Sonya Chen is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at Barnard College. Her research, writing, and teaching focus on Asian American politics, social movements, and interminority politics.

Sonya’s current book project examines the Stop Asian Hate movement and broader organizing against anti-Asian violence during the COVID-19 era, exploring the contentious relationship of Asian Americans to carceral politics and racial justice. Her research has been published or is forthcoming in Politics, Groups, and Identities, Political Behavior, and Amerasia Journal, and has been recognized by awards from the Western Political Science Association Asian Pacific American Caucus and the Association for Asian American Studies Social Science Caucus. In tandem with her academic scholarship, Sonya has been involved in community research projects, from understanding racial violence and healing in Oakland, California to organizing against a proposed arena in Philadelphia’s Chinatown.

Sonya was a 2024-25 Panda Express Postdoctoral Fellow in Asian American Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She is the recipient of the American Political Science Association Diversity Fellowship and the George Kateb Preceptor Award for excellent teaching at Princeton. Sonya received her Ph.D. in Politics and Social Policy at Princeton University and her B.A. in Political Science from Swarthmore College.