Ben Brucato is a sound artist, writer, teacher, agitator, and musician, residing in Western Massachusetts.

Research: Brucato is an interdisciplinary social scientist and humanist who has produced a wide range of work as a solo and collaborative researcher. In their collaborative work, Brucato has used quantitative survey research, qualitative interviewing, ethnographic field research, program evaluation, and mixed methods, producing peer-reviewed articles, presentations at international conferences, and internal reports on contracted research. In their solo research in critical theory, they tend toward historical and discourse analytic methods. Generally, their solo-authored work addresses topics related to social control, focusing mostly at intersections of race, police, surveillance, technology, and media. More specifically, Brucato’s recently published work focuses on the origins and development of race and police in the United States and on the visibility of police use-of-force. Their book on the historical co-origination and mutual reproduction of the unique race and police institutions of the seventeenth- and eighteenth-century Anglo-American colonies was published by Rutgers University Press.

Teaching: Brucato is a Lecturer in the Department of Sociology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and has taught in political science, sociology, criminology and justice studies, and science and technology studies for more than a decade, instructing up to 52 credits in an academic year. Formerly an Assistant Professor of social theory in the Department of Sociology and Criminology at Framingham State University, they frequently teach online courses there as a Visiting Associate Professor. Prior, they worked as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Sociology at Rhode Island College.

Community Engagement: For over twenty-five years, Brucato has been an anti-racist activist and has organized against police violence. In Albany, NY, they were involved with Occupy Albany and #BlackLivesMatter, and in Troy, NY, they co-founded the Community Alliance Against Police Violence. Their most recent community engagement has involved raising awareness about the contemporary formations of the white nationalist movement, participating in “know your rights” workshops, and public humanities work on the history of race and police. Brucato is a member of the Massachusetts Teachers Association and the National Education Association.

Creative Work: Brucato has been a sound artist and musician for over three decades. Performing and recording as a solo artist under the name of Clew Of Theseus and other monikers, their creative work draws from industrial culture, Japanese harsh noise, and power electronics. With more than two dozen solo releases, they have also have collaborated with Jeph Jerman, Richard Ramirez, and Bastard Noise, among others. As a musician, Brucato has performed in several bands, most recently playing in Sallow (black metal), Rota (black crust), Robbery (hardcore punk),  and Bad Card (Oi!). Brucato operated Cabal, a boutique record store and gallery in Phoenix; is a former co-owner of the art gallery Perihelion Arts, also in Phoenix; and operated the record label Cathartic Process for ten years.