Bio

Assistant Professor John Doering-White joined the faculty of the College of Social Work in 2019 with a joint appointment in the Department of Anthropology at the College of Arts and Sciences.

Doering-White’s research focuses on undocumented immigration and humanitarianism. His ethnographic work has focused on grassroots shelters that assist Central Americans migrating through Mexico. He is interested in how organizations can best assist undocumented communities considering shifting immigration enforcement trends between the United States, Mexico, and Central America. As part of this work, Doering-White served as co-producer on Border South, a feature documentary film that premiered to national and international audiences in June 2019.

Doering-White is also actively conducting research in his hometown of Detroit in partnership with organizations that support immigrant and minority entrepreneurs navigating a gentrifying city. Data-collection for this project has taken place in partnership with undergraduate students participating in a summer field school that trains students in qualitative and community-engaged methods.

Doering-White’s research has been funded by the Fulbright Garcia-Robles program, the Wenner Gren Foundation and the Institute for Field Research. His scholarship appears in Social Service Review, Children and Youth Services Review, the Journal of Social Work Education, the Journal of Community Practice, and the Journal of International Migration and Integration. He has also presented nationally and internationally on various topics, including undocumented migration, unaccompanied minors, language interpretation and ethnographic approaches.

Doering-White is a graduate of the Joint Doctoral Program in Social Work and Anthropology at the University of Michigan, where he also earned his MSW. He received a bachelor’s degree in Spanish and Human Development Social Relations from Earlham College in Richmond, Ind.

Representative Publications

Doering-White, J. (2021). ¡Qué mamada! (What a joke!): Humor, hostility, and hospitality along the Central American Migrant Trail. The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology. https://doi.org/10.1111/jlca.12546