Sociologists represent a small part of the student population at Hopkins. However, the sociology department's specialization in social inequality is what attracted Anne-Marie Livingstone to study at Hopkins. She is currently in her second year of pursuing her doctorate degree in sociology, and she is one of the teaching assistants for the Introduction to Sociology undergraduate class. Originally from Montreal, Canada, where she received an undergraduate Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Concordia University, Livingstone moved to the U.S. to pursue her studies. The department's work relevant to public policy and a background of research complements Livingstone's passions and interests of race, poverty, inequality and social policy well.
"I always wanted to do a doctorate, it's been in the back of my mind for a while," Livingstone said. "I'm an applied person and I like working on the ground, working for social change. It is what I have committed myself to."
Before coming to Hopkins, Livingstone had work experience in the public sector. There, she found more research was needed and necessary to fill in gaps in the knowledge base.
"The knowledge the public sectors have about race and inequality is limited and reflects a particular perspective. For example, if a child is struggling in school, many put a strong emphasis on the child's family, but they do not consider aspects of what the school may be doing. Many in the public sector are working from what is the dominant view, perhaps not taking into account factors like merit and individualism," Livingstone said.
Her claims are generalizations, and there are some exceptions, but they widely hold true. Much evidence is available to support her example, but the question is why? Why do these views exist at all and why do they continue to persist? And what change can occur to make progress? These assumptions and dominant perspectives of the world are what Livingstone hopes to clarify or challenge in her research.
After working in the public sector for a while, Livingstone decided her role had changed. Livingstone slowly discovered that she didn't want to focus on individuals, with the study of psychology, but rather wanted to move towards the discipline of sociology, to focus on social action and social processes. She switched from the work force back into academia to do research specifically on race and inequality. In research, she hopes to build a knowledge base so people can respond better in any situation. Rather than working from assumptions, all individuals can work from a more informed knowledge base.
Her change of heart decidedly came while she was volunteering over the summer in an international project in Sweden. The project's goal was to help those in Algeria who were in refugee camps. The program worked towards helping the refugees gain freedom and improve the plight of the people.
"My experience in the refugee camps showed me a community that was high in solidarity and interdependence. I felt the power of a social movement by just being in it. I felt inspired by the people. This was when I realized I wanted to work on issues on things that are broader," Livingstone said.
She took a qualifying year in sociology, and later, she received her Master's degree in sociology at McGill University in Montreal.
The current system of academic degrees is different today than before though. In Canada, the Master's and Doctorate degrees are separate pursuits, while the United States offers them both as a combination as an option.
Little did she know that she would be going back to school again, eventually, to get the final degree, saying "At the time, I thought the Master's degree was perfect! I only wanted to do work."
While at McGill, pursuing her Master's degree, Livingstone did an ethnography in Ghana on women and health care practices in a rural village. The year before, she partook in an exchange program in Ghana, which made her want to go back and learn more. Livingstone wanted to explore her questions on African development and social development, so she did return to Africa for her thesis. She spent an entire year in Ghana for field work.
"There was no electricity, no running water, and we were about twenty minutes from the highway. But it was a memorable experience," Livingstone said. "When I went there, I thought I would be making a contribution to the knowledge of Ghana."
Laughing, she confided that she believed that she herself took more away from the trip than she contributed. Livingstone felt she had learned about traditional medicine, which she didn't know anything about before, and how important it is in terms of health.
Livingstone didn't spend the entire year living in the rural village, though.
"Oh no! Not for a whole year! I was able to go back to the city every two or three weeks. Sometimes just to eat a hamburger."
Now at Hopkins, with her doctorate thesis, Livingstone wants to do a comparative study on low income black mothers or low income black families in urban areas in Canada and the United States. She wants to look into social policies and see what impact they have on conditions of life. In this research, Livingstone hopes to look at the issue of race across two contexts, in an urban setting and in two different cultures and environments.
Livingstone commented that since Canada has a different history of racial inequality, slavery was never as prominent or extreme as it was in the United States, but it has similar issues. She believes that Canada can learn from the United States in the U.S.'s progress from slavery and discrimination.
Livingstone also stated that the United States, specifically Baltimore, is quite different in other ways than her home country Canada.
"Upon arrival, I was shocked," Livingstone said. "The crime and poverty is like front page stuff! It opened my eyes to some of the continuing social divisions, inequality and race."
She also noted that the strongest difference she finds is in public policy and a stronger culture of individualism in the United States. Her view is that there is more of a limited public involvement and society is more about capitalism and market, which is a less prominent feeling in Canada.
However, Baltimore has more of a sense of community than Montreal, she thinks. When she walks down the street, people say hello to her. Livingstone considers the city to have its own charm and friendliness to the people.
Only having been here for a couple of years, Livingstone is already an active member of the Baltimore community. Currently she is volunteering for an organization called Algebra Project. The Algebra Project provides math instruction as a site for civil rights in hopes to empower young people and bring change to schools. The tutoring program, which works on math skills, is peer led and entirely youth driven. The advocacy section, in which Livingstone is involved, works for other issues such as stopping youth jail institutions and improving food quality in schools. The food justice project is what Livingstone is supporting at the moment.
"The quality of lunches in the school, they sometimes are so poor in nutrition. We are developing a project to improve the quality of that food for school," Livingstone said. " It is very important because there are implications that good food impacts school performance."
This community works truly shows Livingstone's dedication to service and helping others. She does this in addition to her academic pursuits and acting as an instructor for undergraduate students. When asked about being a TA for undergraduates in the Intro to Sociology class, she laughed.
"I didn't have a choice!" Livingstone said. "No, I really enjoy teaching and working with young people. It's very useful and practical for me to go back to the basics too."
At the end of the day, Livingstone loves her work because it is her passion. She is interested in both looking at social problems, but also in solving those problems and bringing forth social change. Livingstone hasn't yet decided if she will be staying in the world of academia or if she will go back to work in the nonprofit sector. However, she knows for certain she will always be doing something with her love of sociology.
