• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Search

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington IU Bloomington

Open Search
  • About us
    • History
    • Diversity, equity, and inclusion
      • Bias Incident Reporting Form
      • Paying it forward
      • Our commitment
      • Leadership and support
      • Initiatives
      • Student recruiting
      • Faculty and staff diversity
      • Trailblazing alumni
      • University resources
    • Faculty and staff
      • Adjunct faculty
      • Other IU faculty
      • Reappointment, promotion, and tenure guidelines
      • Faculty intranet
    • Strategic planning
    • Consumer information (ABA required disclosures)
    • Commencement
    • Contact us
    • Academic calendar 2024-25
  • Academics
    • JD degree
      • Degree requirements
      • Legal research and writing
      • Joint degrees
        • Business
          • JD/MBA programs
          • Experiential learning
          • Tuition and financial aid
          • How to apply
          • Questions?
        • Public and Environmental Affairs
          • Program
          • More information
        • Cybersecurity
        • Information and Library Science
        • Law Minor
        • Media
        • Media Arts and Sciences
        • Outside Minor
        • Public Health
        • Russian
        • Earning a joint degree
      • Visiting students
      • Innovation and partnerships
        • Your first year
        • Scholarship partners
        • Global and IU partners
      • JD learning outcomes
    • Graduate degrees
      • Overview
        • Master of Laws (LLM)
        • LLM with English for Law Two-Year Program
        • LLM Learning and Working (LAW) Program
        • Master of Comparative Law (MCL)
        • Doctor of Juridical Science
        • Graduate certificate in legal studies
      • LLM specializations
        • American law
        • Business and commercial Law
        • Financial regulation
        • Information privacy
        • Comparative law
        • Intellectual property
      • Why Indiana Law?
      • Graduate Legal Studies brochure
      • Paths to a JD degree
      • Meet our current SJD candidates
    • Courses
    • Areas of focus
      • Administrative Law
      • Business Law
      • Civil Rights
      • Constitutional Design
      • Constitutional Law
      • Criminal Law
      • Environmental Law
      • Family Law
      • General practice
      • Information and Communications Law
      • International Law
      • IP
      • Labor Law
      • Litigation
      • Property Law
      • Tax Law
    • Global experiences
      • Stewart Fellows Global Internship Program
        • How to apply
        • Stewart Fellows global partners
      • Study abroad
        • Summer study abroad
        • Exchange programs
        • International dual degrees
          • SKK JD/MBA
          • Dual degrees
      • Postgraduate Snyder Visiting Scholarship
    • Public interest
    • Experiential education
      • Clinics
        • Conservation Law Clinic
        • Cybersecurity Clinic
        • Elmore Entrepreneurship Law Clinic
        • Intellectual Property Law Clinic
        • Domestic Relations Course (currently offered) and Viola J. Taliaferro Family and Children Mediation Clinic (not currently offered)
        • The Reentry Clinic
        • Civil Protection Order Clinic
      • Externships
        • Criminal law
        • Judicial externships
        • Private practice
        • Public Interest
        • Rural Justice Initiative
        • Washington, DC semester
        • Intellectual property externship
      • Projects
        • Access to Justice
        • Incarcerated Individuals Legal Assistance
        • LGBTQ+
        • Protective Orders
          • Indiana Laws
          • Protective Orders
        • Will Preparation
      • Practica
        • Habeas litigation
        • Independent film production
        • Student Legal Services
        • Child representation practicum
        • Legal systems in Indiana
    • Family office program
    • Cybersecurity programs
      • Cybersecurity certificate
      • Information privacy certificate
  • Research
    • Centers
      • Center for Constitutional Democracy
      • Milt and Judi Stewart Center on the Global Legal Profession
        • Faculty and staff
        • Contact us
        • Fellows
        • Research
      • Center for Intellectual Property Research
      • PatentConnect
      • Center for Law, Society & Culture
        • About the Center
        • Workshops and colloquia
        • Jerome Hall Fellows
        • Scholars-in-Residence
    • Programs
      • Bradley Fellows
      • Business
      • Criminal
      • Environmental
      • Law and technology
        • Student experience
        • Collaboration
        • Program faculty and research
      • Legal writing
        • Your 1L year
        • Upper-division opportunities
        • Co-curricular opportunities
        • Faculty
        • Theory into practice
      • Tax
  • JD admission
  • Graduate admission
    • LLM, MCL, SJD, PhD
    • Master of Legal Studies
      • Curriculum
      • Tuition
      • FAQs
      • Accelerated Master's Program
      • Contact us
      • Apply
      • Visit
    • Summer Institute for International Lawyers and Law Students
    • Exchange students and visiting scholars
    • Certificates
    • Paths to a JD degree
    • Financial info
    • Scholarships
    • Let's get acquainted
    • Admitted students
      • Dean's welcome
      • Orientation
      • How to prepare for law school
      • Summer programs
      • Courses and academic advising
      • Housing
      • Living in Bloomington
      • Office of Graduate Legal Studies & International Programs
  • Current students
    • Student affairs
      • Academic regulations
      • Registration materials, policies, and procedures
      • Attendance, class cancellation, and campus policies
      • Examination policies
      • Records, transcripts, and grade tables
      • Bar exam information
      • IU technology
      • Student complaints
      • Commencement
      • Disruption or protests
    • Financial aid
      • Cost of attendance
      • Scholarships
      • Service opportunities and work-related funding
      • Federal student aid
      • Private loans
      • Summer financial aid
      • Paying your bill
      • Health Insurance
    • Careers
      • Student resources: The job search
        • Judicial clerkships
        • Externships and fellowships
      • Alumni
      • Employers
      • Contact Career Services
    • Student organizations
      • Planning your event
    • Student activities
      • Socctoberfest
      • Barristers' Ball
    • Journals
    • Advocacy competitions
      • Internal Competitions
      • Moot Court
      • Moot Court judges' information
      • External Competitions
    • Access to Justice
    • Academic calendar 2024-2025
      • 2025-2026
      • 2023-2024
      • 2022-2023
      • 2021-2022
      • 2020-2021
  • Alumni
    • Features
      • Javier Becerra '17
      • Terrance Stroud '03
    • Leadership
      • Board of Visitors
      • Law Alumni Board
      • Global Board
      • APALSA
      • BLSA
      • Latino
      • LGBT
      • Young alumni steering committee
    • Awards
      • Academy of Law Alumni Fellows
      • Distinguished Service
    • Publications
    • Services
    • Get involved
    • Class notes
    • Update us
    • Support Indiana Law
      • The Lauren Robel Scholarships
      • You can make a difference
      • The Fromm Emergency Fund
      • Transformation gifts
      • Ways to give
      • Faculty legacies
      • Partners in Excellence
  • Make your gift
  • Library
    • About
      • Harmful Language
      • Hours
      • Contact Us
      • Directory
      • Visitor information
      • Jerome Hall
      • Virtual Tour
    • Research Tools
    • Study Aids
    • Circulation & Interlibrary Loan
      • Policies
      • Scan on Demand
      • Interlibrary Loan
      • Renew Books
      • Recall Request
      • Distance Lending
      • Report Missing Book
    • Other Services
      • Study Rooms
      • Computing
      • Reference
      • Outreach
      • For Faculty
      • For Alumni
      • HeinOnline Alumni Access
    • Collections
      • Repository
      • Other Digitized Collections
      • Foreign and International Law
      • U.S. Government Documents
      • Rare Books and Archives
      • Audio Visual
      • Microforms
  • News, events & media
    • Faculty in the media
    • Lectures and events
      • Extraterritoriality in international law
      • Featured and endowed lectures
    • Indiana Law Annotated
      • Spring 2025
      • Fall 2024
      • Spring 2024
      • Fall 2023
      • Spring 2023
      • Fall 2022
      • Spring 2022
      • Fall 2021
      • Spring 2021
    • Law School calendar
    • Request an event

Maurer School of Law

  • Home
  • About us
    • History
    • Diversity, equity, and inclusion
    • Faculty and staff
    • Strategic planning
    • Consumer information (ABA required disclosures)
    • Commencement
    • Contact us
    • Academic calendar 2024-25
  • Academics
    • JD degree
    • Graduate degrees
    • Courses
    • Areas of focus
    • Global experiences
    • Public interest
    • Experiential education
    • Family office program
    • Cybersecurity programs
  • Research
    • Centers
    • Programs
  • JD admission
  • Graduate admission
    • LLM, MCL, SJD, PhD
    • Master of Legal Studies
    • Summer Institute for International Lawyers and Law Students
    • Exchange students and visiting scholars
    • Certificates
    • Paths to a JD degree
    • Financial info
    • Scholarships
    • Let's get acquainted
    • Admitted students
  • Current students
    • Student affairs
    • Financial aid
    • Careers
    • Student organizations
    • Student activities
    • Journals
    • Advocacy competitions
    • Access to Justice
    • Academic calendar 2024-2025
  • Alumni
    • Features
    • Leadership
    • Awards
    • Publications
    • Services
    • Get involved
    • Class notes
    • Update us
    • Support Indiana Law
  • Search
  • Make your gift
  • Library
  • News, events & media
  • Home
  • About us
  • Faculty and staff

Ethan Michelson

Professor of Sociology and Law

Curriculum vitae

Ethan Michelson
Email:
emichels@iu.edu
Phone:
(812) 856-1521
Location:
Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, Room 2031

Education

  • McGill University B.A. 1992
  • University of Chicago M.A. 1995
  • University of Chicago Ph.D. 2003

Background

  • Trustees' Teaching Award, 2021
  • Honorable Mention for the Distinguished Article Award of the American Sociological Association Section on the Sociology of Law, 2020
  • Co-Winner of the Research Article Award of the American Sociological Association Section on Asia & Asian America, 2009
  • Recipient of the U.S. Department of Education Fulbright-Hays Faculty Research Abroad Program Fellowship, 2009-10
  • Recipient of the 2008 Gordon White Prize for most original article or research report published in The China Quarterly
  • Recipient of the Indiana University Outstanding Junior Faculty Award, 2007-08, campus-wide award for junior faculty members who show promise of achieving great distinction as scholars or artists
  • In-Residence Research Fellow at the Hopkins-Nanjing Center, Institute for International Research, 2006-07
  • Research fellow at the Obermann Center for Advanced Studies, University of Iowa, 2005
  • Doctoral research fellow, American Bar Foundation, 2001-03
  • Ford Foundation Individual Grant for Promoting Sociology of Law in China, 2000-01
  • Fulbright-Hays, Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship, 1999-2000
  • National Science Foundation, Law and Social Science Program, Grant for Improving Doctoral Dissertation Research, 1999-2000
  • Social Science Research Council, International Dissertation Field Research Fellowship, 1999-2000

Biography

After joining the Department of Sociology and the Department East Asian Languages & Cultures in 2003, Ethan Michelson became affiliated with the Maurer School of Law in 2008. He is currently Chair of the Department of East Asian Languages & Cultures and Academic Director of the IU China Gateway. 

His research on Chinese lawyers, social conflict in rural China, and gender injustice in China’s civil litigation system has been published as articles in a variety of disciplinary and area studies journals, including the American Sociological Review, the American Journal of Sociology, The China Quarterly, Law & Society Review, Social Problems, and Journal of Conflict Resolution, and as chapters in a number of edited volumes. His book, Decoupling: Gender Injustice in China’s Divorce Courts, will be published by Cambridge University Press in 2022. 

Over the past 25 years Professor Michelson has lived and conducted research in China on and off for almost eight years. He has studied at and been affiliated with Xiamen University, Nanjing University, the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Renmin University of China, and has traveled to or done field work in 16 provinces. 

His research in China has been funded by the Ford Foundation, the National Science Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, the U.S. Department of Education (Fulbright-Hays), the American Bar Foundation, and the Hopkins-Nanjing Center.

Selected works

  • "Gender Inequality in the Chinese Legal Profession."
  • RESEARCH IN THE SOCIOLOGY OF WORK, Vol. 18.
  • "Public Attitudes toward Official Justice in Beijing and Rural China." (with Benjamin L. Read) In CHINESE JUSTICE: CIVIL DISPUTE RESOLUTION IN CONTEMPORARY CHINA, edited by Margaret Y.K. Woo, Mary E. Gallagher, and Merle Goldman. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press 2011.
  • "What Do Chinese Lawyers Want? Political Values and Legal Practice." in CHINA'S EMERGING MIDDLE CLASS: BEYOND ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION, ed. C. Li. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2010.
  • "Justice from Above or Below? Popular Strategies for Resolving Grievances in Rural China." THE CHINA QUARTERLY No. 193, pp. 43-64, 2008. Winner of the 2008 Gordon White Prize for most original article or research report.
  • "Dear Lawyer Bao: Everyday Problems, Legal Advice, and State Power in China." SOCIAL PROBLEMS Vol. 55, No. 1, pp. 43-71, 2008.
  • "Lawyers, Political Embeddedness, and Institutional Continuity in China's Transition from Socialism." AMERICAN JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY Vol. 113, No. 2, pp. 352-414.
  • "Climbing the Dispute Pagoda: Grievances and Appeals to the Official Justice System in Rural China." AMERICAN SOCIOLOGICAL REVIEW Vol. 72, No. 2, pp. 459-85.
  • "The Practice of Law as an Obstacle to Justice: Chinese Lawyers at Work." LAW & SOCIETY REVIEW, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 1-38, 2006 (lead article). Abridged and edited version reprinted in WORKING IN CHINA: ETHNOGRAPHIES OF LABOR AND WORKPLACE TRANSFORMATION, edited by Ching Kwan Lee. Oxon, UK and New York: Routledge, 2007.

Related links

  • Department of Sociology
  • Web page

Areas of expertise

  • Law of China
  • Legal profession
  • History
  • Diversity, equity, and inclusion
  • Faculty and staff
    • Adjunct faculty
    • Other IU faculty
    • Reappointment, promotion, and tenure guidelines
    • Faculty intranet
  • Strategic planning
  • Consumer information (ABA required disclosures)
  • Commencement
  • Contact us
  • Academic calendar 2024-25

Maurer School of Law social media channels

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • Flickr

Indiana University Maurer School of Law Bloomington

Baier Hall, 211 South Indiana Avenue
Bloomington, IN 47405

Consumer information (ABA required disclosures)

Thanks for clicking. That felt good.

Close

Indiana University

Accessibility | College Scorecard | Privacy Notice | Copyright © 2025 The Trustees of Indiana University