6.5 Minutes With... | Robert Smith

In this episode of C21’s “6.5 Minutes with…,” graduate fellow Jamee Pritchard interviews Robert Smith, Director of the Center for Urban Research, Teaching, and Outreach (CURTO) at Marquette University. He discusses his journey in community-based research and engagement by emphasizing the importance of "slow knowing" in his work, which, he explains, involves deliberate reflection and sustained inquiry.  

Smith highlights his projects, including a transatlantic study on legal activism against racial colonialism and a prison education program. He stresses the significance of local history and community engagement in shaping his research and teaching that are guided by initiatives like MKE Roots and the BLEST Hub, which focus on place-based learning and community-driven education.

Media Recommendations (with links):

Smith recommends a variety of media in understanding slow knowing, from the classroom to board games. He particularly mentions programs like CURTO’s McNeely Prison Education Consortium, MKE Roots, and the BLEST Hub. For prison education, the medium is the classroom; for MKE Roots, it is Milwaukee; and for BLEST Hub, Smith says that the “medium is whatever the young people tell us the medium ought to be.”

McNeely Prison Education Consortium:

“We're always welcoming the folks who are system impacted to become a part of our on campus courses, and then those who are inside facilities. We teach courses inside correctional facilities within a blended model, with our Marquette students as well. We're also looking for folks who want to be instructors in those classes too. These are transformational learning experiences, not just the students who are being transformed, but the instructors are being transformed as well.”

MKE Roots and BLEST Hub:

“There's a civics lesson right down the street and around the corner from you” Smith continues. “You know that our city, cities in general, but particularly this city, has some important local history, some important lessons about the urban experience, the Midwestern experience, the immigrant experience, the industrial experience, there's some really great histories that are right here locally that with MKE roots, we're engaging with teachers to help our young people understand the importance of place, and the importance of local history helping to serve as a foundation, for our young folks who are making those jumps from high school to the workforce or high school to college, our BLEST Hub, we're looking to find you where you are.”

Board Games:

Smith also suggests two board games: Chess and  Wingspan - a game about birds and all their splendor. He explains that they both have taught him patience and deliberation at very different moments of his life.