<p>Our friend and colleague Stony Brook sociologist Musa al-Gharbi has a new book out. And it’s a tour-de-force. <a target="_blank" href="https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691232607/we-have-never-been-woke?srsltid=AfmBOopyYgprEtH1F2V6qdCE1Mblg9QQlUpbpjVHR5WC0SAfQkpPopze"><em>We Have Never Been Woke</em></a><em> </em>is essential reading for anyone who wants to understand the economic, political and cultural divides between the haves and the have-nots in the United States. We were delighted to host Musa for a book talk on the Carleton campus last month. He spoke with Amna in front a packed house. This is episode 2. Episode 1 is available <a target="_blank" href="https://banished.substack.com/p/you-cant-be-an-egalitarian-social">here</a>. </p><p><strong>Show Notes</strong></p><p>* On the limitations of diversity training, see this piece from Musa, <a target="_blank" href="https://musaalgharbi.com/2020/09/16/diversity-important-related-training-terrible/">“Diversity is Important. Diversity-Related Training is Terrible.” </a>Also see this piece we wrote in <em>Inside Higher Ed</em>, “<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insidehighered.com/views/2021/04/29/colleges-should-focus-education-more-training-about-dei-issues-opinion">Don’t Mistake Training for Education.</a>” And this short, animated explainer video we made, <a target="_blank" href="https://youtu.be/MDVnOdKGJhk?si=FIyCGHgcnH7H33Sy">“Training is Performative. Education is Transformative”</a></p><p>* Georgetown philosopher Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò wrote <a target="_blank" href="http://Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò">the book </a>on elite capture<em>; </em>here’s a <a target="_blank" href="https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/olufemi-o-taiwo-identity-politics-and-elite-capture/">précis</a> in the <em>Boston Review. </em>And this piece by Táíwò, published in <em>The Philosopher</em>, is also worth reading: <a target="_blank" href="https://www.thephilosopher1923.org/post/being-in-the-room-privilege-elite-capture-and-epistemic-deference">“Being-In-The-Room Privilege: Elite Capture and Epistemic Deference”</a></p><p>* <a target="_blank" href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674034945"><em>Creating a Class: College Admissions and the Education of Elites</em></a><a target="_blank" href="https://www.hup.harvard.edu/books/9780674034945"> </a>by Mitchell Stevens is arguably the best book ever written on how the many advantages of the rich and well-off accumulate in the race to get into the most prestigious schools</p><p>* On the incentives for students of color to highlight their trauma in college admissions essays, this <em>NYT </em>piece is excellent, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/09/opinion/college-admissions-essays-trauma.html?unlocked_article_code=1.vU4.v9wf.ZuoNcweWMxld&smid=url-share">“When I Applied to College, I Didn’t Want to ‘Sell My Pain.’”</a> On “racial gamification” in college admissions, see Tyler Austin Harper, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/29/opinion/college-admissions-affirmative-action.html?unlocked_article_code=1.vU4.b0rs.Uc8rl4r4b9vl&smid=url-share">“I Teach at an Elite College. Here’s a Look Inside the Racial Gaming of Admissions”</a></p><p>* College essays are more strongly correlated with social class than SAT scores. See <a target="_blank" href="https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.abi9031">this journal article</a> by A.J. Alvero et al.</p><p>* On the question of whether college admissions tests drive or reflect social inequalities, see this Banished episode (<a target="_blank" href="https://banished.substack.com/p/should-more-colleges-drop-the-act">“Should More Colleges Drop the SAT and ACT?”</a>) and this article in <em>Inside Higher Ed </em>(<a target="_blank" href="https://www.insidehighered.com/admissions/views/2020/07/06/inequities-american-society-go-well-beyond-testing-opinion">“Tests are not the source of inequities in American society”</a>)</p><p>* On the test-optional debate, see this <a target="_blank" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/07/briefing/the-misguided-war-on-the-sat.html">article</a> from the <em>New York Times</em>, this <a target="_blank" href="https://home.dartmouth.edu/sites/home/files/2024-02/sat-undergrad-admissions.pdf">study</a> from Dartmouth College and these <a target="_blank" href="https://mitadmissions.org/blogs/entry/we-are-reinstating-our-sat-act-requirement-for-future-admissions-cycles/">comments</a> from the MIT Dean of Admissions</p><p>* Bertrand Cooper, <a target="_blank" href="https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/2021/07/who-actually-gets-to-create-black-pop-culture">“Who Actually Gets to Create Black Pop Culture?”</a> (<em>Current Affairs</em>, May/June 2021)</p><p>* Matt Taibbi discussed the controversy surrounding former <em>Intercept </em>journalist Lee Fang <a target="_blank" href="https://www.racket.news/p/the-news-media-is-destroying-itself">here</a></p><p></p><p></p> <br/><br/>This is a public episode. 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