Her scholarship and research interests converge around five distinct areas of anthropological inquiry: the political economy of racism as a "postcolonial predicament, the ‘New World’ African Diaspora, particularly within the context of "race" and race theory, the web of relationships connecting culture, power, and history to space and place, the politics and ethics of ethnographic research and collaborative anthropology. Hargrove's ethnographic specialization lies in and around the Sea Islands of South Carolina, Georgia, and Northeast Florida, where she has cultivated an ongoing relationship with Gullah/Geechee communities combating the forces of heritage tourism, resort, and gated community development.