Lake Norman Magazine: Prof. Joseph Ewoodzie’s Singular Style

The June issue of Lake Norman Magazine spotlights Joseph Ewoodzie's style – both professional and personal. An assistant professor of sociology and Africana Studies at Davidson, Ewoodzie's research interests involve life experiences of the urban poor. He works to move beyond abstract data, instead gathering anecdotes and real-time data from people living in impoverished urban areas. And he does this by living in those areas himself.

One of his classes, "Hip-Hop and Urban Sociology," uses Hip Hop music as a lens through which to examine social issues such as housing, crime, violence, punishment and nutrition in impoverished urban communities.

Originally from the West African country of Ghana, Ewoodzie relocated to the United States at age 13 to the rural community of Canton, Illinois. He did his undergraduate work at Ithaca College in New York and received his master's and doctorate degrees in sociology from the University of Wisconsin. He came to Davidson College after two years teaching at Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio.