Raphael Mondesir
Associate Professor of Sociology
Email: mondesirr@spu.edu
Phone: 206-281-2394
Office: Alexander Hall 305
Education: PhD, University of Washington, 2017; MA, University of Washington, 2010; BS, Salem State University, 2005. At SPU Since 2017.
Raphael Mondesir spent three years as an adjunct instructor at SPU before joining the Sociology Department as a full-time faculty member in the fall of 2017. He earned both his master’s and doctorate in sociology at the University of Washington. Before moving to Seattle for his graduate studies, Dr. Mondesir lived in Massachusetts where he earned his bachelor’s degree in economics at Salem State University.
His research agenda stands at the crossroads of economic sociology, the sociology of religion, global development studies, and political sociology. Dr. Mondesir is currently investigating how civic participation affects rural development in the absence of a central state and the role of religion in the structuration of civic networks. He also takes a particular interest in the role that NGOs and other organizations play in the aid channels that sustain global development.
Much like his research, Dr. Mondesir’s teaching reflects a passion for debates about inequality, development processes, and the integration of marginalized groups. His lectures often focus on how the poor and downtrodden make decisions and express their agency under the weight of both visible and invisible power structures that are at play in their environment. One of his primary pedagogical goals is to gently challenge his students to confront their misconceptions about social inequality, discrimination, and privilege.
Please see Raphael Mondesir’s CV for more information.