I study how assortative mating and family-making processes intersect with social inequalities by race, gender, and class. My research agenda is motivated by three primary questions:
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How do individuals select romantic partners across race and class boundaries?
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What happens to people’s understandings of social difference after they enter these unions?
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How do individuals in mixed-race relationships navigate their unions’ interraciality in different social contexts?
I use intersectional frameworks in my analyses, advancing our understanding of how behaviors and attitudes in the private sphere can entrench or dislodge a broader constellation of social inequalities. My work has received several paper awards and honorable mentions from the American Sociological Association (ASA), the Society for the Study of Social Problems (SSSP), and the Eastern Sociological Society (ESS).
Prior to beginning my graduate studies at the University of Pennsylvania, I executed marketing campaigns at UBS Investment Bank and consulted on new product launches at Nielsen. I received my B.S. in Sociology and Business Administration from New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business in 2015.
M.A., Sociology, University of Pennsylvania, 2022
B.S., Sociology and Business Administration, New York University, 2015 (magna cum laude)
Race and Ethnicity; Immigration; Asian American Studies; Gender; Sexualities; Family; Intersectionality; Culture; Qualitative Methods
Instructor of Record:
Introduction to Sociology
Asian Americans in Contemporary Society
Teaching Assistant:
Media and Popular Culture
Introduction to Sociological Research Methods
Introduction to Sociological Research Methods
Introduction to Sociology
Every year, graduate instructors are nominated by undergraduate students for the Penn Prize for Excellence in Teaching by Graduate Students, a teaching prize awarded by the Office of the Provost. In 2022, I was one of 10 students across the entire university to be awarded this prize. I feel really proud to have received this honor because nominations came directly from students I have taught and mentored.
Hu, Olivia Y. “Racialized Romance Beyond the White/Non-White Color Line: An Intersectional Analysis of East Asian Women’s Masculinities Construction Processes.” (Forthcoming)
- 2023 ASA Section on Racial and Ethnic Minorities James E. Blackwell Graduate Student Paper Award (Honorable Mention)
Hu, Olivia Y. 2024. “Let’s Talk about Race, Baby: How Interracial/-ethnic Relationships Influence East Asian Women’s Understandings of Race and Racism.” Ethnic and Racial Studies. doi: 10.1080/01419870.2024.2431635.
- 2023 SSSP Division of Critical Race and Ethnic Study Outstanding Graduate Student Paper Award (Winner)
- 2024 ASA Race, Gender, and Class Graduate Student Paper Award (Honorable Mention)
Hu, Olivia Y., Xiang Lu, (equal authorship) and Wendy D. Roth. 2024. “Linking Race and Genes: Racial Conceptualization among Genetic Ancestry Test-Takers.” Ethnic and Racial Studies 47(8):1574–96. doi: 10.1080/01419870.2023.2224871.
- 2024 Martin Bulmer Prize for Article of the Year (Shortlist)
Twitter: @oliviayhu
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/oliviayhu