Assistant Professor of Sociology Stephanie A. Dhuman and Tillie Germain ’25 recently co-authored an article about the power of homeowners associations (HOAs) in Sociology Compass, an international journal from Wiley.
In “‘So What Chance, What Opportunities Do We Have?’ Homeowners Associations as Racialized Organizations,” Dhuman and Germain examine how HOAs shape the experiences of ethnoracial minority residents living within their bounds.
Dhuman and Germain say that although HOAs appear neutral, their article shows how they create and reinforce racial and spatial inequalities. Using archival research, fieldwork, and interviews with 47 residents in one of the largest HOAs in the U.S., they highlight how HOA rules and practices limit the agency that typically comes with homeownership, a topic that is particularly important as the number of HOAs rise alongside the rates of homeownership for ethnoracial minorities.
Germain majored in sociology at Hamilton and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in social work.
Posted February 24, 2026
