Hysteria in Academe--ASA meeting

Before they sign up to attend the American Sociological Association 2023 meeting in Philadelphia please be aware that:

Before we can talk about sociology, power, and inequality, we must acknowledge our presence on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territory of the Lenapehoking, both diasporic and descendant of Lenape communities. The American Sociological Association (ASA), acknowledges that academic institutions, indeed the nation-state itself, was founded upon and continues to enact exclusions and erasures of Indigenous Peoples. This acknowledgement demonstrates a commitment to beginning the process of working to dismantle ongoing legacies of settler colonialism, and to recognize the hundreds of Indigenous Nations who continue to resist, live, and uphold their sacred relations across their lands. We also pay our respect to Indigenous elders past, present, and future and to those who have stewarded this land throughout the generations.

That takes care of the guilt and shame, now let's look at the propaganda.

Translation for propaganda from academics:

"Attacks on public education"= denying porn to 1st graders
"racial justice" = racist attacks on whites and Asians are OK
"future of Democracy" = seeking more government control

It appears to be who can be more woke than the other organizations. This is a few of the meeting topics.

"As the discussions over attacks on public education, racial justice, and the future of democracy continue to dominate the American conversation, thousands of sociologists whose work provides insights on these and other vital topics will meet at the American Sociological Association’s 118th Annual Meeting, August 17-21, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Approximately 600 sessions featuring over 3,000 research papers are open to the press.

From race and racism to mental health, from climate control and environmental policy issues to artificial intelligence, sociologists are investigating and reporting on the most sensitive problems confronting American society. This year’s theme, “The Educative Power of Sociology,” shows how sociology’s educative power exists within its ability to convey knowledge and research critically, and to even offer solutions and interventions to social problems, from classrooms to boardrooms, individuals and families to communities, institutions to nation-states, and social movements to social change and justice. Given the diverse range of topics that will be covered, the ASA Annual Meeting will provide a wealth of information for journalists assigned to nearly any beat.

Session highlights include:

Attacks on Public Education and Strategies of Resistance to Protect the Public Sphere. This session is focused on the broad attacks on public schooling, including the push to privatize public education, attack anti-racist curricula, and expand charter schools or create separate school districts. Panelists will discuss different strategies of attacking public education playing out as part of the general critique of public institutions and actors along with strategies of resistance and efforts to protect a robust public sphere.
Participants: Amanda Evelyn Lewis, Noliwe Rooks, Jack Schneider, Julian Vasquez Heilig, and John B. Diamond

White Rage, White Apathy, White Zeal: Understanding White Responses to Calls for Racial Justice. White Americans have responded to calls for racial justice in myriad, emotionally embodied ways. What shapes white people’s racialized responses to demands for racial justice, such as those arising from the Movement for Black Lives? Why do some white people become invested in fighting against critical race theory, while the majority remain practically indifferent? Finally, what compels some white people to “show up for racial justice,” in mind, body and spirit? This panel speaks to these questions.
Participants: Jennifer C. Mueller, Kim Ebert, Amanda Evelyn Lewis, Sarah H. Diefendorf, and Biko Mandela Gray

The Future of Democracy: A Conversation on the Supreme Court, Education, Civil Rights, and Society with Tressie McMillan Cottom and Melissa Murray, moderated by Dan Hirschman (live streaming available). Legal scholar, MSNBC contributor, and former interim dean of the University of California Berkeley School of Law, Melissa Murray, and sociologist Tressie Cottom will dialogue about the implications for society and research of the recent Supreme Court decisions on higher education, reproductive choice, civil rights and liberties and LGBTQ+ equality.
Participants: Prudence L. Carter, Daniel Hirschman, Tressie Cottom, and Melissa Murray, New York University Law School"

Received via e-mail July 19, 2023