John O’Brien

John O’Brien is a sociologist whose research and teaching interests include culture, religion, social identity, immigration, ethnicity, and Islam and Muslims. His current research project is a three and a half year ethnographic study of a group of Muslim teenagers coming of age in post-9/11 America. His articles have been published in the journals Social Psychology Quarterly and Contexts, and his paper on Muslim American youth and hip-hop culture was recently awarded the Best Student Paper Award from the Association for the Sociology of Religion. At NYUAD, he teaches courses on Religion and Society, Islam and Society, and Ethnographic Fieldwork.

Education

• 2012 Ph.D. Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles
• 2010 M.A. Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles
• 1996 B.A. American Civilization, Brown University

Courses Taught

• SRPP-UH 1810X Islam and Society
• SRPP-UH 2211 Ethnographic Field Research
• SRPP-UH 4000 Capstone Seminar
• SRPP-UH 4001 Capstone Project

Academic Positions

• 2020-present Associate Professor of Sociology, NYU Abu Dhabi
  Program Head, Social Research and Public Policy (AY 2020-21)
• 2013-2020 Assistant Professor of Sociology, NYU Abu Dhabi
• 2012-2013 Faculty Fellow, NYU Abu Dhabi