1 EMPLOYMENT KYLA THOMAS Verna and Peter Dauterive Hall 635 Downey Way Los Angeles, CA 90089 kylathom@usc.edu (213) 821-8923 University of Southern California Associate Sociologist, Center for Economic and Social Research 2016 - present EDUCATION Ph.D., Sociology 2016 Dissertation: Hidden (Dis)Advantages of Class: How Cultural Signals of Class Shape U.S. Labor Market Outcomes Committee: Paul DiMaggio (Chair), Viviana Zelizer, Devah Pager, Susan Fiske M.A., Sociology 2012 Comprehensive Exams: Sociology of Culture, Economic Sociology, Social Stratification University of California, Los Angeles B.A., Sociology and Communication Studies (Dual Major) 2008 College Honors, Departmental Honors in Sociology, Summa Cum Laude PUBLICATIONS Peer-Reviewed Articles Thomas, Kyla. 2017. Sounds of Disadvantage: Musical Taste and the Origins of Ethnic Difference. Poetics 60: 29-47. Manuscripts Under Review & In Progress Thomas, Kyla. The Psychology of Distinction: How Cultural Tastes Shape Person Perception in the United States. Revise and Resubmit (American Sociological Review). Thomas, Kyla. Corporate Capitalism on the Great White Way: Theater for a 21 st Century. Revise and Resubmit (Poetics). Thomas, Kyla. The Labor Market Value of Taste: An Experimental Study of Class Bias in U.S. Employment. Thomas, Kyla. The Benefits of Being Lowbrow: Taste as a Signal of Warmth
2 Thomas, Kyla. Class Mobility or Class Privilege? What Americans Value More in a Worker. Other Publications Thomas, Kyla. Are We All Snobs? How Cultural Tastes Affect Our Judgments of Others. Online blog post. The Evidence Base (April 25, 2017). Thomas, Kyla. Is Class-Based Discrimination an Obstacle to Equal Opportunity in the Labor Market? Online blog post. The Evidence Base (December 23, 2016). RESEARCH IN PROGRESS Thomas, Kyla. Intersections of Race- and Class-Based Discrimination in the U.S. Labor Market. Funded by National Science Foundation (PI: Kyla Thomas, SES-1729891) Finch, Brian, Kyla Thomas, Audrey Beck, and Wei Yang. Gangland Neighborhoods as a Potential Social Determinant of Health. Funded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (PI: Brian Finch, R21 HD088066-01) Finch, Brian, Kyla Thomas, Audrey Beck, and Wei Yang. The Effect of the Great Recession on Birth Outcomes. Funded by National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (PI: Brian Finch, R21 HD083037-02) GRANTS, FELLOWSHIPS, AND AWARDS National Science Foundation Research Grant ($235,000) 2017-2019 Max Weber Fellowship, European University Institute (Declined) 2016 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship ($38,000) 2015-2016 Travel Grants ($2,650) 2012-2015 Ford Foundation Dissertation Fellowship Honorable Mention (Alternate) 2014 Eastern Sociological Society Travel Award ($300) 2014 Dissertation Grant ($1,000) 2014 Fahs-Beck Fund for Research and Experimentation Dissertation Grant ($5,000) 2013 Center for the Study of Social Organization Graduate Research Award ($5,000) 2013 Graduate Fellowship ($350,000) 2009-2014 Leo Kuper Memorial Award for Outstanding Senior Honors Thesis in 2008 Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles
3 Summa Cum Laude, University of California, Los Angeles 2008 Phi Beta Kappa 2008 Departmental Honors in Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles 2008 College Honors, University of California, Los Angeles 2008 Undergraduate Research Scholar, University of California, 2007-2008 Los Angeles ($1,000) GRANTS UNDER REVIEW Thomas, Kyla (Lead PI) and Brian Finch (Co-PI). Tracking the Social and Cultural Impact of Gentrification in L.A. County. 1/2018-12/2019. $157,000. Submitted to The John Randolph Haynes Foundation. TEACHING EXPERIENCE Teaching Transcript Program, 2011-2016 Tutor, Bonner Prison Program, Albert C. Wagner Youth Correctional Facility Ant 110 Introduction to Cultural Anthropology 2013 Soc 281 Sociology of Race 2012 Preceptor,, Soc 227 Race and Ethnicity in Comparative Perspective 2011 Soc 340 God of Many Faces: Comparative Perspectives on Migration 2011 and Religion Soc 101 Introduction to Sociology 2010 RESEARCH POSITIONS Research Assistant for Edward Telles,, 2014-2016 Data Consultant, Data and Statistical Services Lab, 2014 PAPER PRESENTATIONS Intersections of Race- and Class-Based Discrimination in the U.S. Labor Market 2016 Brown Bag Series, Center for Economic and Social Research, Los Angeles, CA
4 The Psychology of Distinction: How Cultural Tastes Shape Class Perception and Impression Formation in the U.S. American Sociological Association, Section Session, Seattle, WA 2016 Eastern Sociological Society, Section Roundtable, Boston, MA 2016 The Hidden Value of Highbrow Taste: How Cultural Signals of Class Shape U.S. Labor Market Outcomes American Sociological Association, Section Session, Chicago, IL 2015 Eastern Sociological Society, Panel Session, New York, NY 2015 University of Michigan Inequality, Family, and Demography Working 2014 Group, Ann Arbor, MI Corporate Capitalism on the Great White Way American Sociological Association, Section Session, San Francisco, CA 2014 Aage Sørensen Memorial Conference, Oxford, England 2014 Signals of Class: Do They Affect Hiring Outcomes? American Sociological Association, Regular Session, New York, NY 2013 Center for the Study of Social Organization, Princeton, NJ 2012 Experimental Methods Workshop, Princeton, NJ 2011 Taste, Assimilation, and the Case of Mexican Americans American Sociological Association, Section Roundtable, Denver, CO 2012 Center for the Study of Social Organization, Princeton, NJ 2012 Center for Migration and Development Paper Series, Princeton, NJ 2011 PROFESSIONAL SERVICE Member, Search Committee USC Center for Economic and Social Research 2017 - present Organizer, Experimental Methods Workshop 2014, Organizer, Graduate Student Works in Progress seminar series, 2011-2012 and Office of Population Research, Cohort Representative, Graduate Student Advisory Committee, 2011-2012, COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT Volunteer Coach, Science Olympiad, Weigand Elementary School 2015 - present Organizer, Graduate Student Softball Team, 2013
5 Tutor, Bonner Prison Program, Albert C. Wagner Youth 2012-2013 Correctional Facility Member, Latino Graduate Student Association 2010-2012 Voter Registration Worker, Democrats Abroad - Paris, France 2008 REFERENCES Professor Paul DiMaggio Professor Viviana Zelizer New York University (212) 998-2142 (609) 258-4557 pd1092@nyu.edu vzelizer@princeton.edu Professor Devah Pager Professor Brian K. Finch Harvard University University of Southern California Center for Economic and Social Research Kennedy School of Government (213) 821-2774 (617) 496-0824 brian.finch@usc.edu devah_pager@harvard.edu