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Donnell J. Butler
Princeton University
Department of Sociology
228 Wallace Hall
Princeton, NJ 08544
Office: 609-333-6963
Fax: 609-258-1039
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Academic Teaching and Research Interests

Publications

Race, Segregation and Diversity in College: How Precollege Diversity Experiences Influence Students’ College Preferences, Behaviors, and Perceptions

PUBLISHER: Forthcoming. Proquest - UMI Dissertations
ABSTRACT
Existing research suggests that racial segregation in neighborhoods and schools might lead students to develop negative predispositions regarding multiethnic settings and situations. However, very little research exists regarding how the presence or absence of precollege diversity experiences shapes students’ future multiethnic college experiences. This dissertation consists of three related empirical analyses based on conceptual frameworks that I develop from research evidence and theories from the fields of sociology, psychology, and education. Using two recent multi-institution student surveys, I evaluate how students' ethnoracial origin and precollege experiences with racial and ethnic diversity influence their college preferences as well as their interracial interactions and perceptions of comfort in college. This dissertation contributes to a growing literature on the enduring consequences of racial and ethnic segregation, particularly how experiences of segregation influence individual attitudes and behavior. I find that both opportunities for and direct experiences with diversity prior to college influence students’ future engagement with and interpretation of racial and ethnic experiences. In the concluding chapter, I discuss important areas for research and action related to minimizing the reproduction of social stratification and maximizing the preparation of students for a global community where experience with diversity is becoming a form of capital.

When Race Matters: The Influence of Sex and Socioeconomic Status on Perceived Racial and Ethnic Variation in College Enrollment

PUBLISHER: 2004. Race, Gender, and Class
ABSTRACT
The author examines whether sex and socioeconomic status differences in college enrollment vary across ethno-racial groups, and whether this variation significantly influences what previous researchers have perceived as simple racial differences in college enrollment among high school graduates. Using data from the 1988 through 1994 surveys of the National Education Longitudinal Study, the author finds that sex and socioeconomic status differences in college enrollment vary across ethno-racial groups. Moreover, the analyses reveal that while Asians are able to overcome certain obstacles common to deterring college enrollment, Blacks are unable to reap the benefits of resources typically associated with college enrollment.

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Studies of Artists: An Annotated Directory

PUBLISHER: 2000. Princeton University Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies
FOREWORD: Paul DiMaggio
ABSTRACT
This annotated directory documents more than 80 different studies of artist populations. The directory provides information about how the researcher in each study has defined the artist and identified the population. Studies are arranged by type of artist population and, within each category, by study date. Each entry indicates, in so far as possible from available materials, the study investigator, the artist population, the way in which artists were identified, sampling procedures, number of respondents and response rates, and publications based on the study. This directory should provide researchers and other interested parties with a range of definitions, identification methods, and sampling procedures currently used in studies of artists. The introduction to the directory provides a critical overview of the numerous methods for identifying and defining "artists."

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Unpublished Manuscripts

Doing Housework: A Longitudinal Study of Whether People Are "Doing Gender" When They Do Housework

ABSTRACT
Recent evidence finds that the gender gap in time spent on housework between married men and women is larger than the gap between single men and women. Some researchers have interpreted these findings about housework to suggest that individuals act out gender roles, i.e., "do gender" when doing housework in intimate relationships. These findings, however, are based on cross-sectional data. The interpretations, therefore, are weakened by a lack of evidence about how housework behaviors change when people make the actual transition to married life. Using panel data from the 1997-1998 and 1992-1994 National Surveys of Families and Households, I find that household composition, and not marital status, is the best predictor of the amount of housework that people do. I use these findings to specify under what conditions housework is a symbolic activity by which an individual displays particular behaviors in order to reinforce and reconstruct their gender identity.

Teaching

Diversity in the Classroom: Links on the Web

ABSTRACT
A web page designed for graduate student instructors, teaching assistants, and faculty members. This page will provide links to Internet sites and resources to assist in addressing diversity in the classroom: encouraging exchanges of diverse ideas, fostering an open atmosphere for provocative intelligent (i.e., critical and thoughtful) discussion, diffusing potential conflicts, and providing the best learning environment for each and everyone one of your students. The links address the wide range of diversity: race, gender, socioeconomic class, religion, sexuality, disabilities, age, region, and nationality. Moreover, some of the links discuss both the philosophical and pragmatic importance of diversity and creating inclusive classrooms.

How to Write a Sociological Research Methods Paper V1.0

ABSTRACT
This document is simply a preliminary guide for those who feel completely lost regarding how to write a research methods paper. It's preliminary because it is the first draft of the first version of "How to Write a Research Methods Paper", which I provided to my 2000-2001 sociologcal research methods students. The guide is by no means all-inclusive. Nonetheless, this guide should be helpfel to students writing their first sociological reserch methods paper. For those who are serious about writing research papers, in general, then I would suggest The Craft of Research by Booth, Colomb, and Williams.