Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture Series to feature Pulitzer Prize winner Matthew Desmond
Pulitzer Prize-winning author Matthew Desmond will be the featured speaker this fall during the University of Arkansas at Little Rock鈥檚 Winthrop Rockefeller Distinguished Lecture Series.Desmond鈥檚 visit on Tuesday, Nov. 13, will include a lecture and question-and-answer session beginning at 4:30 p.m. in the University Theatre. A reception and book signing will follow in the Fine Arts building. The lecture is free and open to the public.聽Desmond, a social scientist and professor at Princeton University, wrote 鈥淓victed: Poverty and Profit in the American City,鈥� which examines the impact of eviction on the lives of the urban poor and its role in perpetuating racial and economic inequality. The book chronicles the stories of eight families living in Milwaukee鈥檚 poorest neighborhoods. As part of his research, he lived in tenement houses and a trailer park, spending time with residents and landlords. Desmond concludes that eviction is a cause, rather than merely a symptom, of poverty.鈥淒esmond鈥檚 ethnographic research and nationwide eviction database give us tools to better understand the wide-ranging impact evictions have on other community health indicators such as poverty and homelessness,鈥� said Sarah Beth Estes, also a sociologist and associate provost at 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock. 鈥淭his topic may be of special importance in Arkansas, where tenants have fewer rights than in other states.鈥� 聽For his work, Desmond was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. He also received a in 2015. His latest project is at Princeton University, where researchers and students have built the nation’s first database of evictions. They have collected more than 83 million records from 48 states and the District of Columbia.Several 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock faculty are using 鈥淓victed鈥� in their fall courses.Dr. Heidi Skurat Harris,associate professor of rhetoric and writing and coordinator of the is incorporating Desmond鈥檚 book into her rhetoric course 聽鈥淩esearch in Nonfiction Writing.鈥�鈥淪tudents are reading the book to learn about how to write about ethnographic research for a more general audience,鈥� she said. 鈥淪tudents will be analyzing his writing and applying his writing style to their own nonfiction work.鈥�Dr. Jess Porter, a geographer who chairs the history department, is using 鈥淓victed鈥� in his course 鈥淗istory, Geography and the News,鈥� a current-events based course that helps students understand the broader historical and geographical contexts of what’s happening in the world right now. 鈥淲e will tackle a dozen contemporary issues this semester, one of which is poverty and housing,鈥� Porter said. 鈥淲e’ll read an excerpt from Desmond’s book, then explore and discuss the Eviction Lab to get a better spatial sense of the problem.鈥�The History Department will also be giving away a number of hardback copies of 鈥淓victed鈥� via its social media platforms, he said.Students in Dr. Rebecca Glazier鈥檚 survey research methods class are discussing Demond鈥檚 research in class and plan to attend the public talk on Nov. 13.鈥淚n this class we are mostly focusing on quantitative survey research methods, but Desmond’s work uses both qualitative participant observation as well as data-driven survey research,鈥� Glazier said. 鈥淭his balance is really interesting for answering important questions like those about how and why evictions happen. My class is also doing community-based research this semester into how congregations and nonprofits partner to provide services in the community. Desmond’s methods provide great discussion fodder about how to answer these tough community problems.鈥�Desmond鈥檚 work has been in the national spotlight recently. He has been interviewed by , the , and by .Desmond is a former associate professor of social sciences at Harvard University, where he was co-director of the Justice and Poverty Project. He鈥檚 a former member of the Harvard Society of Fellows, the author of the award-winning book, 鈥淥n the Fireline,鈥� co-author of two books on race, and editor of a collection of studies on severe deprivation in America.
For his work, Desmond was awarded the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for General Nonfiction. He also received a in 2015. His latest project is at Princeton University, where researchers and students have built the nation’s first database of evictions. They have collected more than 83 million records from 48 states and the District of Columbia.
Several 糖心Vlog传媒 Little Rock faculty are using 鈥淓victed鈥� in their fall courses.
Dr. Heidi Skurat Harris, associate professor of rhetoric and writing and coordinator of the is incorporating Desmond鈥檚 book into her rhetoric course 聽鈥淩esearch in Nonfiction Writing.鈥�
鈥淪tudents are reading the book to learn about how to write about ethnographic research for a more general audience,鈥� she said. 鈥淪tudents will be analyzing his writing and applying his writing style to their own nonfiction work.鈥�
Dr. Jess Porter, a geographer who chairs the history department, is using 鈥淓victed鈥� in his course 鈥淗istory, Geography and the News,鈥� a current-events based course that helps students understand the broader historical and geographical contexts of what’s happening in the world right now.
鈥淲e will tackle a dozen contemporary issues this semester, one of which is poverty and housing,鈥� Porter said. 鈥淲e’ll read an excerpt from Desmond’s book, then explore and discuss the Eviction Lab to get a better spatial sense of the problem.鈥�
The History Department will also be giving away a number of hardback copies of 鈥淓victed鈥� via its social media platforms, he said.
Students in Dr. Rebecca Glazier鈥檚 survey research methods class are discussing Demond鈥檚 research in class and plan to attend the public talk on Nov. 13.
鈥淚n this class we are mostly focusing on quantitative survey research methods, but Desmond’s work uses both qualitative participant observation as well as data-driven survey research,鈥� Glazier said. 鈥淭his balance is really interesting for answering important questions like those about how and why evictions happen. My class is also doing community-based research this semester into how congregations and nonprofits partner to provide services in the community. Desmond’s methods provide great discussion fodder about how to answer these tough community problems.鈥�
Desmond鈥檚 work has been in the national spotlight recently. He has been interviewed by , the , and by .
Desmond is a former associate professor of social sciences at Harvard University, where he was co-director of the Justice and Poverty Project. He鈥檚 a former member of the Harvard Society of Fellows, the author of the award-winning book, 鈥淥n the Fireline,鈥� co-author of two books on race, and editor of a collection of studies on severe deprivation in America.