Rachel Seymour
PhD Candidate
Rachel Seymour is a Ph.D. Candidate studying Social-Cultural Anthropology. Prior to pursuing her doctoral studies, Rachel worked in higher education in various capacities, including academic advising, career services, curriculum development, library services, and educational research. Working in student development led her to gain a deeper understanding of students' needs and has informed her research on the complex dynamics of providing care. Her research engages in ethnographic and community-based methods to understand aging and caregiving practices. Rachel’s current research focuses on low-income, working class, older adults in the American Midwest, particularly those living on state borders who navigate complex health care systems.
Research Interests
Understanding Care:
My proposed dissertation research aims to explore who provides care in communities and who is responsible for it, with a particular focus on low-income aging populations and their retirement communities in the American Midwest. As a researcher, I am deeply invested in addressing key questions surrounding the social, economic, and cultural factors that influence different approaches to care. Specifically, my work seeks to answer: how does access to care differ based on location, socio-economic status, and state [local] public policy? And who is responsible for providing care in a community?