Alexander J. Holt
Race, trauma, and the sociology of Black wellbeing.
Alexander J. Holt is a sociologist of race, trauma, and wellbeing — bridging sociology, Black studies, critical pedagogy, and social work at Wake Forest University and UT Austin.
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About
Alexander J. Holt is a Research Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Wake Forest University and a doctoral candidate in Sociology — with a doctoral portfolio in African & African Diaspora Studies — at the University of Texas at Austin. His interdisciplinary work bridges sociology, Black studies, critical pedagogy, and social work, examining how systems of power shape Black diasporic vulnerability and agency, with particular attention to trauma, care, and wellbeing. His dissertation examines the school bus as a developmental site in the American South. Originally from North Carolina, Alexander works to elevate community-rooted knowledge toward more equitable educational and social systems. He is an American Sociological Association Minority Fellow (Cohort 52) and a Research Fellow at the Center for Educational Improvement. As a teacher, Alexander centers culturally competent, trauma-aware instruction and the wellbeing of students of color, approaching the classroom as a site of care as much as instruction. CERTIFICATIONS 2025 — Recognizing and Responding to Suspicions of Child Maltreatment · Positive Childhood Alliance North Carolina 2024 — Inclusive Course Design · Center for Teaching & Learning, UT Austin 2024–2027 — Youth Mental Health First Aid · National Council for Mental Wellbeing 2024 — Advanced Teaching Preparation · Center for Teaching & Learning, UT Austin 2024 — Teaching Preparation · Center for Teaching & Learning, UT Austin 2023–Present — C-SSRS (Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale) · Columbia Lighthouse Project 2022 — Inclusive Classroom Leadership · Division of Diversity and Community Engagement, UT Austin 2020 — Graduate Teaching Assistant Pedagogue · Faculty Innovation Center, UT Austin AFFILIATIONS & MEMBERSHIPS 2025–Present — Member, Positive Childhood Alliance North Carolina 2025–Present — Student Member, Society for the Study of Social Problems 2024–Present — Student Member, American Studies Association 2022–Present — Affiliate, Bernard and Audre Rapoport Center for Human Rights and Justice, UT Austin 2019–2020 — Member, Southern Demography Association 2018–Present — Member, Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society 2018–Present — Student Member, Association of Black Sociologists 2018–Present — Student Member, American Sociological Association
Research
Alexander's research sits at the intersection of race, trauma, and wellbeing. RESEARCH INTERESTS Race, Gender & Economic Inequality · Social Trauma · Racial Trauma · Inclusive & Culturally Competent Pedagogy · Biopsychosocial Wellbeing · Culture · Youth Culture & Development His dissertation examines the school bus as a developmental site in the American South, using qualitative methods to understand the psycho-emotional and social dynamics of youth in that everyday space — see School Bus Research. A parallel line of work, "Racializing Sociological Trauma Theory," argues for epistemic pluralism in how the discipline theorizes trauma, centering Black specificity and lived experience.
School Bus Research
School Bus Research 2026 is Alexander's current study, examining the school bus as a developmental site in the American South. It invites students, parents, and school-transportation staff in the Winston-Salem / Forsyth County area to share their experiences of life on the school bus, for a study of school bus culture and wellbeing. If you'd like to take part, use the sign-up forms below or scan the code. Questions? Contact Professor Holt.
Honors & Awards
FELLOWSHIPS 2025–2026 — Dean's Prestigious Fellowship Award · Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, UT Austin 2025–2026 — Minority Fellowship Program · American Sociological Association 2025 — Summer Excellence Fellowship · Department of Sociology, UT Austin 2023–Present — Urban Ethnography Lab Fellowship · UT Austin 2022–2023 — PhD Career Pathways Fellowship · Graduate School & Office of Career and Life Design, UT Austin GRANTS & SCHOLARSHIPS 2021 — Think Race Competition · Department of Sociology, UT Austin 2019 — Research in Social Inequality and Social Problems (REU) · Texas A&M University / National Science Foundation 2018 — Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship · U.S. Department of State HONORS & AWARDS 2024 — Participant, Program for Research on Black Americans Summer Mentorship Program · Michigan Center for Urban African American Aging Research 2020 — ASA Departmental Prize for Outstanding Students · Department of Sociology, Wake Forest University 2020 — Community Engagement Award · Department of Sociology, Wake Forest University 2020 — Change-Maker Award · Office of Community & Civic Engagement, Wake Forest University 2019 — Participant, Undergraduate Honors Program · American Sociological Association
Professional History
EMPLOYMENT 2025–Present — Research Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Wake Forest University RESEARCH EXPERIENCE 2024–Present — Lab Associate, ISHER (Intersectional Sociological Health Equity Research Lab), Department of Sociology, UT Austin · Dir. Dr. Christy Erving 2023–Present — Graduate Research Assistant, Population Research Center, UT Austin · Dr. Christy Erving 2023–2025 — Inaugural Lab Associate, SPHERE, School of Social Work, Portland State University · Dr. Lalaine Sevillano 2022–2025 — Lab Associate, SPARK, School of Social Work, Portland State University · Dr. Lalaine Sevillano 2022–2025 — Co-Investigator, Departments of Sociology, UT Austin, UNC Chapel Hill & UCLA · Dr. Shannon Malone-Gonzalez, Dr. Faith Deckard 2022–2023 — Social Justice Research Analyst, Eugene & Associates, PC · Darrick Eugene, Esq. 2022 — Research Team Member, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, UT Austin · Dr. Lalaine Sevillano 2022 — Research Assistant, LBJ School of Public Affairs, UT Austin · Dr. Gordon Abner 2021 — Research Team Member, Steve Hicks School of Social Work, UT Austin · Dr. Lalaine Sevillano 2020 — Research Consultant, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Wake Forest University · Dr. José Villalba & Dr. Malika Roman Isler 2019–2020 — Research Assistant, Department of Sociology, Wake Forest University · Dr. Hana Brown 2019 — Independent Researcher, NSF REU, Texas A&M University · Dr. Reuben May 2017–2018 — Research Assistant, School of Business, Wake Forest University · Dr. Michelle Steward 2017–2018 — Research Assistant, Department of Sociology, Wake Forest University · Dr. Edward Opoku-Dapaah INVITED TALKS 2023 — "Bus Down Thotiana: School Buses, Sociality, and Flouting Bodily Surveillance" · guest lecture, Family & Society, UNC Chapel Hill 2023 — "On Discourse and Content Analysis" · guest lecture, Social Research Methods, UT Austin 2023 — Sevillano, Holt & Harper, "Centering Care in our Classrooms to Improve Equity, Belonging, and Academic Success" · Course Hero webinar 2022 — "From Primary Through Post-Secondary: Making It Through the Educational Gauntlet" · NC-MSEN Saturday Academy, Winston-Salem State University 2021 — "On Intersectionality" · guest lecture, Sociology 302, UT Austin CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS 2025 — Farrell & Holt, "When Crisis Is Common: Responsive Praxis in Educational Development" · 50th POD Network in Higher Education Conference, San Diego, CA 2024 — "Man, World, and Child: On Juvenile Aesthetic Explorations and Sociogenic Mutations" · American Studies Association National Conference, Baltimore, MD 2024 — "Man, World, and Child…" · Du Bois Afro-American Studies Conference, UMass Amherst 2022 — Sevillano, Holt, Raybarman & Harper, "When They See Me: Pedagogy & Sense of Belonging" · SXSW EDU, Austin, TX 2019 — "The Color of Choice: An Analysis of College-Bound Black Students' College Choice" · ASA Annual Meeting, New York, NY 2019 — "Race, Class, and Leisure: A Small-Town Analysis of Boundaries in Nightclubs" · Southern Demography Association, New Orleans, LA 2017 — "Diversity and Inclusion Pre-Orientation Talk" · Wake Forest First-Year Pre-Orientation, Winston-Salem, NC 2017 — "Educating Empathy: A Move Towards Better Activism" · Wake Speaks Public Speaking Conference, Wake Forest University SERVICE ## Campus 2024 — Co-Facilitator & Content Developer, Inclusive Course Design Institute, Center for Teaching & Learning, UT Austin 2024 — Panel Facilitator, Celebrating Neurodiversity Student Panel, Inclusive Teaching & Learning Symposium, UT Austin 2024 — Emcee, 8th Annual Graduate Teaching Showcase, Center for Teaching & Learning, UT Austin 2023 — Crisis Pedagogy Toolkit Co-Developer, Faculty Innovation Center, UT Austin 2019–2020 — Founding Member, Wake Forest University Anti-Racism Coalition (ARC) 2019 — Moderator, Branches Social Justice Retreat, Wake Forest University 2018 — Interviewer, Vice President Search Committee, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, Wake Forest University 2017–2019 — Founder, Men of Color Discussion Group, Office of Diversity & Inclusion, Wake Forest University 2017–2018 — Founding Member & Facilitator, Consciousness in Action Sustained Dialogue Group, Wake Forest University 2016–2018 — Panelist & Host, Mosaics Diversity Recruitment, Wake Forest University ## College 2019–2020 — President's Aide, Office of the President, Wake Forest University 2019–2020 — Evaluations & Accountability Committee Member, Presidential Commission on Race, Equity, and Community, Wake Forest University 2017–2019 — Intercultural Center Ambassador, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Wake Forest University 2017–2018 — Interviewer, Faculty Search Committee, Intercultural Center, Office of Diversity and Inclusion, Wake Forest University ## Departmental 2022 — Co-Facilitator, Canvas Workshop, Department of Sociology, UT Austin 2019 — Student Interviewer, Faculty Search Committee, Department of French Studies, Wake Forest University 2019 — Student Interviewer, Faculty Search Committee, Department of Sociology, Wake Forest University ## Disciplinary 2025 — Ad Hoc Reviewer, Journal of Criminal Law & Criminology 2023–2024 — Managing Editor, Gender & Society ## Community 2025 — Research Mentor, Illinois Science & Technology Coalition, Chicago, IL · Specialties: Sociology, Social Justice, Gender/Sexuality Studies · Projects mentored: bilingual students' experiences in education; colonialism's impact on Afro-Feminism 2025 — Pre-College Program Commencement Speaker, NC-MSEN, Winston-Salem State University 2023 — Founder, Black Feminist Sociology Reading Group, Austin, TX 2022 — Co-Facilitator, Summer Abolition Workshop, Triad Abolition Project, Winston-Salem, NC 2017–2020 — Independent Research Contractor, Triad Abolition Project, Winston-Salem, NC 2018 — Co-organizer, Black Girl Empowerment Conference, Winston-Salem, NC 2016–2018 — Academic Camp Counselor, NC-MSEN, Winston-Salem State University
Publications
PEER-REVIEWED ARTICLES Erving, Christy L., Tiffany R. Williams, Alexander J. Holt, and Aigné Taylor. 2024. "Anticipatory Race-Related Stress and Depressive Symptoms Among U.S. Black Women: Are Psychosocial Resources Stress Buffers?" Sociological Inquiry. BOOK CHAPTERS Erving, Christy L., Alexander J. Holt, and Courtney S. Thomas Tobin. 2024. "Stratification and Inequality," in The Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health (Springer, forthcoming). Thomas Tobin, Courtney, Alexander J. Holt, and Christy L. Erving. 2024. "New Directions," in The Handbook of the Sociology of Mental Health (Springer). BOOK REVIEWS Holt, Alexander J. 2025. Review of On Blackness, Liveliness, and What It Means to Be Human by Wilson Kwamogi Okello. The Ethnic and Third World Literatures (E3W) Review of Books, Vol. 24. Holt, Alexander J. 2023. Review of Media and the Affective Life of Slavery by Allison Page. The Ethnic and Third World Literatures (E3W) Review of Books, Vol. 23. IN PROGRESS "Racializing Sociological Trauma Theory: A Move Towards Epistemic Pluralism." "'You're Black, but it's more palatable': Internalized Racism Among College Students of Color" (with Claire Harper, Lalaine Sevillano, Taylor Geyton, Matthew Town, and Esther Calzada). PUBLISHED ESSAYS 2018–2020 — Opinion Columnist, Old Gold & Black, Wake Forest University · "Centuries in Seconds: Why It's Time for You to Get Involved" (with Katherine Pearson) · "Our Haze of Indifference Numbs Us to Cultural Crises" 2017 — Essais: A Movement of the Mind (co-author), Library Partners Press 2017–2018 — Content Creator, The Odyssey Online, Wake Forest University 2016–2017 — "Roots of the 'Black Lives Matter' Movement: The Disconnect," in Writing Moves: A Collection of Student Writing from Wake Forest University (nominated for the D.A. Brown Writing Award)
Contact
The best way to reach Alexander is by email or phone. He welcomes inquiries about research collaborations, speaking and guest lectures, and mentorship. You can also connect with him on LinkedIn.