Tag: current affairs

Algonquins’ struggle for land, coexistence builds as Canada’s 150th approaches.

June 7, 2017

BY SHIRI PASTERNAKAssistant professor, School for the Study of Canada at Trent University If Canadians want to understand why some First Nations are sitting out the Canada 150 celebrations, they need look no further than to fifteen community members who took an eight-hour drive from Barriere Lake in Quebec to Toronto on Thursday. The Algonquins … More Algonquins’ struggle for land, coexistence builds as Canada’s 150th approaches.

There’s strength in a politics of imperfection.

February 3, 2017

BY ALEXIS SHOTWELLAssociate professor in the Department of Sociology and Anthropology and the Department of Philosophy at Carleton University A politics of imperfection, a politics of responsibility. Lately it seems like every day brings a new bad thing for anyone not invested in white supremacy and capitalism. As the tweet went: “First they came for … More There’s strength in a politics of imperfection.

A quiet life, a remarkable influence: On Bob Dylan’s English teacher, B.J. Rolfzen

December 5, 2016

Looking ahead to this weekend’s Nobel prize ceremony, in which Bob Dylan, the 2016 laureate in literature, will likely not attend but will provide a speech.BY COLLEEN SHEEHYPresident and executive director, Public Art St. Paul When I looked at my phone in the early morning of Thursday, October 13, I was stunned to discover that … More A quiet life, a remarkable influence: On Bob Dylan’s English teacher, B.J. Rolfzen

When Homeland Security goes to school

August 25, 2016

BY NICOLE NGUYENAssistant professor of social foundations of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago In 2015, the FBI launched the controversial website Don’t Be a Puppet: Pull Back the Curtain on Violent Extremism. Through interactive games, the playful website intends to prevent young people from embracing extremist beliefs. Don’t Be a Puppet also offers resources … More When Homeland Security goes to school

The global implications of RNC support for gay “conversion therapy”

August 11, 2016

BY TOM WAIDZUNASAssistant professor of sociology at Temple University Last week, police in Uganda raided an LGBT pride event. Witnesses described police brutality, especially toward transgender women. Among those arrested were Pepe Julian Onziema and Frank Mugisha, leaders of Sexual Minorities Uganda. The Anti-Homosexuality Act, which passed there in 2014, has since been overturned by … More The global implications of RNC support for gay “conversion therapy”

On the vengeance of a divided country, 1992 and 2016

July 28, 2016

BY LYNN MIE ITAGAKIAssociate professor, The Ohio State University Violence in the Middle East. Upheavals in Europe. Anxieties about American decline. Economic fears. A recent recession. Police brutality caught on video. Interracial conflict. Attacks on the police. A Clinton presidential campaign. The year was 1992, although it could just as easily be 2016. On the … More On the vengeance of a divided country, 1992 and 2016

The politics behind the metabolic health crisis in the United States

May 6, 2016

BY ANTHONY RYAN HATCHAssistant professor in the Science in Society Program at Wesleyan University Our metabolic health crisis—as defined by the conjoined endemics of heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, and obesity—continues to surprise biomedical researchers, frustrate health experts, and disable and harm millions of people. This week, three news stories illuminate yet again how the … More The politics behind the metabolic health crisis in the United States

On freegans, pre-peeled oranges, and ethical consumer ‘Whack-A-Mole’

March 28, 2016

Photo courtesy of the author. BY ALEX V. BARNARDFood justice activist and doctoral candidate in sociology at the University of California, Berkeley Whole Foods felt the wrath of the Twitter-sphere this month. The episode started with consumers questioning the company’s ethical bona-fides but, in the end, cast into doubt the effectiveness of “ethical consumerism” itself. … More On freegans, pre-peeled oranges, and ethical consumer ‘Whack-A-Mole’