Alford A. Young

Associate Professor Al Young is currently pursuing research in three general areas, all of which concern the phenomenon of race or the social experiences of African Americans, and all of which employ ethnographic interview-based research methods. First, he is engaged in a series of projects on urban-based, low-income African American men, exploring how they conceive of work opportunity and the world of work in modern society, what they argue to be notions of the ideal fatherhood, and how they conceive of appropriate mentoring for younger relatives and associates. Second, he is conducting a study of how African American scholars who research and teach about the African American experience address issues concerning the social utility of their scholarship and how that relates to their sense of mission and purpose as academics. Third, he is involved in a few small-scale studies of undergraduate and graduate educational practice as it pertains to racial and ethnic diversity in the student body and in scholarship.