Charles's research, writing, and activity focus on Black identity, Rastafari identity, life narrative genres, action research, community organizations and community organizing, people-centered community development, and social movements, with a geographic concentration on the United States and Jamaica. Charles authored the book Becoming Rasta: The Origins of Rastafari Identity in Jamaica (2009, New York University Press), co-authored the monograph Community Collaborations: Promoting Community Organizing (2009, Ford Foundation), and is under contract with NYU Press to write a sequel to Becoming Rasta. Charles is writing a book on collective identity formation and ethnogenesis among the Rastafari people of Jamaica. He is seeking to develop a historically-grounded qualitative approach to collective identity formation.