Connor Strobel

Professor Connor “Noor” Strobel is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at North Central College. He focuses his research on the relationship between identity and social inequality, examining how battles over identity claims shape collective behavior, knowledge sharing, resource utilization, and health and educational disparities. His research expertise and advocacy on behalf of students have been featured in numerous national media outlets, and he has served as an advisor to policymakers.

As a thematically oriented researcher, Professor Strobel leverages disparate insights from sociology and other social sciences to clarify concepts, test theories, and tell new stories. He has published on gender, sexuality, eating disorders, social media, social movements, political behavior, disability, and the law. Professor Strobel has employed surveys, interviews, focus groups, archival methods, participant and non-participant observations, and digital content scrubbers. He has used a variety of conventional analytical methods and developed innovative approaches to analyzing hard-to-observe populations.

Professor Strobel’s first co-authored book, The Politics of “Perverts”: The Political Attitudes and Actions of Non-traditional Sexual Minorities, was recently published by NYU Press. It is a pioneering work on the social and political lives of what are sometimes characterized as non-traditional sexual minority groups. In addition to covering pathbreaking topics, the book proposes novel approaches to measuring the policy preferences and political behavior of marginalized groups.

Professor Strobel is currently working on his third book project based on a stratified, multi-state survey, interviews, and focus groups with parents of neurodivergent children and resource providers. The project explores how they navigate complex, multi-scalar legal and resource environments driven by policy regimes that have lagged behind popular and medical understandings of neurodivergence. This pathbreaking study exposes the opaque forces contributing to educational and resource inequality and offers an exciting challenge to conventional ideas about social and cultural capital.

Professor Strobel joined North Central College in 2026. He was previously on the faculty at the University of Chicago, where he was a 2025 recipient of the Glenn and Claire Swogger Award for Exemplary Classroom Teaching.

Selected Scholarship

Strobel, Connor B. S. 2026. "Justice Beyond the Courts: The Role of Knowledge in Securing the Rights of Families with Neurodivergent Children" Societies 16, no. 2: 68. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc16020068

Hyder, Misbah, and Connor B. S. Strobel. 2026. "South Asian Islamic Reformists and the Reclaiming of Religio-Political Sovereignty", in Emad Hamdeh, and Natana J. DeLong-Bas (eds), The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Reform, Oxford Handbooks https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780197532805.013.79

Strobel, C.B.S. 2024. "Navigating Trigger Warnings, Classroom Speech, and Public Debates as an Early Career Instructor." In: Murphy, M.P.A., Hyder, M. (eds) Teaching Political Science and International Relations for Early Career Instructors. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-70733-9_12

Charles A. Smith, Shawn R. Schulenberg, and Connor B.S. Strobel. 2024. The Politics of Perverts: The Political Attitudes and Actions of Non-Traditional Sexual Minorities. New York: NYU Press.

Strobel, C. B. S., & Jayna Lennon. 2023. "Men in online eating disorder recovery spaces: Gendered barriers, content moderation, and narrative experimentation." Sociology Compass, 17(11), e13156. https://doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13156

Strobel, C.B.S. 2022. "Different Foundations for Islamic Feminisms: Comparing Genealogical and Textual Approaches in Ahmed and Parvez." In: Smita A. Rahman, S.A.,  K. A. Gordy, and S. S. Deylami (eds) Globalizing Political Theory. New York: Routledge.

Strobel, C.B.S. 2022. "The Shadow that Hovered Over: Gender Salience in Eating Disorder Recovery." Gender Issues 39, 368–386. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12147-022-09294-x

Courses Taught

SOCI 100 Life Chances & Choices

SOCI 300:Social Inquiry II: Qualitative

SOCI 350 Social Life & Social Theory