Robert Futrell specializes in social movements and social change, environmental sociology, urban sustainability, and science and technology. His environmental scholarship focuses on sustainability, climate change, and urban life in the United States' desert Southwest. His current social movement scholarship focuses on the cultural and organizational dynamics of social movement persistence and political extremism. His co-authored book, American Swastika: Inside the White Power Movement's Hidden Spaces of Hate(2015, Rowman & Littlefield) explains white supremacy in the U.S. His research has been published in outlets such as Social ProblemsSociological QuarterlyJournal of Environmental Planning and ManagementScience, Technology, & Human Values, and the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, among others.