The next chapter of the new edited volume is titled “The Geography of Desperation in America: Labor Force Participation, Mobility, Place, and Well-Being” Contributors Carol Graham and Sérgio Pinto describe the rise of desperation and associate premature deaths and link it to lower geographical mobility, especially for less than college-educated whites. Despite worse objective conditions, Black and Hispanic respondents reported more hope for the future.

The introductory chapter for this volume is titled “Building Happier Cities” by Dr. Aubrilyn Reeder. She describes how people have been moving into cities in unprecedented numbers. This has also led private investors and development banks to be more interested in long-term infrastructure and real estate investments. This has presented an opportunity to build cities that enable social, environmental, and economic well-being for residents, workers, and visitors.

In her chapter “Making Rights Rhetoric Work: Constructing Care in a Post-Liberal World,” Dr. Alison Brysk notes that the rhetoric surrounding human rights is based on an ethos, which she describes as a form of discourse that seeks to shape public action. The human rights ethos is the justification of human rights and their greater purpose, whether that be moral or pragmatic. Dr. Brysk sees human rights as essentially the idea that all humans have inherent and equal moral worth, that social orders exist to promote the humanity of their members, and that authority should be guided and bounded by its impacts on human dignity.

The next chapter we are looking at is “Dignity and Treating Others Merely as Means” by Samuel Kerstein. In it, he examines traditional Kantian interpretations of Kant’s Formula of Humanity. He then adds his own new perspective, which he calls KID. KID adds requirements to analyzing moral actions that make Kantian thought more applicable to modern philosophical questions such as physician-assisted suicide. He centers the idea of inherent human value, or dignity, and how interactions can respect or disrespect the personhood of others.

Given the ongoing protests and struggles in Iran, I am beginning our read along with Prof. Mahmoudi’s chapter. It feels particularly relevant in our contemporary moment to discuss how women in Iran have and continue to strive for equality. The chapter is titled “Difficult Care: Examining Women’s Efforts in the Islamic Republic of Iran,” and examines the ongoing struggle of Iranian women since the 1979 revolution through the lens of care ethics.

For our next Edited Volume Read Along Series, I will cover “The Changing Ethos of Human Rights,” edited by Hoda Mahmoudi, Alison Brysk, and Kate Seaman. This volume explores how the discussion surrounding human rights has changed in recent years and the resulting ethical, moral, and intellectual shifts. It also particularly highlights Ethics-of-Care theories and the idea that human life has inherent value and dignity.

The final chapter of this volume is called “Forming a Racially Inclusive Sociological Imagination: Becoming a Racial Equity learner, Racial Equity Advocate, and Racial Equity Broker.” In it, Professor Rashawn Ray discusses the impact racism still has in our society and begins to propose actions and solutions we can take to move forward. He points out the vitality of Critical Race Theory and suggests three main ways individuals can work toward racial equity.

In “Black Lives Matter in Polarized News Media: Politics, Policing, Prejudice, and Protest,” author Dr. Simone N. Durham analyses news content about BLM, which is mainly out of the control of the people within the movement. BLM was founded by three black women Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullors, and Opal Tometi. However, unlike the civil rights movement of the 1960s, BLM is a decentralized network without official leaders. Support for the Black Lives Matter movement is polarized along several lines, with black people, democrats, and young people more likely to endorse it. 

The next chapter serves as the opening for Part III: Systemic Racism and Social Change. Dr. Chandra V. Reyna’s contribution titled “Pursuing Racial Justice on Predominantly White Campuses: Divergent Institutional Responses to Racially Palatable and Racially Conscious Students,” examines the campus culture and administration of a predominantly white university through interviews with undergraduate students. Her findings indicate that using diversity as a talking point does little to change the behavior and climate of the student body or administration. Indeed, using equity as marketing without committing to meaningful action can bring more students of color to an academic institution where they are treated poorly, feel excluded, and are unsafe.

The next chapter by Dr. Odis Johnson Jr. is titled “Why did the Convergence of the Achievement Gap Stop? Macroeconomic Change, Policy, and Racial Avoidance.” It discusses the seemingly contradictory phenomena of the brief period in the 1970s and 80s of reduced educational inequality and increased spatial disequilibrium. He argues that we must look beyond the most popular explanation, which lies solely in economic change. While macroeconomic transformation did play a significant role in shaping education during this period, the analysis must include desegregation measures and reactions by the population to and against these policies.

Dr. Aldon Morris highlights W.E.B. Du Bois’s often overlooked contributions to the foundations of scientific sociology in his chapter “W.E.B. Du Bois at the Center: From Science, Civil Rights Movement, to Black Lives Matter.” He argues that it was Du Bois who founded the first school of American Scientific Sociology at Atlanta University. Morris demonstrates the ways that denying Du Bois’s work and influence in favor of a white narrative has impoverished the practice and teaching of sociology from the beginning. 

Section I: Systemic Racism and Sociological Theory begins with a chapter by Hoda Mahmoudi titled “The Past in the Present: Slavery’s Long Shadow.” It has been over 150 years since slavery was outlawed in the United States, yet we still deal with racism as a society. Discrimination against non-white populations is extremely prevalent, yet each group faces prejudice that takes on nuanced differences and forms. The discrimination against African American people in America is unique, and a major factor is the long history of race-based chattel slavery and its deep-rooted integration into the foundational documents, ideals, and structure of this country. 

I can't believe another semester has come and gone. I have been with the Chair a year and have settled into our office. This semester, I hit the sweet spot of feeling comfortable but still challenged and excited. Each week with the chair brings opportunities for exposure to new ideas, new intellectual discussions and writing, and new ways to use my mind and library education in diverse ways.