<p>[Tulane</a> University - City Culture Community](<a href=“http://tulane.edu/ccc/]Tulane”>http://tulane.edu/ccc/)</p>
<p>Sounds interesting, but a money grubber. Seems one could concentrate in any of those areas in a doctorate program of social work, sociology, or anthropology.</p>
<p>Yes, I am sure it will make a fortune.</p>
<p><<<<< sarcasm meter is exploding >>>>>>>>></p>
<p>Yes, I have to go buy a new one now, dammit.</p>
<p>On a more serious note, I read the article blue147 cites. Here is the first paragraph:</p>
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<p>So where blue said anthropology, maybe he meant Urban Studies. Because that is how this PhD program works, you get your PhD in one of the 3 areas cited, with the add-on of “City, Culture and Cummunity”. For example, a sociologist would get a PhD in “Sociology–City, Culture, and Community”.</p>
<p>Now I am certainly no expert in these fields, but I can imagine that having the buy-in from other departments like law, architecture, etc. up front is crucial. I can just imagine that if I wanted to do a sociology PhD thesis on the effect of nanoparticles on society (silly, I know) and had not gotten any buy-in from both the sponsoring department and the physics and/or materials sciences professors, I might be dead in the water before I started. These people are busy, and if they are going to make a commitment to a major study like that, it would help a great deal if it were part of an organized, well thought out program of study where others were contributing as well.</p>
<p>Finally, and perhaps most importantly, this is clearly the result of 5 years of experience in recovering from Hurricane Katrina and all the interdiscinplinary cooperation that was required to achieve the amazing results so far. So rather than some cynical take on this development revolving around money, perhaps it would be wiser to consider that people who have lifetimes worth of unique and hard-fought experience realized the gaps that existed in our knowledge of these areas. And that they then considered the best ways to try and fill those gaps by creating a path for people who want to take a more holistic approach to these same areas, this being the path chosen.</p>
<p>Sounds like a great program to me. Interdisciplinary study is becoming increasingly popular. The Political Economy programs offered through the Murphy Institute, have a long history of being interdisciplinary. There has been an ongoing effort to provide just the right interdisciplinary mix since the invention of the the “major” at UChicago, followed by the invention of the “elective” at Columbia. For a great discussion and some interesting suggestions for the future see Donald Levine’s Powers of the Mind…</p>
<p>My post wasn’t meant to offend or for me to be a ■■■■■. Excuse me of my ignorance. At first it seemed odd to me to create a program where one could concentrate in those said areas (mentioned in the curriculum) in similar programs. But as fallenchemist states, the program does have a directive, formed by years of hardship and reflection. I did not see it that way at first.</p>
<p>No one was offended or thought you were a ■■■■■. I was just ribbing you a little. In fact, I think it was great to bring it to light, and if you now see it a bit differently, then this has been a positive exchange.</p>
<p>I read some of your other posts and I could see you are a thoughtful student (sorry about your roommate though), so I knew you were making a serious comment. Having been so involved with Tulane, I just knew how this program must have evolved. When viewed through the lens of Katrina, it puts a completely different light on it than if one didn’t know about or think about that. Plus, being a bit further along in the game than you (read that as really old), I have some experience with these interdisciplinary institutes and what they can accomplish with the right leadership, attitudes, and of course funding.</p>
<p>Okay, I’m eating my words (and I’m more than happy to), but the more I think I about this program, the more I like it. Would it be wise to apply to the program? I discovered it by looking at graduate programs in sociology - which Tulane had one, but it’s now defunct (?) - and discovered the CCC program. The program seems like it’s the perfect fit for my research interests, but I’m somewhat hesitant to apply since it’s brand new.</p>
<p>Oh, I would definitely apply. Personally, I would think it is exciting to blaze some new trails, and have some of these new avenues open to you. And the PhD would still be in Sociology (so I guess if that was suspended after Katrina, as some were, it is back), it would just note your specialization in the CCC area.</p>
<p>So it seems to me the real change here is the formalization of cross-disciplinary ties, smoothing the way for availing oneself of resources that otherwise might not be as readily available. People are always amazed at how territorial academics can be, but they are often no different than corporate workers in that regard, many would say worse lol. While Tulane is one of the most collegial schools I know of when it comes to research, it never hurts to have these things actually built in as part of the program.</p>
<p>Having been down this road in chemistry, I encourage you to look fairly deeply into the research interests of the faculty. Don’t limit yourself to sociology either, you might find one that matches you very well in Urban Studies, Social Work or even Anthropology as you inadvertantly mentioned in your original post. If you find a few that you could see yourself working with, write them and let them know of your interest. Then with any luck you could come visit and talk with the ones that look promising. It is definitely a 2 way street, unless a prof isn’t taking new students. That can happen for a few reasons; they think they might retire before you would finish, they have a full group already (probably not an issue at Tulane, but I could be wrong), they might take you but warn you they are due for a sabbatical year soon, that kind of thing.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>