Spring 2026
Qualitative study of community organizations and organizers in American cities
Community organizing—a process in which community members develop relationships, identify social changes they need, and build collective power to achieve them—is one of the most enduring, impactful forms of civic engagement among working class, nonwhite, and immigrant communities in the United States. During the 20th century, much of this work took place within religious congregations, historically key anchors of community in American cities. Congregations provide ethical imperatives and social connections that organizers can translate into lasting commitments to, and ultimately power for, enacting social change. Hence, from the 1970s through 2010s, faith-based community organizing emerged as a leading paradigm for community empowerment in cities across the U.S.
Today, however, membership in and attendance at religious congregations is declining across all major religious traditions and all racial and ethnic groups in the U.S. As a result, community organizers who have previously relied on congregations must develop strategies for organizing in other community settings. Understanding how the methods that made faith-based community organizers successful can be transported into other community contexts is essential for practitioners aiming to grow their movements as well as for scholars who wish to understand and promote civic engagement in the contemporary U.S. This study seeks, therefore, to understand how contemporary community organizing groups are building power in settings beyond religious congregations, and with what effects.
To address these questions, this project will undertake a qualitative study of community organizations and organizers in American cities, including in-depth ethnographic work with the Massachusetts Community Action Network and its local affiliate Worcester Interfaith as well as interviews with community organizing leaders nationwide. Results will reveal how the evolving contexts of urban community are altering community organizers’ practices, and provide organizers with practical insights on how their methods might evolve to suit the less-religious nature of their contemporary constituencies.
Skills:
- Has completed a research methods course in the social sciences (Sociology, Political Science, Psychology, Geography, Education, CYES, or Economics)
- Can manage time effectively and complete tasks with few reminders or follow-ups needed
- Experience with library research, i.e. using research databases to find relevant scholarly literature
- Strong reading comprehension skills, i.e. can gain information from a text while reading efficiently
- Experience with, or a willingness to learn, effective file management and data management practices
- Effective oral and written communication skills: professional communication over email and phone, conciseness and clarity in analytical and descriptive writing, emotional maturity and personal humility in one to one conversations, potentially about sensitive topics
Responsibilities:
- Assist in the identification of community organizing leaders to interview
- identify relevant organizations by consulting IRS lists, scouring research literature, and talking with academic and practitioner contacts
- contact organizations’ executive directors for permission to conduct interviews with their staff
- contact potential interviewees (community organizers) to arrange details and schedule interviews
- Review research literature to help develop theoretical framework and interview guide
- document trends in the changing practices and contexts of community organizing
- prepare theoretical briefs to inform selection of organizations and focus of interviews
- propose and vet interview questions
- Assist in transcription of interviews
- transcribe interviews from audio recordings
- prepare reaction memos based on transcription process
- As training and interest allow, conduct research interviews
- RA candidates with qualitative methods training will have the opportunity to conduct interviews if they choose
Supervisor: Jack Delehanty, Sociology
Oral History Research Fellow
The collection of oral histories is a vital component of three major research initiatives that Clark faculty are currently involved with.
Women of Clark is an oral history project that seeks to enrich our understanding of women’s experiences as students, faculty, staff, administrators and community partners.
Vernon Connected is a Worcester-wide initiative that will gather stories of families displaced by the construction of I-290 back in the late 1960s.
Abortion and American Life captures women’s abortion stories from before Roe v. Wade to the present, using abortion as a lens through which we can consider the myriad ways women have grappled with issues of identity, family, motherhood, religion, politics and the legal system of the United States.
Responsibilities: The undergraduate fellow will help to identify participants, revise our protocols, conduct and transcribe oral histories for all three of these projects. The fellow will conduct additional research as needed, to contextualize the interviews; will participate in community-wide events for some projects; and will help with preliminary design and development of the digital repositories for these projects.
Required Skills:
- Excellent oral communication and active listening skills (for conducting oral histories)
- Strong attention to detail (for transcribing oral histories)
- Strong research and writing skills
- Must be highly self-motivated and able to complete tasks with minimal supervision
Supervisor: Melinda Marchand, History
