Educational Background
Ph.D. -- Doctor of Philosophy (2004)
Graduate Program in Sociology, University at Albany, SUNY
Bachelors of Arts (1993)
Political Science and Sociology, University of California, Irvine
Current Professional Positions
Visiting Assistant Professor (September 2003 to Present)
Department of Sociology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Director, Asian & Asian American Studies Certificate Program (January 2004 to Present)
University of Massachusetts, Amherst
Employment History
Research Associate (January 2000 to July 2002)
Center for Technology in Government, Albany, NY
- Worked within a small team of primary investigators to conduct NSF-funded research (including ethnographic field observation, structured interviews, focus groups, facilitated meetings, and administering survey questionnaires) on how New York State government agencies use information technology to work collaboratively and to improve their public services.
Director of Education (November 1998 to January 2000)
Asian & Pacific Islander Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Inc., New York, NY
- Developed and oversaw multi-level community education and outreach planning, implementation, and evaluation, including peer education programs; hired, supervised, and evaluated staff of coordinators for six separate but interrelated targeted programs.
Administrative Coordinator (September 1998 to November 1998)
National Asian Pacific American Bar Association, New York, NY
Teaching Experience
Demography of Minority Groups (Sociology 361)
This course examines how demographic analysis helps students to understand the socioeconomic characteristics of racial/ethnic minority groups in the U.S. The course will first focus on basic concepts and methods of measurement in demography and population studies, then focus on specific social issues that affect groups of color. These include education, immigration, assimilation and ethnic identity, work and employment, income mobility, marriage, family structure, residence and homeownership, crime, etc. Students will also have the opportunity to conduct their own research projects using up-to-date data from the Census and other sources.
Sociology of the Asian American Experience (Soc 240/291A)
(Formerly known as "Introduction to Asian American Studies," Eng 204)
This course takes an interdisciplinary approach in examining the histories, experiences, and cultures that shape and define the ever-evolving field of Asian American Studies. Using readings, class discussions, multimedia technology, and student-designed projects, the course explores themes and issues including immigration, demographic trends, historical formations of community, participation in American institutions, anti-Asian discrimination, socioeconomic mobility, gender dynamics, ethnic identity, and cross-racial interactions with other groups of color.
Race, Gender, Class & Ethnicity (Sociology 106)
Race & Ethnicity
Social Problems
Research Interests & Current Projects
- Race and Ethnicity
- Immigration: Structural Assimilation & Cultural Adaptation, Socioeconomic Mobility, and Public Policy
- Comparative Asian American Communities and Ethnic Enclave Dynamics
Currently, the bulk of my research involves using Census data to analyze and compare socioeconomic and demographic outcomes of assimilation among Asian Americans. These outcomes include (1) self-employment and entrepreneurship; (2) marital assimilation and intermarriage/interracial marriage; (3) education, occupation, and income; and (4) residential segregation and quality of neighborhoods. I also have secondary research interests in cross-national comparisons of socioeconomic assimilation among Vietnamese diasporic communities in the U.S., Canada, France, and Australia, along with analyzing the sociological contexts of anti-communist political activities of Vietnamese Americans.
Selected Publications, Online Articles, & Media Quotations
Le, C.N. 2007. Asian American Assimilation: Ethnicity, Immigration, and Socioeconomic Attainment. New York, NY: LFB Scholarly Publishing.
Le, C.N. Accepted for publication. "'Better Dead Than Red': Anti-Communist Politics Among Vietnamese Americans" in Anti-Communist Minorities in the US: The Political Activism of Ethnic Refugees, edited by Ieva Zake. New York: Palgrave-MacMillan.
Le, C.N. Forthcoming. Short articles in Asian American History and Culture: An Encyclopedia, edited by Huping Ling and Dr. Allan W. Austin. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe.
- "Adoption of Asian Children"
- "Amerasians and Multiracial Asian Americans"
- "Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965"
- "Interracial Marriages"
- "Second-Generation Identity"
- "Youth Gangs"
- "Asian Americans and Work"
Le, C.N. 2004. "Fleeing Dragon: The Refugee Experience From a Vietnamese Immigrant Family" in Minority Voices: Linking Personal Ethnic History with the Sociological Imagination, edited by John Rowan. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Quoted by The Associated Press, "Concern Over Focus on VT Shooter's Race" article, written by Dionne Walker, April 19, 2007.
Quoted by The Associated Press, "Interracial Marriages Surge Across U.S." article, written by David Crary, April 13, 2007.
Quoted in Footnotes: Monthly Newsletter of the American Sociological Association, "Portrait of the Sociologist as Blogger" article, written by LaVon Rice, February 2007.
Guest speaker on radio program on "Asian & Arab Culture," hosted by Paul Allen Billings of WUVS-LP 103.7 The Beat, December 11, 2006.
Quoted in The Christian Science Monitor, "Smugglers Exploit Hole in Port Security" article, written by Brad Knickerbocker, April 11, 2006.
Quoted in The Atlanta Constitution, "Vietnam Heartache: Saigon's Fall Haunts Refugees Every Spring" article, written by Sheila Poole, April 27, 2005.
Quoted by the Associated Press, "Vietnamese in U.S. Take Stock of Community" article, written by Erin Texeira, April 24, 2005.
Quoted in Diversity Inc. Magazine, "To Be Asian in America: Success and Stereotypes" article, written by Angela Johnson Meadows, April 2005.
Quoted in The Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin, "Straddling Two Cultures: Vietnamese American Finds Looking Back Helps Him Look Forward" newspaper article, written by My-Ly Nguyen, April 5, 2005.
Le, C.N. 2004. "Asian Pacific Americans, Polls and the 2004 Election" IMDiversity.com Asian American Village, September 28, 2004.
Quoted in The Boston Globe, "One Enclave, Two Camps, Two Very Distinct Views" newspaper article, written by Wendy Lee, August 29, 2004.
Le, C.N. 2003. "By the Numbers: Dating, Marriage, and Race in Asian America." IMDiversity.com Asian American Village, February 14, 2003.
Quoted in The Hartford Courant, "When Family is the Tradition" newspaper article, written by Mike Swift, published April 28, 2002.
Recent Academic Presentations & Invited Talks
Le, C.N. "Virtually Asian: The Social Construction of Identity Through Internet Media," presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Asian American Studies, April 20, 2008 in Chicago, IL.
Le, C.N. "'Better Dead Than Red': Anti-Communist Politics Among Vietnamese Americans," presented at the "The Cold War Warriors: Political Activism of Ethnic Groups during the Cold War in the U.S." symposium, April 1, 2008, at Rowan University.
Le, C.N. "Socioeconomic Attainment, Neighborhood Quality, and Residential Segregation in Ten Asian American Ethnic Enclaves," presented at the annual meeting of the Eastern Sociological Society, February 24, 2008 in New York, NY.
Invited Speaker, "Muslim American Assimilation: Cultural and Socioeconomic Patterns," U.S./Spain Exchange Project on Muslim Youth Integration, Institute for Training and Development, Amherst, MA, June 12, 2007.
Invited Speaker, "Asian American Identity and Experiences: Past, Present, and Future," Connecticut College, April 20, 2007.
Le, C.N. "'Moving on Up': A Comparison of Asian American Enclave Characteristics," presented at the annual meeting of the Association for Asian American Studies, April 7, 2007 in New York, NY.
Presenter, "Asian American Identity in the 21st Century," 1st Annual Five College Asian Pacific American Student Leadership Conference, Amherst, MA, March 10, 2007.
Panelist, "Blogging and Asian Pacific American Political Awareness," 13th Annual National Asian Pacific American Conference on Law and Public Policy, Harvard Law School, Cambridge, MA, March 3, 2007.
Panelist, "Ninth Annual North Adams Neighborhood Expo: Asian Americans," Northern Berkshire Community Coalition, North Adams, MA, December 2, 2006.
Invited Speaker, "Asian American Assimilation and Identity in the 21st Century," Asian/Asian-American Alumnae and Student Conference, Mount Holyoke College, November 4, 2006.
Keynote Speaker, "Breaking the Glass Ceiling: The Asian American Experience" conference, Korean American Students of Smith and the Asian Students Association, Smith College, November 5, 2005.
Le, C.N. "New Dimensions of Entrepreneurship Among Foreign- and U.S.-Raised Asian Americans in the Global Economy," presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, August 14, 2005 in Philadelphia, PA.
Invited Speaker, "Asian Americans in Professional Occupations," Asian American Employees Resource Group, Raytheon Corporation, Waltham, MA, May 25, 2005.
Invited Speaker, "Affirmative Action and Higher Education," in conjunction with Boston Asian Students Intercollegiate Conference, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, MA, October 2, 2004.
Invited Speaker, ''History, Segregation, and Inclusion: The Meaning and Consequences of Ethnic Solidarity,'' in conjunction with Asian American Heritage Week, organized by Lambda Phi Epsilon, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, February 16, 2003.
OAQs: Ocassionally Asked Questions
What exactly does C.N. stand for?
Basically, the C.N. is just the first and middle initials of my full name, Cuong Nguyen Le. However, it's been my experience over the years that unless people speak Vietnamese, chances are they will mispronounce my name. To make a long story short, I've gone by a few different variations of my real name and eventually compromised between ease of pronunciation on the one hand and a true reflection of my Vietnamese identity on the other by going by my first and middle initials.
Are your classes hard?
Most of my students would probably say that my classes are fair. I expect my students to work hard and to learn as much from my classes as possible but also try to make it simple and straightforward for them to do so.
Contact Information
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Favorites Quotes & Maxims
We declare our rights to be a man
To be a human being
To be given the rights of a human being
To be respected as a human being
In this society, on this earth, in this day
Which we intend to bring into existence
By any means necessary.
-- Malcolm X
For every action, there is an equal and opposite criticism.
-- Anonymous
To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism. To steal ideas from many people is research.
-- Anonymous
It costs me less in every sense to incur the penalties of civil disobedience than it would to obey.
-- Henry David Thoreau
I don't know what's the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.
-- Bill Cosby
Soon after The Buddha became well
known, people would come to see him
and they would ask, "Are you a god?"
The Buddha replied, "No."
They asked, "Are you a saint?"
The Buddha replied, "No."
They asked "Are you an angel?"
Again The Buddha replied, "No."
"So what are you?"
The Buddha replied, "I am awake."
-- Anonymous
The philosophers have merely interpreted the world. The point however, is to change it.
-- Karl Marx
Be the change that you want to see in the world.
-- Mahatma Gandhi
Favorite Links
Asian American Issues
- Asian-Nation: The Landscape of Asian America
- Asian American Village
- Association for Asian American Studies
Academics & Sociology
- American Sociological Association
- American Association of University Professors
- Census Bureau
- Chronicle of Higher Education
- Diversity Web
- Statistical Abstract of the U.S.
Social Justice & Equality
Just for Fun