Steven James Gold (born 1955) is a sociologist involved in research on ethnic economies, international migration, the development of ethnic communities, visual sociology, and qualitative methods.
Having served as President of the International Visual Sociology Association (1987–1990) and Chair of the American Sociological Association Section on International Migration (2003–2004), he is a professor at Michigan State University in the Department of Sociology[1] Gold grew up in Cleveland, Ohio.
He attended Brandeis University and University of California, Santa Cruz as an undergraduate, graduating with a BA in both sociology and psychology.
He received his master's and doctoral degrees in sociology at University of California, Berkeley.
He worked as a sociology professor at Whittier College 1985-1994 and Michigan State University 1994–present.