Welcome to my website! I am an ABD PhD candidate in the Wayne State University anthropology department. I am currently on the job market looking for a position starting in the 2027 school year. I expect to defend my dissertation in March and have my PhD in hand in May! I specialize in using qualitative, ethnographic research to build a holistic perspective on systems of coercive change. I also enjoy exploring how conceptualizations of reality are built, managed, and negotiated.
My dissertation (defense planned for February 2027) uses this perspective to examine the Michigan child welfare system using an infrastructural framework. I combine the basic observation that the child welfare system does not appear to consistently benefit or even be satisfactory for any of the parties involved with the existing critiques of the system and the particular history of Michigan child welfare to answer what visions are being envisioned at the political, bureaucratic, and social levels of child welfare, and how those envisioned futures inform assessments of what makes a "good" child welfare outcome to the various stakeholder groups involved in the system. I do so using under the framework of immaterial infrastructure and infrastructures of care. It is important to me that my research be useful on an applied level, not just in the academic arena, though, so I also include research-based solutions and practice recommendations. As I hope you see in the other pages of this website, I also work hard to bring these findings to both other researchers and the community through publications, presentations, and public-facing events and publications.
Thank you for being here, and don't hesitate to email me if you want to connect!
-Jocie Osika