The Center on Urban Research and Public Policy and the Program in American Culture Studies are developing a multidisciplinary program of research and teaching that addresses urban inequality over time and space. The program encourages scholarly engagement across disciplinary boundaries to create a deeper understanding of the multiple dimensions of urban inequality. We particularly seek candidates who value working with colleagues across the social sciences and the humanities to develop new knowledge of urban issues in cities and their metropolitan areas. Applicants are considered from across the social and behavioral sciences, and we are open to research that has a comparative or transnational focus. Top consideration is given to those candidates who have demonstrated abilities in designing and implementing urban-related research and publishing the results of that research.

The Program in American Culture Studies (AmCS) and the Center on Urban Research and Public Policy (CURPP) in Arts & Sciences are pleased to announce the appointment of two post-doctoral fellows for the 2007-08 and 2008-2009 academic years.

George Hobor received an M.A. in political science from Syracuse University and an M.A. and Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Arizona. He has also worked at the Urban Institute in Washington D.C., where he conducted research on employment in non-profit organizations. His dissertation, entitled Plugging into the Global Economy: A Study of Economic Development in Former Industrial Cities, examines how cities in the Rust Belt region of the United States experienced the period of global economic restructuring from 1970 to 2000. He explains why some of these cities were able to successfully transition and find a niche in the global economy, while others continue to struggle with the effects of deindustrialization. While in St. Louis, he hopes to pursue an extension of this project by studying how the local labor force has adapted to the new global economy, focusing on how the experiences of racial and ethnic minorities vary. He has additional interests in organizational theory, social capital and networks, and political sociology.

Lauren Silver returns to St. Louis after finishing her Ph.D. in Education, Culture and Society at University of Pennsylvania. She is an alumna of Washington University, where she earned a B.A. in cultural anthropology in 1998. After graduating from Washington University, she worked as a researcher and project developer for Norwegian Aid’s home for street children, located just outside Nairobi, Kenya and later as a program manager for adolescent mothers and their children in a residency in Philadelphia. Her research and teaching interests include the comparative study of marginalized youth and their experiences with urban programs and institutions of school, child welfare and juvenile justice. She applies interdisciplinary approaches, mainly from anthropology and human development, to her research with urban youth. Her dissertation, entitled Navigating Child Welfare: Adolescent Mothers and the Politics of Regulation , examines the ways in which African American adolescent mothers gain access to resources and services in an urban child welfare system. Through an ethnographic lens, the study considers how contemporary child welfare policy and the growth of public-private hybrids in the welfare sector shape the interactions between providers and young dependent and delinquent mothers.

In Fall 2008, Dr Hobor and Dr. Silver will team teach a course:
L98 AMCS 114- Freshman Seminar: Studying the City- The Scholar and COmmunity Engagement
TuTh 2:30-4:00 pm. 3 units.
Early urban theorists argued the city is a refuge for lonely, individualistic people and that city life is chaotic, as everyone pursues their narrow self-interests. Others have suggested city residents form meaningful friendships and continuously engage with neighbors and strangers on the streets. Thus, city life is patterned and supports a strong sense of community. How we move along this continuum is an important issue that not only relates to our urban areas but also to the quality of our democracy as we carry out the social project of defining the good life. Why is this issue of concern? As scholars and citizens in a democracy, what should we do to address this issue? What can we do? What is the role of universities in addressing urban life? What are some of the tensions that arise when we try to take action either through policy or other direct efforts, such as engaged scholarship? How should we negotiate around these tensions, if at all? In this class, we explore these questions and call on students to think about their dual role as scholars and citizens.