Melissa Burch
Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan and director of the Afterlives of Conviction Project, author of The Criminal Record Complex on criminal records and employment.
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Mar 26, 2026 • 54min
The Criminal Record Complex: Risk, Race, and the Struggle for Work in America
Dr. Melissa Burch, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan and director of the Afterlives of Conviction Project, studies criminal records and employment. She traces how background checks became widespread, explores the Ban the Box movement, and recounts ethnographic fieldwork with job-seekers and workforce staff. She challenges the belief that screening ensures workplace safety and points toward deeper structural change.
Mar 26, 2026 • 54min
The Criminal Record Complex: Risk, Race, and the Struggle for Work in America
Dr. Melissa Burch, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at the University of Michigan and director of the Afterlives of Conviction Project, studies how criminal records shape work and exclusion. She traces the history of routine background checks, describes fieldwork with job-seekers and employers in Southern California, and explores how institutions, risk narratives, and logistics sustain barriers to employment.
