American Anxieties…not just for #adjunct faculty

…COCAL XI and NatGat2014 exuberance not withstanding, malaise and a sense of foreboding abound, face us around every corenr. The feeling is neither exclusively American nor academic, adj-l listserv fretting to the contrary. Just listen to the world news. We --- and our institutions -- are embedded in the world and of it…more than just August doldrums. So here's a bit of a wallow before getting on with coping, rising up and doing. 

From Aspeers, a special issue on American anxieties. Kathleen Geier on inequality, the flavor of the month. David Atkins on the four basic American reactions to record inequality....The over-policing of America: Chase Madar on how police overkill has entered the DNA of social policy. Have we all turned into a bunch of wusses? Kevin Michael Klipfel wonders. From The American Interest, John Allen Gay on the crumbling cultural foundations of American democracy: Democracy rests on a complex set of values — and many of those values are fading.

Is modern culture making us crazier? Martha Stout on the science behind America's deepening disturbance....Why the doom and gloom, America? Today’s crises are no worse than many in U.S. history. Jonathan Chait writes in defense of American optimism.

Read the complete american anxieties at bookforum.com's omnivore.  PS posts on conference, gathering and more are waiting in the wings...and the listserv is posting