Margaret A. Hagerman is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Mississippi State University and holds faculty affiliate positions in both the African American Studies and Gender Studies programs. She is a nationally recognized expert on white racial socialization. Using qualitative, child-centered methods, Dr. Hagerman explores how aspects of children’s social contexts—from families to neighborhoods to schools to geographic regions to the larger political landscape—shape how and what they learn about race, racism, and racial privilege, and what this means for racial inequality more broadly.

Dr. Hagerman is the author of two books including Children of a Troubled Time: Growing Up with Racism in Trump’s America (NYU Press 2024) and White Kids: Growing Up with Privilege in a Racially Divided America (NYU Press 2018). Her research can also be found in publications such as Journal of Marriage and Family, Sociology of Race and Ethnicity, Equity and Excellence in Education, and Ethnic and Racial Studies as well as in various edited volumes, including a recent publication by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Her work has been featured by a range of mainstream media outlets including PBS Newshour, Good Morning America, The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Guardian, Time, Good Housekeeping, Libération, L.A. Times and on acclaimed radio programs including NPR’s Marketplace, BBC World News, and CBC’s The Current.

Dr. Hagerman teaches undergraduate and graduate courses on race, families, education, children, inequality, and qualitative methods.