Campus Directory

Pronouns he, him, his, his, himself

Division Social Sciences Division

Department/College/Unit Sociology Department

Title Professor of Sociology
Founding Faculty Research Fellow, Institute for Social Transformation

Affiliation Faculty

Other UCSC Campus Affiliation Institute for Social Transformation
Community Studies Program
Critical Race and Ethnic Studies
Dolores Huerta Research Center for the Americas
Global & Community Health

Faculty Type Regular Faculty

Areas of Expertise Urban studies
Labor and Social Movements
Sociology
Environmental Justice
Globalization
Community-based Research
Science and Technology
Social Justice
Political Economy of Development
Activism

Web Site

Primary Office Location Rachel Carson College Academic Building
322

Office Hours for Students/ Office Hours By appointment (please email me)

Mail Stop Rachel Carson College Faculty Services

Biography, Education and Training

Dr. Chris Benner is a Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz.  He was the Founding Faculty Director of the Institute for Social Transformation and Inaugural holder of the Dorothy E. Everett Chair in Global Information and Social Entrepreneurship.  His research examines the relationships between technological change, regional development, and the structure of economic opportunity, focusing on regional labor markets and the transformation of work and employment. His applied policy work centers on social and economic dimensions of technological change, workforce development policy, the structure, dynamics and evaluation of workforce intermediaries, and strategies for promoting regional equity. He has authored or co-authored over 100 academic papers and reports and eight books, including most recently Charging Forward: Lithium Valley, Electric Vehicles and a Just Future (2024), with Manuel Pastor.  He received his Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from UC Berkeley.

Summary of Expertise

Urban and economic geography, urban political ecology, technology and social change, environmental justice, sustainable communities, inclusive economies, city and regional planning

Selected Publications

BOOKS: 

2024.          Charging Forward: Lithium Valley, Electric Vehicles and a Just Future. Chris Benner and Manual Pastor. New York: New Press

2021           Solidarity Economics:  Why Mutuality and Movements Matter Chris Benner and Manuel Pastor.  Cambridge: Polity

2015           Equity, Growth and Community:  What the Nation Can Learn From America’s Metro Regions.  Chris Benner and Manuel Pastor.  Berkeley:  UC Press

2012           Just Growth: Inclusion and Prosperity in America’s Metropolitan Regions. Chris Benner and Manuel Pastor.   New York: Routledge.

2009           This Could Be The Start of Something Big: Social Movements for Regional Equity and the Future of Metropolitan America.  Manuel Pastor, Chris Benner, and Martha Matsuoka.  Ithaca:  Cornell University Press

2007           Staircases or Treadmills:  Labor Market Intermediaries and Economic Opportunity in a Changing Economy   Chris Benner, Laura Leete and Manuel Pastor.  New York:  Russell Sage Foundation

2002           Work in the New Economy: Flexible Labor Markets in Silicon Valley.  Oxford: Blackwell Press.

Courses SOCY 30A Intro to Global Info and Soc Enterprise Studies
SOCY 107A Designing ICT Projects for Social Enterprise
SOCY 107B Project Implementation & Grant Writing