Back on campus: James Hatch on learning from (and with) today’s college students

On By W.W. NortonIn What's College For?9 Comments

NOTE: The article referenced by this blog post, James Hatch's "My Semester with the Snowflakes," has been deleted from Medium, the platform where it originally appeared. It is now available on the author's personal website: https://www.spikesk9fund.org/blog/2020/10/31/my-semester-with-the-snowflakes/. The generational divide is real, captured in "ok, boomer" eyerolls, "Karen" memes, and complaints about those tech-obsessed, lazy millennials. …

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Protecting our past: Elizabeth Silkes on the places that connect us all

On By W.W. NortonIn How Can We Bridge The Differences That Divide Us?3 Comments

There are some places around the world that carry significant meaning, not just for the local community, but for all humankind. These places are the stuff of bucket lists, the wonders of the world, marked for preservation and protection because they stand for our common humanity. Elizabeth Silkes, the Executive Director of the International Coalition …

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Beyond Black Panther: Scott Woods on the promise of Afrofuturism

On By W.W. NortonIn How Can We Bridge The Differences That Divide Us?2 Comments

“What’s this Afrofuturism I keep hearing about?” Scott Woods responds to this question in his December 27, 2019 essay, “The Decade Afrofuturism Reshaped Science Fiction and the World,” published in LEVEL. Scott Woods argues that Afrofuturism—an artistic, cultural, and political movement—has moved from fringe to mainstream culture in the 2010s, and he imagines what Afrofuturism …

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Time for “they”: Benjamin Dreyer on the word of the year

On By W.W. NortonIn What's Gender Got to Do with It?15 Comments

Merriam-Webster chose “they” as its 2019 word of the year, a testament to the political and personal importance of pronouns. Benjamin Dreyer, vice president of Random House and self-described “word person by trade,” explains why this choice matters for everyone in his Washington Post op-ed, published on December 16, 2019. Benjamin Dreyer, "Language Is Here …

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Out in theaters: Martin Scorsese on the movie industry

On By W.W. NortonIn How is Technology Changing Us?46 Comments

When you go to the movies, what are you looking for? To see something surprising, challenging, or unexpected? Or to be happily entertained, consuming a bag of popcorn along with the latest superhero sequel? Perhaps your expectations are shaped by the Hollywood film industry and their willingness to take risks. Martin Scorsese, award-winning filmmaker and …

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The right direction: Coleman Hughes and the case for black optimism

On By W.W. NortonIn How Can We Bridge The Differences That Divide Us?1 Comment

How do we measure progress? Coleman Hughes, a 23-year-old Columbia University student, looks at this question in his essay, “The Case for Black Optimism,” published in September 2019 in Quillette, an international online journal. Hughes makes the claim that black Americans are better off today than they have ever been, and he argues that this …

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Mightier than the sword: Markham Heid on the benefits of handwriting

On By W.W. NortonIn How is Technology Changing Us?26 Comments

Most elementary schools in the US no longer teach cursive writing, and many educators, psychologists, and others have lamented the change. Philadelphia-based health and science writer Markham Heid summarizes some of the research showing the benefits of longhand writing and adds an argument of his own in this September 2019 essay in elemental+, a Medium …

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Field not level: Scott Martelle on NCAA and California

On By W.W. NortonIn Why Does It Matter Who Wins the Big Game?34 Comments

The NCAA is in the news again, and it’s not even March or bowl season. What’s going on? A new law in California gives student athletes the right to be paid for the use of their names and images, and the NCAA is strongly opposed to it. Veteran journalist and LA Times editorial writer Scott …

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Getting unhooked: Nellie Bowles on screen addiction and responsibility

On By W.W. NortonIn How is Technology Changing Us?18 Comments

We already know this. People spend a lot of time—maybe too much—on their phones and other devices, and it’s a troubling trend. But who is ultimately responsible for changing the habits and fixing the problem? Does the responsibility lie squarely with individual users to make changes? Should designers and developers of apps and devices make …

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Trusting the foxes: Rob Eshman on the challenge of opening our hearts

On By W.W. NortonIn How Can We Bridge The Differences That Divide Us?3 Comments

What if your very life depended on trusting people that you had learned explicitly to hate, feat, and distrust? Yikes! What a terrible question, right? You may not be able to answer it easily, but most likely you will never find yourself in such a dramatic situation, so no worries. Writer and former publisher of …

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