Core Courses | Elective Courses | Faculty | Interdisciplinary Urban Study

Urban Anthropology at the University of Memphis focuses on Strengthening and Engaging Communities.  Within this domain, faculty teaching and research cut across three focal areas: community education and neighborhoods; development and social justice; and organizations and equitable work practice. 

Examples of research areas in the Urban concentration include: urban education; community and economic development; gender and work; industrial and technological change related to demographic shifts; residential community settlements such as low-income housing; community structure and organization; and general social planning for the future of cities. 

Urban faculty are concerned with questions of the construction and negotiation of identity, rights, inequalities, advocacy, empowerment and social action; how people, goods, structures, and ideas (ideologies) move back and forth across local and global spaces; and anthropological application to policy.

Core Courses:                                                                                                                                                                   ˆTOP

The Urban M.A. Program requires 36 hours of completed coursework. Urban anthropology students, along with students in the other two tracks, must take the following four courses to form the basis for competence as anthropologists, regardless of the student's chosen applied specialization.

• History of Anthropology Theory (ANTH 7200-8200)
• Methods in Anthropology (ANTH 7075-8075)
• Techniques of Anthropological Data Analyses (ANTH 7076-8076)
• Applied Anthropology and Development (ANTH 7255)
• Anthropological Applications (7985)

Application to all three tracks is made during each course, and students are encouraged to focus their practical exercises within their own areas of interest in their chosen applied field. In addition to the common courses, urban anthropology students must also take these two track specific courses:

• Urban Anthropology (ANTH 6411) or Contemporary Urban Anthropology (ANTH 7410)
• Urban Anthropology in the Mid-South (ANTH 7411)

Elective Courses:                                                                                                                                                            ˆTOP     

• Anthropology and Education (ANTH 6051)
• Africa’s New World Communities (ANTH 6120)
• Neighborhood Development and Social Entrepreneurship (ANTH 6412)
• Cultures of Capitalism  (ANTH 6414)
• American Folklore (ANTH 6420)
• Community, Culture and Program Evaluation (ANTH 7250)
• Cultural Perspectives on the Environment (ANTH 6220) 
• Anthropology of Religion (ANTH 6253)
• Anthropology of Tourism (ANTH 6413)
• Special Topics in Urban Anthropology (ANTH 7490-99)
• Directed Individual Readings (7985-8975)
• Directed Individual Research (7980-8980)

All tracks must complete a practicum. The practicum is designed to provide hands-on experience in the student’s area of interest. This allows the student to gain practical experience and make contacts in a variety of organizations and agencies and can lead to gainful employment. For a complete description of information on requirements, admission, and courses offered, see Degree Program, Requirements, and Course Descriptions.

Faculty:                                                                                                                                                                              ˆTOP

Four faculty members serve as supervisors for the urban concentration, Dr. Keri Brondo, Dr. Stan Hyland, Dr. Katherine Lambert-Pennington, and Dr. Charles Williams, who currently research and perform fieldwork in urban issues. Many U of M alumni and other practicing anthropologists live in the Memphis area and contribute to our program through adjunct status and as practicum supervisors.

Interdisciplinary Urban Study                                                                                                                                       ˆTOP

The School for Urban Affairs and Public Policy (SUAPP) offers a wide range of graduate and undergraduate degree programs for both full time and part time students. It consists of five academic units designed to engage in collaborative research and outreach efforts in the community: Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Division of City and Regional Planning, Division of Social Work, Division of Public Administration, and Division of Health Administration.
Through the units and corresponding research centers and institutes, research, outreach, and service activities are provided by faculty and students to the community through student internships, technical assistance, and consultation..