Dog Days
It's hot. We're cooped up. But we have a great issue for you
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We won’t delay you getting into a terrific issue that hits all the most urgent issues of our day: these essays speak to each other across categories so well that we imagined pairing up these authors for conversations.
We want New York Times Magazine contributor James Traub, who recalls open admissions at City University of New York, to sit a safe, socially-distanced six feet apart from Amelia Jones and Tania Modleski, who look at how another campus - University of Southern California - upholds white supremacy through the misuse of classical iconography. And maybe we could ask James M. Thomas, who examines the “happy talk” of diversity to join the party.
And how about if Nadia Y. Kim, who outlines the history of political attacks on Asian-Americans, had a chance to compare note with Sławomir Sierakowski, who reports on the vile, divisive tactics at work in the recent Polish elections?
You get the picture. We won’t tarry. One day, when the virus is gone, we’ll have a party and everyone really will get to talk. Until then, it will have to happen in your head.
Enjoy.
~ Claire Potter, July 24, 2020
From August 1 to August 22, Public Seminar will go on hiatus. But don’t go away! Every Friday, we will publish a special “syllabus” edition, highlighting our best articles for inclusion in the syllabi you are preparing for fall.
Reflections
James Traub, “On Our Revolutionary Moment: Putting today’s revolt against institutional racism into historical context”
Plague Update
R. Drew Smith, “The Hidden Structural Racism in the American Response to Public Health Emergencies: Facing a disproportionate death rate among Black people from COVID-19, President Trump shrugs, `What, me, worry?’”
Tarun Jose Kattumana, “Understanding the Fear of Vaccines: How to talk about public health in the age of COVID.”
Thom Hartmann, “The Disastrous Handling of the Pandemic Is Libertarianism in Action: Will Americans finally say good riddance?”
Photo Credit: Payam Ghawam Sadri/Shutterstock.com
Politics
Nadia Y. Kim, “Asian Americans Suffer From Trump’s Racist Attacks Too: The long history of America’s hostility toward immigrants from China, Japan, and Korea.”
Duncan Hosie, “Mike Pompeo’s Originalist Foreign Policy: The Commission’s report gives ammunition to partisans who aim to weaken core constitutional protections within the United States.”
Heather Cox Richardson, “Representative John Lewis, a Hero for Our Time: And what Donald Trump could still learn from him.”
Sławomir Sierakowski, “Poland Slouches On: After a noxious and underhanded campaign, Poland’s incumbent president, representing the country’s illiberal ruling party, has clinched a narrow re-election victory. That gives the government three more years to dismantle the country’s democracy.”
Education
James M. Thomas, “The Happy Talk of Diversity: How can American colleges affect real change?”
Amelia Jones and Tania Modleski, “Trojan Horse: Misusing Greek mythology on a college campus sneaks white supremacy in the back door.”
Fashion
Hazel Clark, “Communities of Cloth and Style: Fashion, women, and collective consciousness during COVID-19.”