The Youth Violence Seminar (PA 958) is an opportunity for graduate students to gain qualitative research skills, study the youth violence problem in Wisconsin, and explore solutions that are implemented across the state.  The seminar is broken into three parts: background on gangs and youth violence, site visits and case study, and a statewide conference.

To begin the course, each student reads one book from the suggested reading list and discusses the problems with and solutions to youth violence from the author's perspective.  Students gain the benefit of reading several books with only investing the time in reading one book.

Taking the knowledge gained from the gangs and youth violence literature, students begin their group projects.  Each group is assigned a community to research.  (Lists of past and proposed communities are available.)  While in the community, students speak with community leaders, decision makers, service providers, business people, religious leaders, youth, etc. to discover the problems that youth in that community are facing and ways that the community is addressing these problems.  These site visits and interviews lead to a case study describing the situation in the community.  (Case studies from 1999, 2000, and 2001 are available.)

The course culminates in a statewide conference where community members, students, and gangs and youth violence experts discuss the problems and solutions to youth problems in Wisconsin.  Students are responsible for inviting members of the community that they study.  By all accounts, community members find the conference a helpful and rewarding experience.  (Information on the conference is available.)