Detroit School Series: The "Detroit School" & "Urban Studies Cluster" as Works-In-Progress

Detroit School Series: The “Detroit School” & “Urban Studies Cluster” as Works-In-Progress

In 2011, the University of Michigan agreed to hire an interdisciplinary cluster of faculty members who would contribute to the literature on urban studies, particularly through research on Detroit. Assembling this cluster and commencing on a multi-year conversation about the efficacy of a “Detroit School” of urban studies have both been works-in-progress. At our first event, Angela Dillard will moderate a discussion with three of the cluster members: Heather Thompson, Alexandra Murphy, and Kimberley Kinder. The panelists will discuss their perspectives on what a “Detroit School” could and should encompass; the challenges and rewards of doing research in Detroit and Detroit-like cities, individually and with students; and their thoughts on what we are learning, and could be learning, from research and teaching on Detroit and the greater metropolitan region.

Angela Dillard is Professor of Social Theory and Practice in the Residential College, Earl Lewis Collegiate Professor of Afroamericn and African Studies, and Associate Dean for Undergraduate Education. Heather Thompson is a research affiliate of the Population Studies Center and a Professor of Afroamerican and African Studies, History, and the Residential College. Alexandra K. Murphy is an Assistant Professor of Sociology, a faculty affiliate of the Population Studies Center at the Institute for Social Research, and a Professor of Public Policy at the Ford School. Kimberley Kinder is an Assistant Professor of Urban and Regional Planning at Taubman College.

This year’s Detroit School Series is supported by the Rackham Interdisciplinary Workshop. For background on the series and audio/video of past talks, please see http://www.umich.edu/~detsch/index.html