Earl Smith

Earl Smith

Earl Smith

Adjunct Faculty

Sociology: Social Stratification. Crime. Sociology of Sport

Earl Smith, is Emeritus Professor of American Ethnic Studies and Sociology at Wake Forest University.   He earned his PhD in Social Anthropology from the University of Connecticut.  His teaching and research focuses on urban sociology, sociology of sport, criminal justice, and race.  He is the author of 11 books, including his most recent book, published in 2023, Way Down in the Hole: Race, Intimacy and the Reproduction of Racial Ideologies in Solitary Confinement.  In 2018 he published Policing Black Bodies, as well as dozens of book chapters and peer reviewed articles.  He has written several books on the impact of social inequality on Black families.  His book Race, Sport and the American Dream, which has been published in 3 editions, remains the only book on the market that examines structural racism in SportsWorld. On a regular basis he is consulted as an expert by the New York Times, USA Today, and a variety of other news outlets.  He teaches courses on race and ethnicity, social problems, and race, gender, sexuality and sport.