Project Description
Too often narratives surrounding Black Milwaukee are focused on poverty, residential segregation, criminalization rates, and educational achievement gaps. While scholars have been correct to expose these realities and their negative impacts, these are not the only stories to tell about the African American experience in Milwaukee. In studying middle class and affluent African American in Milwaukee, the Living for the City project challenges the Black narrative of Milwaukee by providing an alternative representation that has largely remained invisible in both scholarship and media. Studying those with class advantages brings insights into social inequality and opens other narratives and representations of African Americans in Milwaukee. The categories of questions considered in the interviews are:
1) views about Milwaukee including the benefits and challenges of living in the metropolitan area;
2) decisions around housing and schooling options, both of which are fundamental for social class reproduction and shaped by residential segregation;
3) professional or career goals and accomplishments;
4) perspectives on Black political power in the city and state; and
5) views on Black social and cultural institutions including Milwaukee’s social environment. Understandings of Black identity in Milwaukee within the boundaries of race, gender, and place are also considered.
Tasks and Responsibilites
The student's responsibilities involve constructing the digital archive and analyzing the interview data. The student will index the remaining interviews for the digital archive, which will provide an introduction to the interviews and preparations for learning how to code interviews in NVIVO. The student will be trained to use NVIVO for data analysis: 1) code interview data in NVIVO; 2) create cases with demographic data; and 3) run analytic queries, including simple word frequencies and cross tab queries. Attending project meetings is required.
Desired Qualifications
None Listed.