Curt Smith

Dr. Curt Smith's research focuses on issues of social inequality, poverty, and social justice with an emphasis on homelessness and social policy research. His book, Homelessness and Housing Advocacy: The Role of Red-Tape Warriors (2022), was recognized by the American Library Association's CHOICE 360 and is considered highly recommended. The book explores how vital it is for social service workers to advocate for their homeless clients due to the exclusionary bureaucracy of the housing system. Dr. Smith has made scholarly contributions including a publication in The Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. He publishes on subjects that include addressing methodological issues related to “point-in-time” homeless counts, health issues among Hispanic immigrants in low-income housing, public policy, and activism related to people who experience homelessness. He utilizes a mix of qualitative methods to develop rich and detailed data, but is also trained in demography. Dr. Smith also has experience and continued interest involving undergraduates in research projects and developing public, participatory, and community work in our local areas. He works closely with Bentley's Service Learning and Civic Engagement Center and partners with them in each of the classes he teaches. In 2022, he also helped facilitate a group of students who traveled to the U.S.-Mexico border through the Bentley Service Learning and Civic Engagement Center.

Education

• Utah State University - Ph.D., Sociology 2014 - 2018
• The University of Texas at El Paso - Master of Arts - MA, Sociology 2011 - 2014

Teaching Interests

Social Inequality; Homelessness; Social Change; Border Studies; Immigration.

Research Interests

Dr. Curt Smith's new book with Routledge, Homelessness and Housing Advocacy: The Role of Red-Tape Warriors (2022), was recognized by the American Library Association's CHOICE360 and is considered highly recommended. It analyzes the efforts of social service workers to house their homeless clients. While homelessness and housing inequality are his specialty, his primary research interests are broadly situated in social inequality, issues of poverty, race, social movements, and social policy in the United States. He has made contributions to subjects that include addressing methodological issues related to “point-in-time” homeless counts, health issues among Hispanic immigrants in low-income housing, public policy, and activism related to people who experience homelessness. Dr Smith's most notable work entitled Fitting Stories: Outreach Worker Strategies for Housing Homeless Clients is published in the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography. He examined social service workers who work with homeless populations in Salt Lake City, UT, a city that caught national attention among media sources, such as Mother Jones and The Daily Show, for its novel homeless services. Dr. Smith's current research in Boston, MA, continues to study social service workers and homelessness. His extensive data sets from research in El Paso, TX, Salt Lake City, UT, and Boston, MA, allows him to continue to publish articles that deal with social inequality, social policy, and homelessness. Conducting applied and ethnographic research made it possible to observe detailed accounts of many cutting-edge issues in these areas.

Awards and Honors

• 2022, Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Faculty Award, Service-Learning and Civic Engagement Center
• 2018, Graduate Instructor of the Year 2017-2018, Utah State University
• 2017, Graduate Instructor of the Year 2016-2017, Utah State University

Publications

Journal Articles

• Castaneda, E., Smith, C. (2022). Conducting Research with Marginalized Populations: Methodological, Ethical, and IRB Considerations. Journal of Applied Social Sciences. 1-21.
• Smith, C., Castañeda-Tinoco, E. (2020). Sick Enough? Mental Illness and Service Eligibility for Homeless Individuals at the Border. Social Sciences, (8) 9 145.
• Smith, C., Castaneda, E. (2019). Improving Homeless Point-In-Time Counts: Uncovering the Marginally Housed. Social Currents.
• Smith, C., Anderson, L. (2018). Fitting Stories: Outreach Worker Strategies for Housing Homeless Clients. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, (47) 5 535-550.
• Lucero, J., Roark, J., Smith, C. (2016). Social Service Workers’ Knowledge of and Attitudes Toward Fair Housing Laws. Journal of Social Service Research.
• Siordia, C., Smith, C., Castañeda-Tinoco, E. (2014). A Geographically-Aware Multilevel Analysis on the Association Between Atmospheric Temperature and the 'Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population. .
• Castañeda, E., Klassen, J., Smith, C. (2014). Disparities in Hispanic and Non-Hispanic Homeless Populations in the El Paso, TX region. .
• Mata, H., Flores, M., Castañeda, E., Medina-Jerez, W., Lachica, J., Smith, C., Olvera, H. (2013). Health, Hope, and Human Development: Building Capacity in Public Housing Communities on the US-Mexico Border. .
• Smith, C., Castañeda, E., Heyman, J. (2012). The Homeless and Occupy El Paso: Creating Community among the 99%. Social Movement Studies. 356-366.

Books

• Smith, C. (2022). Homelessness and Housing Advocacy: The Role of Red-Tape Warriors. 200. New York "City, NY: Routledge

Book Chapters

• Smith, C., Anderson, L. (2019). Unearthing Aggressive Advocacy: Challenges and Strategies in Social Service Ethnography In Boeri and Shukla, (Eds.) Ethnography Uncensored. University of California Press