Alice O'Connor

Alice B. O'Connor, assistant professor of history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, completed a book on the development of poverty research as a social science in the United States. Her book examines the field's historical origins and its contemporary issues, methods, and practitioners, and most importantly will assess the role of poverty research in shaping public policy and welfare reform. O'Connor also explored the political and bureaucratic pressures that have intensified the need for poverty expertise. As a member of the Multi-City Study, O'Connor also conducted interviews and led discussions that reflected on that project's historical and intellectual significance and examined its impact on poverty research in the United States.