The politics of the academy have been defeated. Its ideas, its assumptions, its opinions and positions — as expressed in official statements, embodied in policies and practices, established in centers and offices, and espoused and taught by large and leading portions of the professoriate — have been rejected. This was already evident before November 5. It can now no longer be denied.
Read MoreUniversity of Hertfordshire
Faculty Member
I am former Chair and current Council Member of the British Educational Leadership, Management and Administration Society (BELMAS), Professor of Educational Policy, Democracy and Leadership at the University of Hertfordshire, UK (where I am also Director of the Centre for Educational Leadership), and author of over 120 publications. Selected publications are featured below.
My work focuses principally on education, democracy, leadership, policy, governance and entrepreneurialism, with special attention to democratic and distributed leadership, equity, and change towards more democratic and holistic organisational environments. My work includes the design of resources for senior leaders, teachers, and others to support the development of distributed and democratic leadership, working with international colleagues through European Union-funded networks - European Policy Network on School Leadership (EPNoSL, 2011-2015) and European Methodological Framework for Facilitating Collaborative Learning for Teachers (EFFeCT, 2015-2018) - and as a member of the US-based New DEEL (Democratic Ethical Educational Leadership) network. I
have wide-ranging experience and expertise in leading, managing and participating in major funded projects for organisations, including the British Academy, Economic and Social Research Council, UK government, European Union, National College for School Leadership, Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, and Learning and Teaching Scotland. I am experienced in undertaking academic and evaluative studies, developing recommendations on policy and practice to tight deadlines, and providing keynote presentations, as well as being an active participant and leader in multiple international networks and supervising and teaching doctoral and masters students.
Read MoreBy Glen T. Martin
This book shows how and why this is so. It investigates the meaning of human dignity in relation to current scholarly work as well as in terms of the depths of our subjective lives from which the concept of dignity arises. It contrasts the concept of dignity with our current world system engulfed in endless wars, immense inequality, systems of economic injustice, and on-going environmental destruction. It shows the relationship between dignity, human rights, and global moral principles and lays out ten fundamental principles for a planetary ethics.
Read MoreBy David Brooks
I had hoped this election would be a moment of national renewal. I had hoped that the Democrats could decisively defeat MAGA populism and send us down a new national path.
That’s clearly not going to happen. No matter who wins this election, it will be close, and this is still going to be an evenly and bitterly divided nation.
In retrospect, I think I was expecting too much of politics.
Read MoreBy Bill Betzler
Two weeks ago, I went on a men's retreat. Followed along the IRON JOHN narrative of years ago - male initiation, male wounds, male grief, male bonding, male transformation. It was OK for me. Did have opportunity to say out loud to all 35 guys what my core wound was: As a child I was a sexual object. I listened to all the others. There were a few deaths of children or parents or spouses. By far the largest number of wounds had to do w/ feelings of inadequacy & in that awareness that their lives weren't working. M
Read Morethe revolution in our understanding of emotion.
For thousands of years, it was common in Western thought to imagine that there was an eternal war between reason and our emotions. ... Modern neuroscience has delivered a body blow to this way of thinking.... Most of the time emotions guide reason and make us more rational. It’s an exaggeration, but maybe a forgivable one, to say that this is a turnabout to rival the Copernican Revolution in astronomy.
Read MoreIn 25 words or less, what’s wrong with the world?
In 25 words or less, why is this the case?
In 25 words or less, what can we do about it?
L.M. Sacasas
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A newsletter about technology, culture., and the good life. The general idea is to think well about the meaning of technology and how it structures our experience while also conveying some sense of how we might better order our relationship to technology.
Read MoreBy Wesley Morris
The bassist, singer and composer’s 1993 debut jolted the industry — then she decided to change. Now she is releasing a powerful album inspired by James Baldwin.
A good musician’s relationship with the past is tricky. You want to move forward without entirely forsaking what you’ve already done. You don’t want it defining you when so much future defining lies ahead. It’s a dilemma Meshell Ndegeocello was thinking through at her dining room table in Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn, on a recent afternoon.
Read MoreHow Christian Fundamentalism Was Born Again, Michael Luo
“Nearly a century ago, a single trial seemed to shatter the movement’s place in America. It’s returned in a new form—but for old reasons”.
In his book about the Scopes trial, Liu concludes with a plea for respect:
The authors of “The After Party” remind believers that “reconciliation to God inherently leads to reconciliation with others.” They encourage Christians to draw on the resources of their faith to model a more relational, less tribal approach to politics. It’s a stirring admonition, but Wineapple’s observation about the tragedy of the Scopes trial is that both sides failed to see the other. The “self-appointed arbiters of culture” can seem just as contemptuous of faith as they were a century ago, even as their own beliefs become an altar unto themselves. The divide may very well be unbridgeable, but Marsden suggests that both sides keep in mind the wide angle of history and what it reveals––that “cultural conflicts are not simply products of the machinations of the warped minds of one’s opponents, but rather reflect deeply embedded cultural patterns.” A clear-eyed explanation of fundamentalism’s resilience might include a recognition from nonbelievers that there is something wanting in the secular consensus, a lacuna that scientific, technological, and social progress has failed to address. The values of humility and hope could benefit us all. (read more - behind paywall) [posted in Respect]
Read MoreI’ve watched a lot of presidential campaigns, and I can’t remember one in which the contest for the Democratic vice-presidential nomination has played out quite so publicly. And that’s allowed for some voices and figures to break through who you might not have imagined before. Foremost among them is Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, because of one interview on “Morning Joe,” saying of Donald Trump and JD Vance, “These guys are just weird.”
That was the interview heard around the Democratic Party. I remember it hit me on social media. I saw that and thought, “Oh, that really connects.” And then all of a sudden, it was all you heard from Democrats. “Weird, weird, weird. These guys are weird.”
Why did this connect this way? And is there a risk of this falling into something that can bedevil Democrats, coming off as an insult to Trump’s supporters, like Hillary Clinton’s “deplorables” comment in 2016?
Read MoreBy Wade Lee Hudson
In his July 22, 2024, review of recent books advocating the abolition of prisons, Adam Gopnik argues that the “frequent brutality and ingrained indifference” seen in prisons calls us to “freely imagine alternatives,” but he differs from the abolitionists.
He strongly supports those such as Michelle Alexander who see American incarceration as “a mechanism that preserves racial hierarchy.” Incarceration in her now famous formulation acts as the new Jim Crow.” Black people in New York State, for instance, are fifteen percent of the overall population and almost fifty percent of the prison population.
However, Gopnik rejects the argument that mass incarceration is a product of capitalism,
Read MoreAs I mentioned at my birthday party, I want to encourage the growth of a grassroots movement to transform our world into a compassionate community that relieves suffering, promotes justice, and spreads joy — a movement similar to yet more powerful than the union, civil rights, and women’s movements. Whoever wins in November, society will need an independent force to maximize progress, or stop repression.
However, certain habits divide organizations and undermine effectiveness. These problems include:
The desire to dominate and the willingness to submit for personal gain.
Arrogance, personal attacks, scapegoating, and harsh judgmental attitudes.
The belief that leadership involves getting followers to do what the leader wants.
To recap - Part 1 explored the emergence of a new paradigm, a more holistic worldview aligned with reality, embracing interconnectedness and therefore better able to address humanity’s crises. It also highlighted the burgeoning field of democratic innovation and pointed out aspects that suggest this field is a facet of this new holistic paradigm.
In part 2 I explore - how might we take democratic innovation into deeper levels of this shift so that it becomes ever more able to address our collective predicaments?
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By Wade Lee Hudson
In his review of several books written by Catholic “post-liberals,” Mark Lilla expresses sympathy for their “rejection of the intellectual foundations of modern liberal individualism” and its “idealization of autonomy,” which “has worked as an acid eating away at the deepest cultural foundations inherited from the Christian era” (such as “love your neighbor”).
Read MoreWhether or not they identify as “spiritual” or “religious,” this site encourages everyone to engage in self-development, especially concerning overcoming or controlling oppressive domination and submission. Many people consider this self-improvement to be spiritual, but others do not.
For instance, some humanists don’t embrace the concept of a “god,” “supreme being,” or “higher,” transcendent order. They identify as atheists or agnostics and reject the notion that a spiritual path is necessary for personal growth or making a positive impact on the world. This site respects these views.
Insisting on the use of certain words is idolatry. Worshiping specific abstract concepts is problematic. Such dogmatic beliefs lead to rigid ideologies.
This site instead focuses on exploring and understanding concrete experiences and fosters a non-dogmatic and open-minded approach.
Read MoreBy Wade Lee Hudson
In a lengthy New York Times Magazine profile of Ibram X. Kendi, the author of How To Be An Antiracist and many other books about racism, Rachel Poser says Kendi “faces a reckoning of his own.” Numerous critics have criticized his theories and his administration of a well-funded center at Boston University.
Poser concludes, “In tying together racism’s two senses — the personal and the systemic — Kendi has helped many more Americans understand that they are responsible not only for the ideas in their heads but also for the impact they have on the world.”
However, she reports,
Kendi doesn’t like the term “systemic racism” because (he says) it turns racism into a “hidden and unknowable” force for which there’s no one to blame, so he prefers to talk about “racist policies.” He writes instead about “the ideas and psychological defenses that cause people to deny their complicity in (racism).” He affirms “individual transformation for societal transformation.”
Read MoreOn 6/8/24, I asked ChatGPT, Charlamagne Tha God recommends which methods to minimize small talk in Get Honest or Die Lying? It responded:
In "Black Privilege: Opportunity Comes to Those Who Create It" by Charlamagne Tha God, he emphasizes the importance of being honest and authentic in communication. While he doesn't explicitly outline methods to minimize small talk in "Get Honest or Die Lying," he often advocates for direct and genuine conversation. One could infer from his principles that minimizing small talk involves being upfront and engaging in meaningful discussions rather than superficial chatter. Charlamagne encourages individuals to be true to themselves and to communicate openly, which naturally leads to more substantial interactions and less reliance on small talk.
Read MoreBy David Leonhardt, The New York Times
May 19, 2024
It may be the most discussed fact about American politics today: The country is deeply polarized. The Republican Party has moved to the right by many measures, and the Democratic Party has moved to the left. Each party sees the other as an existential threat. One consequence of this polarization, politicians and pundits often say, is gridlock in Washington.
But in a country that is supposed to have a gridlocked federal government, the past four years are hard to explain. These years have been arguably the most productive period of Washington bipartisanship in decades.
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