Todd Jiajin Lu , PHD

Todd Lu is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Cincinnati. His research employs quantitative and qualitative methods to assess how politics and culture shape U.S. climate mitigation and adaptation, highlighting the intersection of U.S. labor and environmental movements. His specific projects analyze 1) divergent cultural meanings of “green jobs” between labor unions and environmental organizations, 2) political mobilizations and climate obstruction against heat stress protections in U.S. workplaces, and 3) the cultural and social dimensions shaping the effectiveness of occupational heat trainings and regulatory implementation. He also has an ongoing interest in the cultural impacts of the Black Lives Matter movement and public perceptions of protests. 

His work appears in peer-reviewed academic journals including Environmental Politics, Mobilization: An International Quarterly, The Sociological Quarterly, and Annual Review of Sociology.

PhD: UNC Chapel Hill 2025 (Sociology)

MA: UNC Chapel Hill 2020 (Sociology)

BA: UCLA 2017 (Sociology)

Social Movements; Environmental Sociology; Labor Unions; Race and Ethnicity; Cultural Sociology; Media and Communications; Computational Social Science

Peer Reviewed Publications

Vo, Austin H., Katherine Furl, Todd Lu, and Neal Caren. (2026. ) Perceiving Protest: How Publics View the Disruptiveness and Effectiveness of Protest.The Sociological Quarterly , , More Information

Lu, Todd (2025. ) Reassessing the Economy–Environment Tradeoff: Do Industry Sectors, Green Jobs Opportunities, and Regulatory Threats Affect Environmental Concerns?.Environmental Politics, , 34 (3 ) ,507–31 More Information

Lu, Todd (2024. ) When Black Movements Matter: Controlling Images and Black Lives Matter Protests in Media Attention to Police Killings.Mobilization: An International Quarterly, , 29 (1 ) ,19–40 More Information

Caren, Neal, Kenneth T. Andrews, and Todd Lu (2020. ) Contemporary Social Movements in a Hybrid Media Environment.Annual Review of Sociology, , 46 (1 ) , More Information

Furl, Katherine, Todd Lu, Austin H. Vo, and Neal Caren (2023. ) Comparing Perceived Disruptiveness and Effectiveness of Protest Tactics.Socius: Sociological Research for a Dynamic World, , More Information

Other Publications

Lu, Todd (2024. ) Using Taguette Software for Qualitative Content Analysis of Black Lives Matter Documents and Media Articles .TRAILS: Teaching Resources and Innovations Library for Sociology, American Sociological Association

Using Taguette Software for Qualitative Content Analysis of Black Lives Matter Documents and Media Articles

Lu, Todd (2026. ) Investing in Our Labor and Climate Future: “Bread for All, and Roses Too" .Climate Finance Action Blog,

Investing in Our Labor and Climate Future: “Bread for All, and Roses Too

Lu, Todd (2020. ) Recent Anti-Police Brutality Protests Since George Floyd’s Death are Far Larger than Previous Black Lives Matter Protest Waves .Race, Politics, and Justice Blog ,

Recent Anti-Police Brutality Protests Since George Floyd’s Death are Far Larger than Previous Black Lives Matter Protest Waves

Book Chapter

Andrews, Kenneth, Neal Caren, and Todd Lu (2020 ) Racial, Ethnic, and Immigration Protest During Year One of the Trump Presidency Racialized Resistance and the State: Protest and Repression in a Divided U.S. London, UK, Routledge (Co-Author)

Academic - Department of Sociology
2700 Campus Way
Cincinnati  Ohio, 45219
Phone: (513) 556-4713
lutj@ucmail.uc.edu