Urban Studies Hosts its 7th Career Conversations with Grads Event

On November 6th, the Urban Studies Department hosted its 7th Career Conversations with Grads event, featuring Rachel Pressey (2014), Jenny Velez (2015), and Benjamin Payne (2017). The event was held on Zoom, and with a few dozen attendees present, current undergraduate and graduate students were able to hear from graduates about their experiences in the department and where life took them after they graduated. Rachel, Jenny, and Ben's stories were inspiring, comforting, and useful and offered numerous tips on career development including networking, mentoring, interviewing, and finding a job that aligns with one's interests and values.

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Fieldwork for "Worcester: A City & Its People"

Students in Dr. Conroy's Worcester: A City & Its People class ( UR 312) took to the city for a second time this semester to do some fieldwork. The first trip was to North Main Street -- this one was to Coes Pond and Webster Square. Here they are on the eastern edge of the pond along the boardwalk. The student field packets contained old maps and images of city buildings and spaces at various historical points. For example, the packets contained plates from the 1896 and 1911 Worcester Real Estate Atlases as well as pictures of the "old" Webster Square Cinema when it was in operation, the "old" Stop'n Shop that's not the Asian Market, the Coes Wrench Factory, and the Roller Skating Arena that is now called Arena Plaza (where a Little Caesars is located). Students located the sites along the way and compared the old images and maps to what remains of them today. Then they were encouraged to speculate about the changes before they dug into source mat...

New Article by Urban Studies Faculty Member, Professor Shiko Gathuo

Not in This Together: COVID-19 and People of Color by Shiko Gathuo, Ph.D. Shiko Gathuo, Ph.D. Professor and Graduate Program Director of Urban Studies Presidents, prime ministers, royalty, celebrities. These and other rich, powerful and famous people have contracted COVID-19. When the pandemic first took hold, it was easy to throw around phrases like “we are in this together,” “the pandemic does not discriminate,” and “united in the fight.” These warm and comforting sentiments quickly became hollow as it became apparent that, in fact, the pandemic does discriminate and it has negatively affected the poor and people of color disproportionately and in many different ways. People of color are experiencing the health aspect of COVID-19 including infection, testing and treatment differently. The virus has also exacerbated other already existing conditions such as economic deprivation, food insecurity, and the education achievement gap. COVID-19 has also had a significant negative effe...

"Wonderful Ethnography"

During his sabbatical last spring, Urban Studies Associate Professor Dr. Timothy Murphy, built a user-friendly website to help students develop their qualitative research skills. The site is called "Wonderful Ethnography" , because it emphasizes the importance of wondering when conducting ethnographic research. The site's three main sections - Wondering, Observing, and Asking - teach students how to stay open and curious about whatever arises during the research process and being slow to jump to conclusions, how to conduct observations, and how to engage people in interviews. The site's two additional sections - Examples and Resources - provide images, videos, field notes, and links to give students some real examples of what ethnographic research can look like as well as additional resources for students who want to learn more. Check it out!

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