Sarah Bruhn
Lecturer
Dr. Sarah Bruhn is a lecturer in the Department of Teaching & Learning at Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. Her research focuses on how public policies impact immigrant families in geographically specific ways, shaping their opportunities for inclusion in the United States. Her work has explored immigrant motherhood, the impact of gentrification on immigrant communities, and young people’s perspectives on educational policies.
Dr. Bruhn’s book, Holding On to Home: Immigrant Women and the Promise of Sanctuary, examines how immigrant women use their carework – in their families, schools, and communities – to make real the promise of inclusive local immigration policies, even in the face of an anti-immigrant federal government and rapidly rising housing costs. She has published widely in academic and public venues, including The Progressive, Commonwealth Beacon, Teachers College Record, Harvard Educational Review, Journal of Marriage and Family, Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies and Journal of Social Issues, among others.
Dr. Bruhn started her career as an elementary and middle-school teacher in Washington, DC and Dearborn Heights, Michigan. Her students continue to motivate her teaching and research today. She received her PhD in Education from Harvard University and has taught undergraduates and masters students at Harvard Graduate School of Education and Wellesley College. Prior to joining BU Wheelock, she was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Pennsylvania Population Studies Center.
Pronouns: she/her
Education
PhD, Education, Harvard University
EdM, School Leadership, Harvard Graduate School of Education
M.A.T., Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages, American University
BA, American Culture, Vassar College
Courses
ED 140 An Interdisciplinary Approach to Professions in Education & Human Development
ED 200 ED 200 Introduction to Justice-Based Education
ED 220 Language Development in Education and Society
ED 480 Field Experience in Teaching & Learning
Selected Publications
Bruhn, S. Holding onto Home: Immigrant Women and the Promise of Sanctuary. University of California Press (Forthcoming, November 2026).
Bruhn, S. (Forthcoming). “A Heavy Burden”: How Immigrant Women Manage the Unintended Consequences of Children’s Educational Categorization. Sociological Forum.
Bruhn, S. (2023). Intersectional Recognition: Immigrant Motherhood in a Gentrifying Sanctuary City’s Schools. Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies. 49 (1), 232-251.
Bruhn, S. and Gonzales, R.G. (2023). Geographies of Belonging: Migrant Youth and Relational, Community, and National Opportunities for Inclusion. Social Sciences.12 (3), 167-185.
Bruhn, S. (2023). ‘Me Cuesta Mucho’: Latina Immigrant Mothers Navigating Remote Learning and Caregiving during COVID-19. Journal of Social Issues. 79 (3), 1035-1056.
Bruhn, S. and Oliveira, G. (2022). Multidirectional Carework Across Borders: Latina Immigrant Women Negotiating Motherhood and Daughterhood. Journal of Marriage and Family. 84 (3), 691-712.
Selected Presentations
“‘A Heavy Burden’: How Immigrant Women Manage the Unintended Consequences of Children’s Educational Categorization.” Eastern Sociological Society Annual Meeting. Boston, MA. 2025.
“The safest choice”: Gentrification, Power, and Contested Policy Decisions about Pandemic School Re-openings. American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting. Denver, CO. 2025.
“‘A Heavy Burden’: How Immigrant Mothers Manage the Unequal Consequences of School Policies.” The Research Committee 28 on Social Stratification and Mobility (RC28) Summer Conference. 2024.
“Institutional Caregiving: Gendered Labor and Immigrant Integration in a Sanctuary City.” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Philadelphia, PA. 2023.
“Intersectional Recognition: Motherhood and Immigranthood as Resources for Belonging in a Sanctuary City’s Schools.” American Sociological Association Annual Meeting. Los Angeles, CA. 2022.