They Say / I Blog

Folding it up is not the problem: Meredith Broussard on why paper maps still matter

As GPS devices and smartphone maps become more popular and ubiquitous, paper maps become harder to find. You might be shrugging your shoulders and asking, So what? Journalism professor Meredith Broussard explains why paper maps still matter in this January 2019 essay in The Conversation.

Broussard, “Why paper maps still matter in the digital age”

More than STEM: Natalie Wexler on forming “citizens of a democracy”

These days it seems that the STEM bandwagon is very full, and why wouldn’t it be, given how important STEM is for employment opportunities and technological advances? Still, there may be areas more important than STEM for the future health of the United States, and education writer Natalie Wexler discusses a few of them in this January 2019 essay from Forbes.

Wexler, “Math and science can’t take priority over history and civics”

 

Civility isn’t the answer: Jennifer Mercieca on the state of political discourse

Probably very few people would brag about the happy state of political discourse in the US right now. Complaints and squabbles (and more) resound loudly from all directions 24/7, drowning out most of the suggestions and proposals for how we might work our way toward more productive civic engagement. In the midst of the cacophony, ‘civility’ is a word that pops up frequently. Will more civility save us from ourselves? Professor and historian Jennifer Mercieca says that it definitely won’t, and she presents her argument in this December 2018 essay from the blog Zócalo.

Mercieca, “Preaching civility won’t save American democracy”