Julia A. McWilliams
Co-Director, Urban Studies Program
Make appointments on Calendly! https://calendly.com/mcjulia-upenn
Julia McWilliams is an anthropologist of education and Co-Director of the Urban Studies Program. Her research interests are urban education policy, immigration, and urban ethnography. Her recent book, Complete or Close: Neighborhood Schools under Pressure, and forthcoming manuscript Schools for Sale: Displacement, Dispossession, and School Reuse in Philadelphia explore the politics of mass school closures as well as what happens to schools after they close.
She teaches fieldwork, senior seminar, and the senior honors course but has historically also taught courses in critical writing, qualitative research methods, urban education, environmental justice, and immigration and education prior to coming to Urban Studies.
You can contact Julie for issues related to Urban Studies advising, major/minor declaration in Urban Studies, alumni engagement, curriculum development, and community and academic partnerships.
Victoria Karkov
Coordinator, Urban Studies Program
Vicky has lived in Philly since the third grade and has been at Urban Studies since August of 2011. Please feel free to contact Vicky if you’re having trouble getting a seat in an Urban Studies course, or for any general URBS-related issue.
David Grazian
Professor of Sociology and Communication Faculty Director, Urban Studies Program
dgrazian@ssc.upenn.edu
David Grazian is Professor of Sociology and Communication and Faculty Director of the Urban Studies Program at the University of Pennsylvania. Prof. Grazian received his B.A. from Rutgers University in 1994, and his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 2000. He teaches courses on popular culture, mass media and the arts; cities and urban sociology; classical sociological theory; and ethnographic methods. In his research he employs a variety of ethnographic and other qualitative methods to study the production and consumption of commercial entertainment in the urban milieu. He is the author of four books: Blue Chicago: The Search for Authenticity in Urban Blues Clubs (Univ. Chicago Press, 2003), On the Make: The Hustle of Urban Nightlife (Univ. Chicago Press, 2008), Mix It Up: Popular Culture, Mass Media, and Society (W.W. Norton, 2010; 2017), and American Zoo: A Sociological Safari (Princeton Univ. Press, 2015). He is currently writing a book on nonstandard urban workspaces in the new economy for the University of Chicago Press.
David Tran
Administrative Assistant, Urban Studies Program
David Tran is a freshman in the College of Arts & Sciences studying mathematical economics. Initially from Fort Worth, Texas, David spends his free time speedrunning Minecraft in under ten minutes, and binge-watching Succession and Better Call Saul. By the way, his middle name is just the letter D.
Demi Egunjobi
Administrative Assistant, Urban Studies Program
Demi Egunjobi is a freshman studying Philosophy, Politics, and Economics in the College of Arts and Sciences. Born and raised in Providence, Rhode Island, Demi loves going on long walks, reading the news, and playing the Sims 4. She is interested in civic and community engagement, history, and policy.
Rachael Stephens
2024-2025 Urban Studies Graduate Fellow, Urban Studies Program
Rachael is a Doctoral Candidate at UPenn in the Education, Culture, and Society program (GSE) and in the Department of Anthropology (SAS). Her main research interests are U.S. political economic inequity, social change (in relation to politicization, ideology, etc.), and social ethics.
You can contact Rachael for questions relating to the Graduate Colloquium series, or the Graduate Certificate in Urban Studies.