is a proud triple alumna of Howard University, where her political trajectory was fermented, and an activist who continues to challenge the varied and multi-faceted oppressions faced by marginalized/minoritized groups, particularly in the areas of criminal (in)justice and education.
Education

Ph.D., Sociology, 2008, Howard University

M.A., Sociology, 2004, Howard University

B.A., Sociology, 2000, Howard University

Selected Publications

Perlow, Olivia, Durene Wheeler, Sharon Bethea & Barbara Scott (Eds.). (2018). Black Women’s Liberatory Pedagogies: Resistance, Transformation & Healing Within and Beyond the Academy. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan.

Perlow, Olivia. (2018). “Anger as Resistance to White Supremacy within and beyond the Classroom” in Perlow, Olivia, Durene Wheeler, Sharon Bethea & Barbara Scott (Eds.)   Black Women’s Liberatory Pedagogies: Resistance, Transformation & Healing Within and Beyond the Academy. New York, NY: Palgrave MacMillan.

Spencer, Zoe and Perlow, Olivia. (2018). “Reconceptualizing Historic and Contemporary   Violence against African Americans as Savage White American Terror (SWAT).”  Journal of African American Studies, Summer 2018. DOI 10.1007/s12111-018-9399-3

Spencer, Zoe and Perlow, Olivia. (2018). “Sassy Mouths, Unfettered Spirits, and the Neo- Lynching of Korryn Gaines and Sandra Bland: Conceptualizing Post Traumatic Slave Master Syndrome and the Familiar ‘Policing’ of Black Women’s Resistance in Twenty-First-Century America.” Meridians: 17(1).  DOI: 10.1215/15366936-6955175

Selected Performances

Grants and Awards

  • The Dr. Melvin Cleveland Terrell Award in Research and Literature, NEIU, 2020
  • Faculty Excellence Award in Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies, NEIU, 2019
  • Sabbatical Award, NEIU, 2015-2016
  • Summer Research Award, NEIU, 2015
  • Women of Color Leadership Project Award, National Women's Studies Association, 2014 
  • Black Heritage Committee Faculty Excellence Award, 2014
  • Northeastern Programming Board’s Women’s Excellence Award, 2014 NEIU’s Faculty Award for Excellence in Teaching, 2014
  • Student Choice Award, NEIU, 2013
  • Pre-Doctoral Teaching Fellowship Award, Northwestern University, 2007 
  • Summer Research Fellowship Award, Texas State University, 2006
Professional Affiliations & Membership
Association of Black Sociologists
National Women's Studies Association and National Council of Black Studies
o-perlow@neiu.edu

Room LWH 2089
Northeastern Illinois University
5500 North St. Louis Avenue
Chicago, IL 60625
United States

(773) 442-4773
Office Hours
Office Hours
11 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday
and by appointment
Main Campus