Christopher Whitsel

Christopher M. Whitsel joined the Department of Sociology and Anthropology at North Dakota State University in fall of 2009. He spent the 2013-2015 academic years on leave working at a newly founded university in Kazakhstan, Nazarbayev University, to develop their sociology program. 

His research interests stem from his life experiences in Russia as an exchange student and in Uzbekistan as a volunteer teaching English. He witnessed first-hand significant differences in family, government structure, economic circumstances, school organization, and many other aspects of social life.  The whole society was experiencing tremendous changes because of the collapse of the Soviet Union. His research is part of his continuing effort to understand the effects of post-Soviet transition on society.

His research focus has been education and inequality of access in post-Soviet Central Asia. More specifically, his work highlights barriers that families face in sending their children to school and the ways that community differences constrain their decisions. In addition to his academic endeavors, Whitsel has worked with international organizations like UNICEF-Tajikistan on projects about social aspects of poverty and the Soros Foundation on projects with early childhood education in Tajikistan.  

Ph.D. in Sociology, Indiana University, 2009
M.A. in Central Eurasian Studies, Indiana University, 2006
M.A. in Sociology, Indiana University, 2004
B.A. in Social Sciences, Bethel College, 1998