The Potential for Anthropology and Urban Community Engagement: Lessons Learned from Twenty-Five Years in Milwaukee

The relationship between anthropology departments and their surrounding urban communities has been traditional limited by a number of factors. The Potential for Anthropology and Urban Community Engagement pushes past these limitations, developing a firm foundation from which applied anthropology can support grassroots research and lasting community programs. Using two partnering Milwaukee organizations as examples, this volume explores the need in urban neighborhoods for practicing anthropologists, how a high volume of asset-building programs can be developed by practicing anthropologists, and the potential efficacy of anthropology departments in partnering with urban neighborhoods.

Rick Petrie has served as executive director for Urban Anthropology, Inc. since 2010. Under his leadership, Urban Anthropology, Inc. has conducted studies that include over 1,200 oral history interviews and surveys of several thousand neighborhood residents. Petrie has co-authored three books on the research, including two on Milwaukee neighborhood and one on Milwaukee ethnic groups.