Title of course: “Economic Realities of the American Dream” What prompted the idea for the course? One of us – Steve Fazzari – was trained as an economist, and the other – Mark Rank – as a sociologist. We’ve shared scholarly interests over the years as colleagues at Washington University in St. Louis. But our teaching partnership really began […] … learn more→

Social media use has been shown to decrease mental health and well-being, and to increase levels of political polarization. But social media also provides many benefits, including facilitating access to information, enabling connections with friends, serving as an outlet for expressing opinions and allowing news to be shared freely. To maximize the benefits of social media while […] … learn more→

First, a confession. I am struggling to accept the magnitude of this crisis. I’m reading the news, registering the numbers, following the London lockdown rules to the letter, but there are obvious signs that I’m in denial about this continuing for more than a few weeks. I spend my days silently mouthing “It will all be […] … learn more→

“Discover what your professors never taught you in school,” an American white supremacist group’s website declares. Many of the site’s “education” links lead, predictably, to neo-Nazi and right-wing extremist publications. But tucked in-between a description of “white identity” and “the perils of diversity” is a link to Robert Putnam’s mainstream scholarly treatise, Bowling Alone – […] … learn more→