Maddie Baumgart

Background

About Maddie Baumgart

My passion is uncovering and interrogating the narratives that give shape to the world we live in. Our policy, educational system, and daily realities did not form incidentally; rather they are the result of the pervasive narratives we told, or didn’t tell, about people, about places, and about progress. Oftentimes, the institutions we uphold still reflect the narratives that circulated decades ago. The moral panic of the 80s and the fear of the teenage super-predator, for example, still provide the framework for much of our criminal justice system, as well as many schools’ disciplinary approaches. The once widely promulgated narrative of addiction as a mere failure of willpower still affects everything from funding for treatment to limits on the amount of life-saving Narcan EMS can administer an overdose victim. Even when we shed these intentionally discriminatory narratives, the institutions and policies remain, and they continue to breed inequality and disenfranchisement. I want to challenge these hegemonic narratives, and the institutions they prop up. Through my research, I have had the privilege to listen to stories from a vast array of people. While academic research can indeed inform change, it often involves a large amount of gatekeeping. My goal is to transfer my community outreach, interviewing, data analysis, and communication skills to a more accessible role, one that centers on community-led change.