GBOC Lightning Round, Take Three

Over the last few weeks I've compiled a list of stories I've been meaning to share, but I haven't quite found the time to write about each one. So, rather than let these stories go unblogged (gasp!), let's commence another GBOC Lightning Round! (See previous rounds here and here.)

Item 1: Criminology, Genocide, & Darfur
The other day I received in the mail an advertisement for the forthcoming book Darfur and the Crime of Genocide by John Hagan and Wenona Rymond-Richmond. I am really looking forward to reading this book. Recently I have been part of an effort to boost the level of activism in one of the feminist organizations to which I belong, partly in response to the brutalization of women and children happening in Darfur and in the Congo. I share the sentiments of Robert Sampson, who wrote in his endorsement:

"Why has the field of criminology ignored genocide for so long? The answer to this question has important implications for theories of crime and international policy alike. The terrible tragedy in Darfur serves as the motivation for Hagan and Rymond-Richmond to trace the intellectual history of competing approaches to genocide, from the pioneering work of Sheldon Glueck on Nazi war crimes to controversies over official reaction to atrocities in the former Yugoslavia and now Africa. A call to action, Darfur and the Crime of Genocide is disturbing but necessary reading for all those concerned with international justice and a more general criminological conception of collective responses to crime around the world." --Robert J. Sampson, Harvard University, Henry Ford II Professor of Sociology

Item 2: "In the Basement of the Ivory Tower"
A colleague forwarded to me this Atlantic essay about the challenges of teaching students who by most estimations should not be in college. Writing anonymously, the author discusses the cultural shift in recent decades that has made college attendance compulsory for many students -- even those poorly suited to higher education -- and the ramifications of that shift for the faculty members who must evaluate the academic performance of these students. In particular, the author discusses the challenges of grading papers written by students with remedial writing skills. An excerpt:

America, ever-idealistic, seems wary of the vocational-education track. We are not comfortable limiting anyone’s options. Telling someone that college is not for him seems harsh and classist and British, as though we were sentencing him to a life in the coal mines. I sympathize with this stance; I subscribe to the American ideal. Unfortunately, it is with me and my red pen that that ideal crashes and burns.

Sending everyone under the sun to college is a noble initiative. Academia is all for it, naturally. Industry is all for it; some companies even help with tuition costs. Government is all for it; the truly needy have lots of opportunities for financial aid. The media applauds it—try to imagine someone speaking out against the idea. To oppose such a scheme of inclusion would be positively churlish. But one piece of the puzzle hasn’t been figured into the equation, to use the sort of phrase I encounter in the papers submitted by my English 101 students. The zeitgeist of academic possibility is a great inverted pyramid, and its rather sharp point is poking, uncomfortably, a spot just about midway between my shoulder blades.

For I, who teach these low-level, must-pass, no-multiple-choice-test classes, am the one who ultimately delivers the news to those unfit for college: that they lack the most-basic skills and have no sense of the volume of work required; that they are in some cases barely literate; that they are so bereft of schemata, so dispossessed of contexts in which to place newly acquired knowledge, that every bit of information simply raises more questions. They are not ready for high school, some of them, much less for college.

My guess is that most of us would recognize more than a few of our students in this essay...

Item 3: Kids Count Data & Juvenile Justice Reform
A few weeks ago the Annie E. Casey Foundation released its 2008 Kids Count report, an annual state-by-state survey that evaluates the well-being of children using a variety of indicators: employment, education, health, poverty, and so on. Criminologists may be particularly interested in the juvenile incarceration data. For example, according to a Detroit Free Press article:

Among the most alarming trends: Michigan continues to incarcerate kids at a much higher rate than the national average and often for nonviolent crimes.

There are 137 children per 100,000 in some sort of state facility or detention in Michigan, compared with the national average of 125 per 100,000. That puts Michigan 33rd in that category.

This report might be a useful teaching tool, as the website allows users to generate profiles by state, so that you can see how children in your particular state (or, if you live in a large enough metro area, your city) are faring. Finally, accompanying the report is a thoughtful essay, "A Road Map for Juvenile Justice Reform", that also includes a state-by-state summary of child well-being indicators.

Item 4: Supreme Court Bombshells!
As Velma noted earlier today, this week the U.S. Supreme Court rendered two opinions particularly relevant for criminologists:

(1) In Kennedy v. Louisiana, the Court banned capital punishment for child rape, stating that such punishment is disproportionate to the crime and therefore constitutes cruel and unusual punishment under the 8th amendment.

(2) In District of Columba v. Heller, the Court struck down Washington DC's ban on handgun ownership, ruling that the 2nd amendment right to bear arms extends to individuals.

I will leave the commentary about the Heller decision to the gun experts (and enthusiasts?) on the blog, and instead will share my thoughts about the Court's death penalty decision. Though I've disclosed my secret retributionist stance toward child rapists, I agree with the Court's decision. (I'm sure that Justice Kennedy and the four justices who joined him in the majority are relieved to know that I approve of their reasoning.) As several analysts have noted, because most child rapes are committed by someone the victim knows (often a relative or close family friend), asking a child to testify against the assailant with the knowledge that a conviction could lead to that person's execution understandably would cause undue emotional distress for the victim. Much as my maternal instincts might favor stringing these guys up on the courthouse lawn, the rational part of me knows that it would be utterly inhumane to put child sexual assault victims in a position where telling the truth could get their father, uncle, or other loved one killed, no matter how much we might think that person deserves it.

That's all for now. As always, I look forward to reader comments!

Pap & Patch's Book!!

Exciting news: Pap & Patch's first book, "Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard: Preventing and Responding to Cyberbullying," will be available beginning August 5th!

Here's what the publisher has to say about this book:

Cyberbullying is the intentional and repeated act of causing harm to others through the use of computers, cell phones, and other electronic devices. The authors help educators understand the potential consequences of this deliberate behavior and present strategies for effective identification, prevention, and response.

Focusing on the way technology can facilitate or magnify bullying behavior, this comprehensive resource offers information, guidelines, and resources to give students the protection they need. Written by leading experts, this groundbreaking book offers the voices of youth affected by or involved in real cyberbullying incidents and includes:

• Illustrations of what cyberbullying looks like
• Tips for identifying cyberbullies or targets
• "Breakout boxes" highlighting hundreds of anti-cyberbullying strategies
• A review of current research and legal rulings
• Strategies for responsible social networking
• Follow-up reflection questions in each chapter
• Guidelines for working with parents and law enforcement

"Bullying Beyond the Schoolyard" is available for pre-ordering on Amazon here.

Congrats to Pap and Patch!!

New Book About Moms in Academia

Those of you who liked the "Ph.D. Mom" buttons I wrote about a while back may be interested in reading a new book about motherhood in academia called Mama, Ph.D. A description of this collection of essays is here:

Mama, Ph.D. is a literary anthology of deeply-felt personal narratives by smart, interesting women both in and out of the academy, writing about their experiences attempting to reconcile bodies with brains. This anthology voices stories of academic women choosing to have, not have, or delay children. The essays in this anthology will speak to and offer support for any woman attempting to combine work and family, and will make recommendations on how to make the academy a more family-friendly workplace.

Inside Higher Ed also has a Mama, Ph.D. blog -- click on this link or on the "Inside Higher Ed Blogs" link on the sidebar for more info.

Clarence Thomas Book...Again

I really hope folks try to read the Clarance Thomas book as I recommended before. Velma asked for some important themes that emerged, so here are a few. First, I am very hesitant to even try to do this because I am sure I will over simplify some of these issues.

One of Thomas' main themes is that he was so vehemently hated and attacked by the liberals (OK, not trying to have political discussion here) because he was not the "right kind of black." Meaning, there is tremendous pressure for any person of color (probably implications for women via the women's movement also I would guess) to agree with liberal politics relating to race. To be Black means one must agree with policies like welfare, affirmative action, etc. To disagree makes one an "Uncle Tom" and a sellout - versus someone who has well-conceptualized disagreements. In many ways, we hear some of these ideas leveled against Condi Rice and Colon Powell - some of the attacks against Rice have been some of the most mean-spirited and out-and-out racist things I have ever heard. When one understands that Thomas was a rather radicalized college student, his "evolution" to the right is an interesting story. Thomas argues very passionately that the left (especially many middle and upper-middle class whites) have reduced race down to something where all "blacks must be alike." And, importantly, think alike. Unlike other successful persons of color, Thomas comes from absolute abject poverty - among the poorest of the poor in Savannah, GA....eventually moving in with his grandparents who largely "saved" him and his brother. He gets so personally offended by those who suggest he has sold out - people who have never walked in his shoes and experienced what he has experienced.

Another important issue raised is his, well, disdain for Affirmative Action policies that in any way establish anything other than a level playing field -- policies that show favoritism for persons of color beyond breaking down walls. This is a guy who excelled academically, -eventually getting accepted to Yale after graduating top of his class from Holy Cross (Massachusetts). Almost immediately he felt that people perceived him to be "less qualified" because he was apparently shown some preference based on race, although he didn't realize it at the time. (He was also accepted to Harvard but thought it too conservative to attend, although it was his life dream to attend Harvard.) Thus, his personal experience with AA-like policies was such that his successes, in a way, were cheapened by the sense that he didn't earn it but that it was given to him because he is Black. Again, I am oversimplifying this but this is the gist of the idea.

In many ways, to understand the importance of the book one should first seriously consider the criticisms of Clarence Thomas, because some of his ideas become even more important. I'd like to highlight two important quotes from the review of Chris' book (these, to my knowledge, are not statements made by Chris and his co-author, but by the individual reviewing the book - link is below).

1. "Even more important, Thomas was part of the tiny pool of politically conservative blacks acceptable to the GOP's core constituency." -- Thomas would find this argument very interesting. Instead of thinking of his acceptability, if you will, as the only black who was "acceptable" - he was a person of color, very accomplished - running the EEOC for a decade. I would guess this was part of the calculation -- philosophical ideas that were consistent with Bush #1.

2. The author also states: "Although an obvious beneficiary of the civil rights movement and affirmative action, he had vehemently attacked the movement, its leaders, and the legislation it spawned." -- Again, the idea that he OBVIOUSLY benefited from AA - read between the lines, as if he didn't earn his accomplishments - gives a cheapened sense of accomplishment.

3. In regards to Anita Hill, he really doesn't get into this too much (you really have to read it), but one of the major ideas he talks about is this: Is it surprising that when attacking a Black man, it is done based on SEXUAL issues? Sex, he argues, is the typical way we attack Black men. (He passionately refers to it as a "high tech lynching"). This idea is very consistent with some of the other themes others have talked about in prior posts. Black men bought down based on our fear of their hyper-sexuality. Certainly seems to fit the bill here.

For what its worth, I really didn't have an opinion on the Anita Hill situation as I barely recall it and didn't really care too much at the time. When you think of his life story, when you think of his accomplishments, when you think of his personality, and you hear about the type and level of involvement he had with her....it just doesn't seem to fit the bill. I may be wrong on this as I have a very selective view of the situation, but that is my gut sense.

Again, if you have the time and inclination, this is a really good read. Most of the posters here hate his policies but its important to know how he got there.

Clarence Thomas Bio

On a serious note...I don't know if any of you have read Clarence Thomas' bio "My Grandfather's Son" - I really recommend it. Now, suffice it is to say that many associated with this blog likely puke at the thought of Clarence Thomas, but let me tell you, this has got to be one of the most interesting life stories going. I haven't finished it yet, but what an intriguing guy. I particularly suggest reading it to those of you who really think he is off base with his stance on issues like affirmative action. His life story may shed some light on how he got there, regardless of your thoughts on his position. What an incredible story about a *true* American hero.