Title: Yes, let's talk about race and IQ
Author: Lisa Wade
Publication: Politico
Date: August 22, 2013
Link: http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=404994AD-B150-45ED-86B0-2773717ADDD5
Commentary: I think Lisa Wade is awesome. She translates social research to publicly readable formats. Her blog, SocImages, is intellectually sound and immanently compelling. I like this piece for Politico because she critically addresses a common perspective on race and IQ and that positions concerns. Dr. Wade's interdisciplinary background is evident through her skillful weaving of different strands (and fields) of evidence regarding what connections between "race" and "intelligence" exist and what they might mean. Cogently written piece.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Saturday, August 24, 2013
"Skyler had become a kind of Rorschach test for society"
Title: I Have a Character Issue
Author: Anna Gunn (actress who plays Skyler White on Breaking Bad)
Publication: New York Times
Date: August 23, 2013
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/opinion/i-have-a-character-issue.html
Commentary: I really enjoyed the mention of Carmela Soprano of "The Sopranos" and Betty Draper of "Mad Men"; really excellent points of comparison for someone who watches a lot of TV. What an excellent way to initiate conversations around sexism and patriarchy. I also found myself thinking of Alicia Florrick in "The Good Wife" and considering how it's different for a protagonist. Anyway, Anna Gunn raises the important points about gender and society in a brief and personal piece.
Further reading: Defending Skyler White
Can we accept complex female characters? at Feministing
I Hate Strong Female Characters
Author: Anna Gunn (actress who plays Skyler White on Breaking Bad)
Publication: New York Times
Date: August 23, 2013
Link: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/08/24/opinion/i-have-a-character-issue.html
Commentary: I really enjoyed the mention of Carmela Soprano of "The Sopranos" and Betty Draper of "Mad Men"; really excellent points of comparison for someone who watches a lot of TV. What an excellent way to initiate conversations around sexism and patriarchy. I also found myself thinking of Alicia Florrick in "The Good Wife" and considering how it's different for a protagonist. Anyway, Anna Gunn raises the important points about gender and society in a brief and personal piece.
Further reading: Defending Skyler White
Can we accept complex female characters? at Feministing
I Hate Strong Female Characters
Wednesday, August 21, 2013
"the American left is void of compassion, which is at the very heart of the true left"
Title: Shoot the fat guys, hang the smokers
Author: Joe Bageant and Other Joe
Publication: joebageant.com
Date: November 2011
Link: http://www.joebageant.com/joe/2009/11/-shoot-the-fat-guys.html
Commentary: I was judging my neighbors (whoops!) the other day as I caught whiffs of their cigarette smoke, when a concern entered my head. I was given pause by the negative associations with smoking that ran through my mind. I tried to give some critical thought to the issue, but quickly turned to the Internet for assistance. I was interested in how people have assessed the framing of smoking and smokers and was pleased to find this piece. I appreciate how Joe brings in classism and draws helpful parallels between perceptions and shaming of "smokers" and "fat people". The condemnation of the classist use of "Merkins"/"Murricans" resonated with me in particular. I certainly don't agree with everything said or how it's said, but the 2 letters here helped me reevaluate my anti-smoking bias.
It seems like a social-justice-y take on the issue, although not written in the way I'm used to reading about social justice. A little more raw and opinionated--than the sanitized academic-speak I know--could come off as lacking some of the compassion he calls for. But definitely incisive.
Describing the US as a "predatory society" reminds me of another article I'll have to post soon...
Trigger Warning: Some possibly offensive (incl. patriarchal) language and body shaming appear in article.
Author: Joe Bageant and Other Joe
Publication: joebageant.com
Date: November 2011
Link: http://www.joebageant.com/joe/2009/11/-shoot-the-fat-guys.html
Commentary: I was judging my neighbors (whoops!) the other day as I caught whiffs of their cigarette smoke, when a concern entered my head. I was given pause by the negative associations with smoking that ran through my mind. I tried to give some critical thought to the issue, but quickly turned to the Internet for assistance. I was interested in how people have assessed the framing of smoking and smokers and was pleased to find this piece. I appreciate how Joe brings in classism and draws helpful parallels between perceptions and shaming of "smokers" and "fat people". The condemnation of the classist use of "Merkins"/"Murricans" resonated with me in particular. I certainly don't agree with everything said or how it's said, but the 2 letters here helped me reevaluate my anti-smoking bias.
It seems like a social-justice-y take on the issue, although not written in the way I'm used to reading about social justice. A little more raw and opinionated--than the sanitized academic-speak I know--could come off as lacking some of the compassion he calls for. But definitely incisive.
Describing the US as a "predatory society" reminds me of another article I'll have to post soon...
Trigger Warning: Some possibly offensive (incl. patriarchal) language and body shaming appear in article.
Monday, August 19, 2013
"Real, productive workers are relentlessly squeezed and exploited"
"On the Phenomenon of Bullshit Jobs"
STRIKE! Magazine
Grad school's a real job. Grad school's a real job. Grad school's a real job.
Not a real thorough anthropological analysis, but some interesting ideas about shifts in the type of work people do.
http://www.strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs/
STRIKE! Magazine
Grad school's a real job. Grad school's a real job. Grad school's a real job.
Not a real thorough anthropological analysis, but some interesting ideas about shifts in the type of work people do.
http://www.strikemag.org/bullshit-jobs/
Saturday, August 17, 2013
"the way modern America sucks blood out of its young"
Caustic criticism of the student loan system in the US. Condemns the government, the Left, the Right, and basically everyone involved in "saddling a generation with crushing debt." Certainly enough to get a person riled up about predatory lending!
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/ripping-off-young-america-the-college-loan-scandal-20130815
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