Marah Curtis was working as a child and family therapist in a residential treatment facility in New York City when she felt compelled to return to school to pursue a Ph.D. She wanted to focus on the larger policies that played such a large role in the lives of her clients.
So, Curtis went back to school – she received her Ph.D. from Columbia University in 2005 – and began the path that led her to joining the faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison as an assistant professor of social work.
Curtis, who was hired using funding from the Madison Initiative for Undergraduates, comes to UW-Madison after seven years at Boston University, where she was an associate professor.
Welcome, Marah! Why are you excited to be at UW-Madison?
UW-Madison offers an exceptionally rich research infrastructure, a critical mass of researchers across position and function, as well as institutes structured to generate and sustain the synergy necessary to the research enterprise. I am quite excited to be a faculty affiliate with the Institute for Research on Poverty as well as attend lectures and meet with the researchers affiliated with the Center for Demography and Ecology.
What are your research interests?
My research focuses on the health, housing stability and living arrangements of economically vulnerable families and individuals. I examine how benefit policies and contextual factors affect well-being with a particular focus on the impact of incarceration and housing policies.
What courses do you teach?
This semester I am teaching SW206: Introduction to Social Policy. Later, I will also teach both SW420: Poverty and Social Welfare and SW606: Social Policy, a graduate course.
What can students expect in the classroom?
Students can expect a rigorous and dynamic introduction to social welfare policy. This course is as much about mastering specific content as it is about developing an approach, a method for entering into understanding the policy arena.
What's the best book you've read recently?
I try to read a lot during the summer and hardly remember what I have just read. The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga and A Fine Balance by Rohinton Misty, however, left quite an impression.
What's the best thing you've done in Madison so far?
For us, coming from a larger city, the best part has been having and getting to know our own neighborhood. Folks have been very welcoming and helpful.