Kara Ja’Nice Crews is a doctoral student in the Department of Anthropology concentrating in linguistic and visual anthropology. Her doctoral research is an ethnographic investigation of urban reform, language policy and planning, and its influence on the development of graffiti writing/mural arts projects and community development in urban South Africa. She is specifically examining policies that regulate “street art” and the ways South African youth are transforming neighborhoods, communities, and the urban landscape in light of recent events and processes such as the fall of apartheid, democratization, and increasing urbanization.

As a graduate associate in the Center for the Humanities, Kara will work with fellow graduate students and faculty to plan innovative workshops, seminars, and conferences that will assist graduate students in their professional development and further enrich the Temple University community. Her particular project is on the local politics of language in South Africa and the development of public art initiatives in communities there.