# Shai Dromi Associate Senior Lecturer on Sociology, Harvard University. Affiliate, Weatherhead Research Cluster on Comparative Inequality and Inclusion (2018-2026). ![shai_dromi_2021](/sites/g/files/omnuum8346/files/styles/hwp_4_5__320x400/public/comparative-inequality-inclusion/files/shai_dromi_standing_outside_smilingjpg_1.jpg?itok=zciVs_yj) email laptop\_windows [Personal website](https://www.shaidromi.com/) laptop\_windows [Scholarship](https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=x73UvUQAAAAJ&hl=en) @DromiShai **Research interests:** Comparative-historical sociology, cultural sociology, recognition, sociology of morality, humanitarian aid. **Bio:** Shai M. Dromi is a cultural and comparative-historical sociologist whose research examines how moral beliefs and values shape public life, organizational action, and our collective understandings of harm, justice, and social goods. His current work explores the mechanisms through which individual and group experiences of exclusion and recognition are validated or contested—especially in university and civic contexts where debates over legitimacy, inclusion, and institutional trust are particularly acute. His recent projects analyze the shifting dynamics of credibility in minority student testimony, the moral grammars underlying public justifications for claims of injustice, and the frameworks institutions deploy to address competing narratives of harm. Through comparative and historical approaches, Shai’s research connects sociological debates about morality and pluralism with contemporary challenges in recognition, equity, and inclusion. He is the author of *Above the Fray: The Red Cross and the Making of the Humanitarian NGO Sector* (University of Chicago Press, 2020), winner of awards from the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action and the American Sociological Association. His most recent book, *Moral Minefields: How Sociologists Debate Good Science* (University of Chicago Press, 2023, co-authored with Samuel D. Stabler), examines how scholars navigate moral controversy and legitimacy in the social sciences. He is also co-editor of the *Handbook of the Sociology of Morality, vol. 2* (Springer, 2023), and co-editor of the *Palgrave Studies in Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity* book series. His research has appeared in journals such as *Sociological Theory* and *Theory & Society*, and received distinctions from several academic associations. At Harvard, he teaches courses on nonprofit organizations, humanitarian aid, religion and politics, and sociological theory. *This information is accurate as of the affiliate year indicated. (update 09.09.2025)* - ## People Categories [Current Cluster Affiliates](/people-categories/cluster-affiliates) [Faculty](/people-categories/visiting-faculty)