Readings

Read the Canvas prompt from the week 10 thread–these readings are here as possible guides or references for an investigation of a social problem of your choice in A.I. app(s) of your choice. But I would recommend looking over the lecture page for this week (also linked at the bottom of this page). 

• Maggie Astor. 2018. 7 times in history where students turned to activism. Mar 5, New York Times.
• Jonah Engel Bromwich. 2018. How the Parkland students got so good at social media. Mar 7, New York Times.
• Peter Grier and Noah Robinson. 2022. Biden student loans: What’s fair for borrowers, taxpayers? Aug 22, Christian Science Monitor.
• Read at least two of these:
  • Janelle Griffith. 2021. A high school 2 miles from where George Floyd died plays outsized role in Chauvin trial. April 24, NBC News (smart phones, ordinary acts turned extraordinary)
  • Ames Grawert and Tim Lau. 2019. How the First Step Act became law, and what happens next. Jan 4, Brennan Center for Justice. (conventional channels . . . why do they work occasionally, often not?)
  • William McKaskill. 2015. Does divestment work? Oct 20, New Yorker. (shaking up the investor class …)
  • Hayden Schultz. 2024. Conservatives on campus: Turning Point USA. April 9, The Rocket.
  • The Yes Men. 2014. Reed divests. (an example of ‘identity correction’ or ‘culture jamming’–The Yes Men carry out stunts to expose what they see as false branding)
  • Jonathan Blitzer. 2024. Inside the Trump plan for 2025. July 24, New Yorker.
  • Anna Altman. 2020. The Millennials Who Want to Get Rid of Their Class Privilege. Mar 2, Washington Post.
  • Douglas Smith. 2014. A new way to rein in fat cats. Feb 2, New York Times. (it’s not new, really, in a lot of countries)
  • Sarah van Gelder. 2018. TV stations follow John Oliver’s lead in movement to forgive medical debt. Mar 1, Yes! Magazine. (a key source of crippling debt that can dash social mobility)
  • Jia Tolentino. 2020. Where bail funds go from here. June 23, New Yorker Magazine. (how laws can discriminate)
  • Rafaella Ferreira and Heather Loepere. 2018. New study reveals disparity between student understanding of consent and real-world experiences. Oct 8, Columbiaspectator.com. (how well-intentioned policies can get it wrong)
  • Jarrett Skorup. 2019. The student loan problem is widely misunderstood–here are some solutions. Oct 24, Mackinac.org.
  • Jia Tolentino. 2018. The rising pressure of the #MeToo backlash. Jan 24, New Yorker Magazine.

Lecture pages

• What to do