The Roundup Top Ten for March 17, 2023

Texas's Abortion Ban Can Never be Made Humane by Mary Ziegler When abortion access depends on establishing that a pregnant woman deserves an exception to a ban, the law will inevitably prevent doctors from serving patients with problem pregnancies.

 

Neoliberalism: Why is the Market Involved in Your Hallway Hangout? by John Patrick Leary A guide for teens and others to start thinking about how the big political and economic systems we live under shape our lives. Hint: it's about the conflicts between capitalism and democracy.

 

 

"If they were White and Insured, Would they have Died?" by Udodiri R. Okwandu Texas's new maternal mortality report shows that historical patterns of medical racism are continuing, and the state plans to do little but blame Black women for the inadequate care they receive.

 

 

The History and Politics of the Right to Grieve by Erik Baker Grief isn't a personal psychological and emotional process; we experience it through the demands a capitalist economy makes on our time, energy and attention. It's time to make bereavement a matter of right, instead of a favor doled out at the whim of your boss.

 

 

Rearranging Deck Chairs at AHA? by Jacob Bruggeman "If professional history is history, it isn’t due to academic politics — it’s because of the sharp contraction and possible collapse of the job market." What are the profession's ostensible leaders going to do about it?

 

 

Welcome Corps is the Newest Idea for Welcoming Refugees, but it Has a Long History by Emily Frazier and Laura E. Alexander The proposal for a new refugee resettlement agency extends the mission of many religious settlement and humanitarian groups that have operated in the United States for more than 150 years. This has the potential and the peril of bringing resettlement more in line with the characteristics of local communities.

 

 

Florida Higher Ed Bills Don't Fight Indoctrination, they Limit Freedom by Jessica L. Adler Florida legislation would write into law extensive power for politicians to control the content of education. The law also takes out important parts of existing law, making it easier for partisan politicians to turn public universities to their own ends.

 

 

Eric Adams's Involuntary Commitment Plan has a Long, Cruel History, Won't Help by Jeremy Peschard The history of involuntary hospitalization is one of the removal of the most marginalized and vulnerable people from society, in increasingly cruel and inhumane conditions, with treatment and reintegration to society an afterthought. It's unclear the New York mayor's plans will be different.

 

 

Houston's Highway History Teaches Planners What Not to Do by Kyle Shelton Transportation planners have begun to collect the opinions of community residents affected by proposed highway projects, but they have yet to begin to meaningfully incorporate those concerns into planning. Doing so could prevent repeating the blighting effects of urban transporation projects.

 

 

What Anna May Wong's History Tells us About Oscar's Asian and Asian American Moment by Katie Gee Salisbury The first Asian-American film star got her break when a film company cast ethnic actors in a 1922 film made to test out the new Technicolor technology. But Hollywood's racial politics and commercial imperatives kept other Asian actors from stardom.

 

* This article was originally published here