Special Events

Guided Detroit Bus Tour

Monday, August 14, 2023
11:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
*please note this is a different departure time from the registration form. This is the correct time.

Join us for a guided bus tour through the city of Detroit led by Dr. Ren Farley. Dr. Farley is the Otis Dudley Duncan Distinguished Professor Emeritus at the University of Michigan who has analyzed the demographic change in Detroit for decades and continues to be one of the most insightful Detroit experts. Rather than offering a “ruin porn” tour of Detroit, Farley will discuss the context of the post-industrial decline of the rust belt, point towards signs of rejuvenation amidst continuing inequality, and recount the history of the “Detroit School” of sociology.

Walking Tour of Survey Research Operations at the Institute for Social Research

Monday, August 14, 2023
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.

Come and see how the data you are using are collected! The Institute for Social Research’s Survey Research Operations (SRO) is one of the nation’s largest and oldest data collection units, employing at times up to 1,000 employees. SRO collects data for some of the most well-known national surveys, such as the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) or the Health and Retirement Study (HRS). It also conducts cross-national and methodological surveys. The tour will provide a look behind the curtain for participants to learn about the history, infrastructure, and capabilities of data collection at Michigan using multiple collection modes (in-person, telephone, mail, web, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), text messaging, and video-mediated surveys).

Envisioning Equality

Wednesday, August 16, 2023
3:30 p.m. – 5:30 p.m.

This optional 2-hour session, “Envisioning Equality,” provides an opportunity for structured, collaborative exchange about concrete proposals for a more equal and mobile society. In terms of process, this session relies on a model typically used in arts and design schools (a “charrette”) that is geared at rapid and creative collaboration and will therefore also be co-lead by a faculty member from a design field (likely, urban design). In terms of substance, this session takes inspiration from the “Real Utopias” framework proposed by the late Erik O. Wright, former president of the American Sociological Association.