America’s population is aging, and so is its housing infrastructure. What can racial histories of homeownership and the way cities and towns have maintained their municipal infrastructure tell us about whether Americans, particularly women and underrepresented groups, can age in place?

Davy Knittle, assistant professor of English, will examine the question as the speaker at this year’s Carter Lecture on Tuesday, April 28, at 4 p.m. in Trabant Theater.

Knittle rethinks aging in place to frame it as a municipal problem, not a private one. Pairing archival research on municipal and mutual aid programs for older homeowners with an analysis on two literary texts, he will trace how the effects of 20th century histories of racial housing inequality are intensified in the lives of homeowning older adults and will consider the way many older adults respond by reimagining the contexts in which they stay in their homes.

Knittle is the 2025 recipient of the Carter Faculty Research Award, which supports outstanding research on women. Funded by the Mae and Robert Carter Endowment in Women’s Studies and administered by the Department of Women and Gender Studies, recipients share their work at the annual Carter Lecture. Chrysanthi Leon, professor of sociology, received the 2026 Carter Faculty Research Award and will present her lecture in the fall.

Registration is requested. To register and for more information, please visit https://forms.gle/bnzx8ZSrKztLBcwU9