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Urban Studies and Engaged Community Education in Memphis

Urban Studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the complex dynamics of urban environments, including their social, economic, political, and cultural aspects. It is dedicated to understanding how cities develop, function, and influence the lives of their inhabitants. At Rhodes College, our Urban Studies program emphasizes engaged community education, fostering partnerships with local organizations to address urban challenges and promote sustainable development in Memphis.

Our Urban Studies curriculum is designed to equip students and community partners with the skills and knowledge needed to analyze urban issues critically and develop innovative solutions. Through a combination of theoretical frameworks and practical experiences, we aim to:

• Promote Social Justice: By exploring issues such as housing, transportation, and access to resources, we seek to create more equitable urban spaces.
• Enhance Community Engagement: We facilitate collaborative projects that involve community members in the planning and decision-making processes, ensuring that solutions are rooted in the needs and aspirations of Memphis residents.
• Foster Sustainable Development: Our focus on environmental sustainability and resilience helps communities adapt to and mitigate the impacts of urbanization and climate change.
• Encourage Interdisciplinary Approaches: By integrating perspectives from sociology, psychology, political science, and other disciplines, we provide a holistic understanding of urban phenomena. We examine both local and global contexts to enrich our analysis and approach.

Health Equity and Human Flourishing in Memphis

Rhodes College is committed to bringing health equity education to community partners in Memphis. Our goal is to help our partners find ways to collaborate to address the disparities that impair human health and flourishing and to build a culture of equity.

What do we mean by health and human flourishing? Health and human flourishing are products of the social relationships that shape us as individuals and in communities. Health and well-being grow in egalitarian communities, and disparities take root amidst social inequalities. We can measure the justice of a society in the bodies of its people. The social forces that shape health and well-being include transportation, education, housing and neighborhood conditions, access to green spaces and art, employment and income stability, food, social support, religious belonging, and access to health care services. Migration, globalization, poverty, territory, and culture are also powerful drivers of health and well-being.

Because the root challenge for building health equity is social inequality, not lack of access to medicine, solutions can only emerge when social forces align to offer fair chances for all people to flourish. Understanding where disparities grow and how to uproot them requires collaboration from all sectors of society. We plan to work especially with governmental, educational, philanthropic, and healthcare organizations.

Lecture Topics

Education
Dr. Laura Kelly, Assistant Professor of Elementary Literacy
Dr. Laura Taylor, Assistant Professor of Educational Studies
Dr. Elizabeth Thomas, Associate Professor of Psychology & Director of Urban Studies
 
Healthcare
Dr. Peter Hossler, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies
Dr. Kendra Hotz, Associate Professor of Urban Studies & Robert R. Waller Chair of Population Health 
 
Housing
Dr. Austin Harrison, Assistant professor of Urban Studies
Dr. Evelyn Perry, Associate Professor of Sociology (Chair)
Dr. Shaolu Yu, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies
 
Immigration
Dr. Abou-Bakar Mamah, Assistant Professor of Modern Languages & Literatures
Dr. Shaolu Yu, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies
 
Neighborhoods
Dr. Evelyn Perry, Associate Professor of Sociology (Chair)
Dr. Elizabeth Thomas, Associate Professor of Psychology & Director of Urban Studies
Dr. Katherine White, Professor of Psychology (Chair) & Director of Fellowships Undergraduate Research
 
Policing and Incarceration
Dr. Duane Loynes, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies and African Studies
 
Skills for Equity: Structural Competence and Cultural Humility
Dr. Duane Loynes, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies and African Studies
 
Social Determinants of Health 
Dr. Kendra Hotz, Associate Professor of Urban Studies & Robert R. Waller Chair of Population Health 
Dr. Peter Hossler, Chair of Urban Studies, Associate Professor of Urban and Community Health

Transportation
Dr. Shaolu Yu, Assistant Professor of Urban Studies