Research Interests: Comparative-historical sociology; global and transnational sociology; cultural sociology; sociology of morality; sociology of religion; humanitarian movements; knowledge production.
Shai M. Dromi is Associate Senior Lecturer on Sociology at Harvard University. He is a cultural and comparative-historical sociologist whose work brings questions of moral belief into conversation with civil-society organizations and knowledge production. His most recent book, Moral Minefields: How Sociologists Debate Good Science (with Samuel D. Stabler, University of Chicago Press, 2023), examines the frameworks scholars develop to navigate controversial research topics and the debates they spark. His first book, Above the Fray: The Red Cross and the Construction of the Humanitarian Relief Sector (University of Chicago Press, 2020), traces the origins and rise of modern humanitarian aid through archival work at the International Committee of the Red Cross. He is also co-editor, with Steven Hitlin and Aliza Luft, of the Handbook of the Sociology of Morality, Vol. 2 (Springer, 2023).
Shai is currently working on three projects. His first project investigates recent campus debates over claims of harm, exploring how individuals make—and contest—public assertions of having suffered wrongdoing in academic settings. By analyzing historical speeches, press releases, protests, and grievances, he shows how credibility is built or undermined and how moral vocabularies shape whose voices count. His second project is a book on the sociology of morality (under contract with Polity Press), mapping the field through its core philosophical dilemmas and tracing how diverse sociological approaches to morality address questions of justice, responsibility, and human flourishing. Finally, he is working on a study of how sociologists build and contest their discipline’s canon, examining case studies of canonical figures to reveal how moral and intellectual repertoires influence who is remembered and why (with Samuel D. Stabler).
Shai’s articles have appeared in journals such as Sociological Theory and Theory & Society. His work has received distinction from the Association for Research on Nonprofit Organizations and Voluntary Action and by American Sociological Association sections—Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity; Comparative-Historical Sociology; Global and Transnational Sociology; and Science, Knowledge, and Technology. Since 2024 he has served as Treasurer of the Social Science History Association, and in 2025–26 he will chair the ASA Section on Altruism, Morality, and Social Solidarity.