BY MARC DOUSSARD Risky work and low pay shouldn’t co-exist. Economics textbooks and the public policies they support treat high pay—whether it’s an hourly wage, a stock option, or a lofty salary—as necessary compensation for the risks that befall people on the job. Without raising hourly pay well into the double digits, unpleasant or physically … More Covid-19 and the struggle at the bottom of the labor market
Shipwreck narratives, writes Steve Mentz, portray humanity caughtbetween divine fiat and the insufficient promise of human agency.The Storm on the Sea of Galilee, Rembrandt, 1633.Public domain image via Wikimedia Commons. BY STEVE MENTZSt. John’s University Humans love to tell stories that put humans at the center of things. In these fantasies, the Renaissance celebrates the … More Shipwreck narratives are central to the Age of Discovery.
Fast-food workers, university workers, students, janitors, retail workers, and airportworkers rally on April 15, 2015, near the University of Minnesota to demand a $15/hourminimum wage.Image via Wikimedia Commons. BY MARC DOUSSARDRecipient of the 2015 Paul Davidoff Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning for his book Degraded Work The list of cities and state … More Fight for 15 shines spotlight on harsh daily realities for low-wage workers
The history of scholarship on Asian America, when juxtaposed with the fieldsof Asian Studies, reminds us how much nations, national movements, andother forms of national development continue to exert influence on the worldin which we live.Image from Shutterstock. BY TINA CHEN AND ERIC HAYOT Now, more than ever, the singularities of world history—whether imagined as … More Introducing "Verge: Studies in Global Asias"
In addition to the water news out of Detroit, the UN has declared the U.S.to be in violation of international human rights laws by not supplying cleanwater to the poor. BY KAREN PIPERAuthor and professor of postcolonial studies in English and adjunct professor in geography at the University of Missouri Flushing a toilet in Detroit … More "No money, no water" for Detroit—and possible punitive actions from the UN.
The annual meeting of the Association of American Geographers kicks off today in New York City (Twitter hashtag: #AAG2012). Bringing together cultural and human geographers, GIS scholars, geography professionals, and scholars from disciplines as diverse as American studies, anthropology, political science, and communication, the conference promises to be a synthesis of the most cutting edge … More Lots of UMP authors talking at #AAG2012
A beach in Cape Town, South Africa. In a recent report, South Africa received a lowest-possible rating for its lack of progress in addressing xenophobia. Image from Creative Commons. BY TONY ROSHAN SAMARAAssociate professor of sociology and anthropology at George Mason University Recent news out of South Africa that the rainbow nation received the lowest … More Almost two decades after the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa, the country still has a long way to go.
Barcelona has been hailed for its ability to inform future strategies for world cities in urban planning and regeneration. In the new book Mobile Urbanism, multiple contributors argue for a theorizing of both urban policymaking and place-making that understands them as groups of territorial and relational geographies. Image from Creative Commons. BY KEVIN WARD AND … More How motion, relationships, and productive tension help build better cities across the world
In Ghana, adinkra and kente textiles derive their significance from their association with both Asante and Ghanaian cultural nationalism. In her new book The Copyright Thing Doesn’t Work Here, Boatema Boateng, associate professor of communication at the University of California, San Diego, focuses on the appropriation and protection of adinkra and kente cloth in order … More Examining Ghana’s use of intellectual property law to protect adinkra and kente fabrics
Author Waleed Hazbun surveys the aftermath of Egypt’s historic protests on NYT’s Opinion pages. Read Hazbun’s January article about geopolitical transformation in the Middle East.
