Bio
Michael Kreiter is an Assistant Teaching Professor in Sociology at Boise State University, where he also serves as Co-Director of the Intermountain Social Research Lab (IMSRL) and the Syringa State Community Research Lab (SSCRL), and Director of the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Certificate.
Through IMSRL, he trains undergraduate researchers to conduct original, theory-driven research and present their findings in professional academic spaces. Through SSCRL, he partners with community organizations across Idaho to produce applied research on inequality, education, and public policy.
Kreiter earned his PhD in Sociology from Kent State University. He previously earned undergraduate degrees in Sociology and Ethnic Studies from Boise State University.
Research Interests
Michael Kreiter’s research focuses on the reproduction of inequality and the ideological conditions that justify it. His work examines how power operates through culture, discourse, and institutions, particularly in moments where dominant narratives begin to fracture.
His current research investigates far-right Active Clubs and adjacent extremist online communities, analyzing how hypermasculinity, whiteness, and grievance are organized into collective identity and action. This work situates contemporary extremism not as an aberration, but as part of an ideological pathway connected to neoliberal individualism and “colorblind” racial ideology.
His earlier research traced these dynamics in science fiction fandom, showing how conflicts framed as debates over taste, merit, or “politics in culture” can serve as entry points into extremist worldviews, particularly mainstreaming white supremacy.