Half American
In commemoration of Memorial Day, this week's review uncovers the experiences of African American soldiers in World War II and the impact of racism on their postwar lives.
Posted on in Review of the Week
What We Value
As the fall semester commences, this week's review addresses the role of liberal education in uniting people for the common good.
Posted on August 29, 2022 in Review of the Week
What We Value: Public Health, Social Justice, and Educating for Democracy
Pasquerella, Lynn. Virginia, 2022
176p bibl, 9780813948478 $25.00, 9780813948485 $20.00
Philosopher and medical ethicist Pasquerella (American Association of Colleges and Universities) has created an excellent, important text examining what being American means in times of moral distress, political polarization, and inequity and explaining that the answers to facing these growing crises lie in liberal education. The first chapter examines medical ethics and moral injury, pointing out how public trust and compassion fade in the face of COVID-19 and growing political divides. The second chapter addresses the role of liberal education in weathering campus storms, focusing on the need for balancing free speech with equity, especially facing accusations of liberal bias and legislation aimed against antibias training and other activities labeled by accusers as “unpatriotic.” The author in general states the case for liberal education as the key to speaking across differences and coming together for the common good. Pasquerella’s final chapter culminates the overall theme by arguing that liberal education is essential to US democracy, particularly in times of growing racial and economic segregation and extreme polarization. Pasquerella rounds out the book with extensive notes and bibliography sections. Readers will find this book timely and thought-provoking: worth reading, processing, and then reading again.
Summing Up: Essential. All readers.
Reviewer: A. Sheppard, Arkansas State University
Interdisciplinary Subjects: Racial Justice
Subject: Social & Behavioral Sciences – Education
Choice Issue: Oct 2022
Enjoy this week’s review? Check out more reviews of related titles:
- Atmospheres of Violence: Structuring Antagonism and the Trans/queer Ungovernable
- Equity and Inclusion in Higher Education: Strategies for Teaching
- Our Children Are Your Students: LGBTQ Families Speak Out
- Seeing Like an Activist: Civil Disobedience and the Civil Rights Movement
- Indian Education for All: Decolonizing Indigenous Education in Public Schools
Related Posts
-
-
Digital Detox
Looking at phone addiction, this week's review analyzes how humanity's obsession with technology has evolved and the value of taking a "digital detox."
Posted on in Review of the Week
-
Refusing Death
Taking an intersectional approach to environmental policy, this week's review reveals the stories of Asian and Latina immigrant women at the forefront of the environmental justice movement in LA.
Posted on in Review of the Week
-
The Cambridge Handbook of Stigma and Mental Health
Taking an intersectional approach to mental health stigma, this week's review examines strategies for cultivating inclusive clinical practices and calls for increased research to aid stigma reduction.
Posted on in Review of the Week