Supplemental Readings: ENGL 151

How Do I Find Credible Sources? | Quick Stats | College Tips | Computer tips | Brain Candy | Thinking/Cognition/Psychology | Political/Social Issues | Race | Media and Fake News | Head Scratchers

Sources for Essay topics
Purpose of College (Essay 1) | Death Penalty | Civic Stances/Democracy in America | Income Inequality | Health Care | Social Media; Online Privacy/Addiction) | Immigration | Climate Change | Contemporary Issues Debate Series | 

General

In this section you'll find below readings on a variety of topics (see above and below for links) -- but first, a quick primer on evaluating sources and short list of credible web sources.

"How Do I Find Credible Sources?"

Citing Sources

Once you've found a credible source, you need to cite it correctly. Below find several videos that work through MLA 8 citation style, works cited entry.

Quick Reads
Most are taken from the Delanceyplace.com, a site which posts (and emails) short excerpts from books on science, math, history, psycology , etc.

Quick Stats


College Tips

Computer Tips Thinking/cognition/psychology/information literacy

Brain Candy: Just Good Reading

Political/social issues

Race
Power of Media/Misinformation

Fake(?) News

It Just Doesn't Make Sense

Purpose of College Readings: Essay 1

These essays can be useful for fleshing out the ideas from the assigned essays.

Radio Essays on Higher Education: Essay 1

Death Penalty

Civic Stances

Audio and video clips

  1. Not passing the Naturalization test: why we need more civic education
  2. Climate change, business regulation, and governments and money.  Bill McKibben Lenoard Lopate August 2015

I'm always on the lookout for more articles: send in any good ones

Income Inequality

Text

  1. Is Economic Inequality Really a Problem? By Samuel Scheffler, July 1, 2020 New York Times
  2. McDonald’s Workers in Denmark Pity Us By Nicholas Kristof  May 8, 2020 New York Times
  3. How Working-Class Life Is Killing Americans, in Charts by David Leonhardt and Stuart A. Thompson March 6, 2020, New York Times
  4. "When It’s This Easy at the Top, It’s Harder for Everyone Else" By Nelson D. Schwartz, New York Times Feb. 28, 2020
  5. If Americans are better off than a decade ago, why doesn’t it feel that way? The Guardian, Jessica Goodhart, 5 November 2019.
  6. The American Economy is Rigged Scientific American, Nov. 2018.  Interesting that this particular magazine, with it's basis, as it's name notes, in science, is addressing income inequality.
  7. "America's super rich: six things to know" The Guardian. Natalie Jones and Alastair Gee. Accessed on 26 Sept. 2018.
  8. "Is Poverty Necessary?" Marilynne Robinson, Harper's, Jun 2019
  9. Busted: America's Poverty Myths (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site.. On the Media, 2016.
  10. Capitalism's excesses belong in the dustbin of history. What's next is up to us The Guardian August 1, 2017
  11. Living on Minimum Wage (Links to an external site.)Links to an external site." New York Times June 15, 2013
  12. 3 TVs and No Food: Growing Up Poor in America." Nicolas Kristoff. New York Times, October 30, 2016
  13. Why the Rich Are So Much Richer James Surowiecki NYRBooks Sept 24, 2015
  14. How Expensive it is to be Poor Charles Blow.  Jan 19, 2015
  15. Data on the social mobility: May 1, 2015
  16. "Living on Minimum Wage" New York Times June 15, 2013
  17. "For Poor Leap to Colleges Often Ends in a Hard Fall." New York Times Dec. 22, 2012
  18. The American Dream is Leaving America. Nicholas Kristoff.  October 25, 2014
  19. Inequality, Unbelievably, Get's Worse.  Steven Rattner NYTimes November 16, 2014

Videos and Audo

  1. Capuchin monkeys reject unequal pay -- even primates are upset with inequality.
  2. Busted: America's Poverty Myths. On the Media, 2016.
  3. Daily show on "Class Warfare" Part 1; Part 2
  4. TED Talks -- problems with income inequality by Richard Wilkinson. Includes transcript. Transcript in clear HTML is available here.
  5. Freakonomics on income inequality.
  6. Inequality in America: animated slide show.
  7. Stiglitz on the connections between income inequality and politics
  8. Bowling Alone Author Tackles the American Dream. NPR Weekend Saturday. Interesting points about income inequality. 
  9. Does Money Make You Mean? TED Talk by Paul Piff
  10. Short discussion on the problems of income inequality (animated video we saw in class)
  11. Daily show on "Class Warfare" Part 1; Part 2
  12. TED Talks -- problems with income inequality by Richard Wilkinson. Includes transcript. Transcript in clear HTML is available here.
  13. Short discussion on the problems of income inequality
  14. 1955 video on Capitalism -- that's 1955! At around 8:00 are stats on money. 8:40 or so specifics.10:50 trashes Marx.
  15. Short video on connection between health, equity, and a country's success. Hans Rosling's 200 Countries, 200 Years, 4 Minutes - The Joy of Stats - BBC Four 2008 BBC documentary on individuality and income inequality http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1087742888040457650#
  16. POLITICAL EFFECT OF THE RICH Who's Really Writing States' Legislation? (53)  (30)  A group called ALEC — the American Legislative Exchange Council — "is at the forefront of an effort to push business-friendly, conservative legislation at the state level," says reporter John Nichols. He discusses what recently leaked documents reveal about the organization.
  17. Take your pick: audio or print:
Older sources
  1. Gudrais, Elizabeth. "Unequal America." Harvard Magazine. Great essay on politics, employment, etc.
  2. Rising Wealth Inequality: Should We Care?
    By NYTimes.com. Why do Americans seem unperturbed about the growing gap between the rich and the poor? 
  3. Serving up Fries for a Living Wage in Demark NYTimes October 27, 2014
  4. Class in America: Statistics are old but arguments are still valid. Personal stories which show individuals from three different classes
  5. Is a Hard Life Inherited? New York Times August 9, 2014. On the social (im)mobility in America
  6. "A Huge Threat to Social Mobility" LA Times 2013.  On the problems of income inequality.
  7. Difference betwee CEO and work pay is greater than Americans believe.  Roberto A. Ferdman September 25, 2014 Washington Post.
  8. "America Out of Whack"  Most recent data on the difference between the bottom 90% and the top 10%.
  9. America's 'Primal Scream' By Nicholas D. Kristof October 15, 2011. New York Times.
    1. Try this link if the above does not work. America's 'Primal Scream'; [Op-Ed]
      Nicholas D. Kristof. New York Times (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Oct 16, 2011. p. SR.1
  10. "Four Lost Decades: Why American Politics is all Messed Up" John Cassidy 17 September 2013
  11. "Is American Democracy Headed to Extinction?" Washington Post 2014 Politics
  12. "In US politics, Economic Class Speaks Loudest" 2012 report on connections between income inequality and political influence
  13. Unease Grows Over Income Inequality in US. Political connections. International Herald Tribune.
  14. Storybook Plutocracy Review of a book that shows all sides of the debate. Thomas Frank
  15. Scanning the Economic Landscape and Still Seeing Little on the Horizon.  NYT. December 1, 2013. Interviews with workers
  16. Those Lazy Jobless: NYTimes Sept. 21, 2014
  17. Who Works the Longest Days NYTimes 7/23/13
  18. When Beliefs and Facts Collide NYTimes July 5, 2014
  19. Why we can't ignore growing income inequality. (1) - By Timothy Noah - Slate Magazine
  20. Costs Seen In Income Inequality: [Business/Financial Desk]Lowrey, Annie. New York Times [New York, N.Y] 17 Oct 2012: B.1.
  21. America's Big Wealth Gap: Is It Good, Bad, or Irrelevant?; Christian Science Monitor, Trumbull, Mark Feb 14, 2012 
    When you get to the database, click on PDF icon to the left to access article: Why inequality is fatal.: Sargent, Michael. Nature, 4/30/2009, Vol. 458 Issue 7242, p1109-1110, 2p, 1 Illustration; DOI: 10.1038/4581109
  22. "Bitter Politics of Envy" Charles Blow. New York Times. Jan. 13, 2012.
  23. March 2012 polls on American views of income inequality.
  24. I Was a Welfare Mother: [Op-Ed]Larkin, Warren. New York Times [New York, N.Y] 23 Sep 2012: SR.11.
  25. Economic Inequality Is a Serious Problem in America . Bill Moyers. Opposing Viewpoints: Social Justice. Ed. William Dudley. San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005.
  26. Essay on social, political, and economicramifications of income inequality: Andrew Hacker "We're More Unequal Than You Think." New York Review of Books, February 23, 2012.
  27. Essay on impact of II on education: Class Matters. Why Won't We Admit It?; [Op-Ed]
    HELEN F. LADD and EDWARD B. FISKE. New York Times (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Dec 12, 2011. p. A.23
  28. Online essay on New York Times: "Is the U.S. Still the Land of Opportunity?"
  29. The New Progressive Movement: Jeffrey D. Sachs.
  30. Harder for Americans to Rise From Economy's Lower Rungs; [National Desk]
    JASON DePARLE. New York Times (Late Edition (East Coast)). New York, N.Y.: Jan 5, 2012. p. A.1
  31. Interesting essay from a writer who wants to ignore income inequality, but can't. "Whatever Happened to Discipline and Hard Work?" Tyler Cowen, Nov. 13, 2011.
  32. Plutocray Now: series in Mother Jones magazine. Charts and graphs and specific examples of people who have "made a killing."
  33. PLUTOCRACY NOW. By: Drum, Kevin. Mother Jones, Mar/Apr2011, Vol. 36 Issue 2, p22-63, 8p, 4 Color Photographs, 6 Charts, 8 Graphs
  34. More international data on income inequality and America's ranking.
  35. The Class War Has Begun. Frank Rich. New York Magazine. Oct. 23, 2011
  36. "Efforts to Promote Economic Equality Are Misguided" by John Kekes. Social Justice . William Dudley, Ed. Opposing Viewpoints® Series. Greenhaven Press, 2005

Health Care

Immigration

Digital Life
 Climate Change

Debate Series
Differening view on contemporary issues: includes bibliographies for further reading.