The Ukraine conflict is a war of narratives – and Putin’s is crumbling

For one, the writing may be on the wall too. Matthew Chattle/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Ronald Suny, University of Michigan

People understand the world – that is, where we came from, how we got here and where we are likely to go – through the stories we tell about ourselves and others. Indeed, the political and social environments in which we are embedded are rooted in these stories, these narratives.

And so it is with the current conflict in Ukraine. As the months of fighting have progressed, so too have the narratives that underpin the actions of the two sides. It is as if both Russia and Ukraine are attempting to write the history – the whys and hows of the conflict – in real time.

As a historian, I know narratives have problems. First, although they may be true and relate to facts and actual occurrences, narratives that take hold can also be completely fabricated. Second, once a narrative is put out there, the implication is that whatever story you tell is just as valid as the one your opponent tells. Often, it is not.

Take the case of Russia and its disastrous war in Ukraine. Russian politicians and their media claim Russia is fighting Nazis in Ukraine who usurped power in a 2014 coup d’état and pushed the country toward an alliance with the West, posing a direct threat to Russia itself.

In this narrative, Russian boys are dying to protect their Ukrainian brethren, Russians and Russian-speaking Ukrainians from fascism – just as their ancestors did during the Second World War.

For Ukrainians and most people in the West, this Kremlin-inspired narrative is patently false. Their counternarrative is that Ukrainians decided in the “revolution of dignity” in 2014 that they wanted to free themselves from Vladimir Putin’s suffocating pressure to give up their aspirations to join the West, fortify their democracy and be a fully sovereign, independent state. Inspired by that narrative – and the unprovoked invasion of their country by their powerful neighbor – Ukrainians have courageously and effectively resisted the Russian assault, and even triumphed significantly on the battlefield.

Perceived existential threats

The truth is, Ukraine was never a serious, immediate threat to Russia. But for Putin and his supporters, anxious about their loss of geopolitical clout vis-à-vis the United States and NATO, Ukraine’s gravitation toward the West portended a vulnerable future.

This narrative pushed Putin into what he sees as a preventive war. It is premised on anxieties about future dangers, yet clothed not in cold realist terms but rather in the hyperemotional narrative of the supposedly harmonious brotherhood of Russians, Ukrainians and Belarusians.

Ukrainians do not have to manufacture grand narratives that fly in the face of facts. Yet exaggerations in wartime are almost inevitable. The government in Kyiv, as well as Western leaders, claims that the war has become a struggle for the very existence of the Ukrainian nation, that Putin is determined to eliminate Ukrainians as Ukrainians.

If that narrative is true – which I believe it is not – then there can be no compromise with Russia.

Putin’s narrative is similarly existential. It is framed as a struggle against the “neo-colonialism” of the West, which he believes seeks to dismember Russia. In Putin’s narrative, the war with Ukraine challenges America’s claim to a global hegemony that reduces Russia to a humiliated regional power.

Broadening the threat

In his speech on Sept. 30, 2022, annexing Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia to Russia, Putin used history to justify his imperial grab. The lands he referred to as “New Russia,” or “Novrossiya,” were sanctified, he said, by victories of Russian heroes from the 18th century; this was a land where Catherine the Great founded cities.

He then pivoted to the painful year 1991, when three representatives of the Communist party elite terminated the Soviet Union “without asking ordinary citizens what they wanted, and people suddenly found themselves cut off from their homeland.” Putin compared this illegitimate act with what Lenin and the Bolsheviks had done in creating Soviet republics on the basis of their nationality. In Putin’s narrative, the invasion of Ukraine is part of a process to rectify what he now sees as criminal acts at the dawn and twilight of the Soviet empire. He explicitly rejected the notion of restoring the USSR – “Russia no longer needs it today; this is not our ambition” – but believes he should aid those torn from their historic homeland.

In Putin’s narrative, Ukraine needs saving from the clutches of the West and Western culture and must return to the Russkii mir – the Russian world – and its unique culture.

In his speech, Putin declared that in Russia there will not be “parent number one, parent number two and parent number three” instead of a “mother and father.” He continued: “Do we want our schools to impose on our children … perversions that lead to degradation and extinction? Do we want to drum into their heads the ideas that certain other genders exist along with women and men and to offer them gender reassignment surgery? … This is all unacceptable to us. We have a different future of our own.”

This move to include a perceived attack on Russian values as part of Putin’s defense of his actions in Ukraine – broadening the imagined threat from the West to include culture as well as Russia’s survival and status as a great power – comes amid suggestions that Moscow’s existing narratives are failing.

Domestic resistance to the war has erupted sporadically in large Russian cities, in non-Russian regions like Dagestan and even in Russian-occupied Crimea. Young men are fleeing to Finland, Georgia, Armenia and Central Asia to avoid the call-up issued by the military. Few want to fight and die for a war that makes no sense.

Backed into a corner

Historians look back into the past to find out how we arrived where we are in the present. Investigating that past can help us understand why the war in Ukraine occurred and may in fact help us find a way out of the conflict. But neither illuminating the causes of the war nor the possible outcomes necessarily leads this conflict to a common narrative to which both sides can subscribe.

And narratives, once expressed, can take on a life of their own. The Soviet vision of a bright future that Putin grew up with lies shattered in a now distant past. He has attempted to replace it with an alternative heroic narrative, fearing where history is taking him and his countrymen otherwise. But that too, looks to be a narrative in danger of crumbling in the face of reality.

Ronald Suny, Professor of History and Political Science, University of Michigan

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Eating disorders among teens have more than doubled during the COVID-19 pandemic – here’s what to watch for

The traditional assumption that eating disorders primarily affect affluent white women has led to stigma, stereotyping and misunderstanding. toondelamour/E+ via Getty Images

Sydney Hartman-Munick, UMass Chan Medical School

The COVID-19 pandemic has been associated with worsening mental health among teens, including increasing numbers of patients with eating disorders. In fact, research indicates that the number of teens with eating disorders at least doubled during the pandemic.

This is particularly concerning given that eating disorders are among the most deadly of all mental health diagnoses, and teens with eating disorders are at higher risk for suicide than the general population.

While experts don’t know exactly why eating disorders develop, studies show that body dissatisfaction and desire for weight loss are key contributors. This can make conversations around weight and healthy behaviors particularly tricky with teens and young adults.

As an adolescent medicine doctor specializing in eating disorders, I have seen firsthand the increases in patients with eating disorders as well as the detrimental effects of eating disorder stereotypes. I regularly work with families to help teens develop positive relationships with body image, eating and exercise.

Understanding the signs of a possible eating disorder is important, as studies suggest that timely diagnosis and treatment leads to better long-term outcomes and to better chances of full recovery.

Excessive dieting and withdrawal from friends are two signs of disordered eating.

Eating disorders defined

Eating disorders, which often start in adolescence, include anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorder, other specified feeding and eating disorders and avoidant restrictive food intake disorder. Each eating disorder has specific criteria that must be met in order to receive a diagnosis, which is made by a professional with eating disorder expertise.

Research suggests that up to 10% of people will develop an eating disorder in their lifetime. Medical complications from eating disorders, such as low heart rate and electrolyte abnormalities, can be dangerous and result in hospitalization, and malnutrition can affect growth and development. Many of the patients I see in clinic show signs of paused puberty and stalled growth, which can influence bone health, adult height and other aspects of health if not addressed quickly.

Teens are also at risk for disordered eating behaviors such as intentional vomiting, caloric restriction, binge eating, overexercise, the use of weight loss supplements and misuse of laxatives.

A recent study estimated that 1 in 5 teens may struggle with disordered eating behaviors. While these behaviors alone may not qualify as an eating disorder, they may predict the development of eating disorders later on.

Treatment methods for eating disorders are varied and depend on multiple factors, including a patient’s medical stability, family preference and needs, local resources and insurance coverage.

Treatment can include a team consisting of a medical provider, nutritionist and therapist, or might involve the use of a specialized eating disorder program. Referral to one of these treatment methods may come from a pediatrician or a specialized eating disorder provider.

Unpacking misconceptions and stereotypes

Traditional ideas and stereotypes about eating disorders have left many people with the impression that it is mainly thin, white, affluent females who develop eating disorders. However, research demonstrates that anyone can develop these conditions, regardless of age, race, body size, gender identity, sexual orientation or socioeconomic status.

Unfortunately, stereotypes and assumptions about eating disorders have contributed to health disparities in screening, diagnosis and treatment. Studies have documented negative eating disorder treatment experiences among transgender and gender-diverse individuals, Black and Indigenous people and those with larger body size. Some contributors to these negative experiences include lack of diversity and training among treatment providers, treatment plans without cultural or economic nutritional considerations and differential treatment when a patient is not visibly underweight, among others.

Contrary to popular assumptions, studies show teen boys are at risk for eating disorders as well. These often go undetected and can be disguised as a desire to become more muscular. However, eating disorders are just as dangerous for boys as they are for girls.

Parents and loved ones can play a role in helping to dispel these stereotypes by advocating for their child at the pediatrician’s office if concern arises and by recognizing red flags for eating disorders and disordered eating behaviors.

Warning signs

Given how common disordered eating and eating disorders are among teens, it is important to understand some possible signs of these worrisome behaviors and what to do about them.

Problematic behaviors can include eating alone or in secret and a hyperfocus on “healthy” foods and distress when those foods aren’t readily available. Other warning signs include significantly decreased portion sizes, skipped meals, fights at mealtime, using the bathroom immediately after eating and weight loss.

Because these behaviors often feel secretive and shameful, it may feel difficult to bring them up with teens. Taking a warm but direct approach when the teen is calm can be helpful, while letting them know you have noticed the behavior and are there to support them without judgment or blame. I always make sure to let my patients know that my job is to be on their team, rather than to just tell them what to do.

Teens may not immediately open up about their own concerns, but if behaviors like this are present, don’t hesitate to have them seen at their pediatrician’s office. Following up with patients who have shown signs of having an eating disorder and promptly referring them to a specialist who can further evaluate the patient are crucial for getting teens the help they may need. Resources for families can be helpful to navigate the fear and uncertainty that can come along with the diagnosis of an eating disorder.

Many misconceptions exist about eating disorders, including that they are about vanity or that people should just be able to stop.

Focus on health, not size

Research shows that poor body image and body dissatisfaction can put teens at risk for disordered eating behaviors and eating disorders.

Parents play an important role in the development of teens’ self-esteem, and research demonstrates that negative comments from parents about weight, body size and eating are associated with eating disorder-type thoughts in teens. Therefore, when talking to teens, it can be beneficial to take a weight-neutral approach, which focuses more on overall health rather than weight or size. I unfortunately have had many patients with eating disorders who were scolded or teased about their weight by family members; this can be really harmful in the long run.

One helpful strategy is to incorporate lots of variety into a teen’s diet. If doable, trying new foods as a family can encourage your teen to try something they haven’t before. Try to avoid terms such as “junk” or “guilt” when discussing foods. Teaching teens to appreciate lots of different kinds of foods in their diet allows them to develop a healthy, knowledgeable relationship with food. If you’re feeling stuck, you may want to ask your pediatrician about seeing a dietitian.

It’s important to remember that teens need a lot of nutrition to support growth and development, often more than adults do, and regular eating helps avoid extreme hunger that can lead to overeating. Letting teens listen to their bodies and learn their own hunger and fullness cues will help them eat in a healthy way and create healthy long-term habits.

In my experience, teens are more likely to exercise consistently when they find an activity that they enjoy. Exercise doesn’t need to mean lifting weights at the gym; teens can move their bodies by taking a walk in nature, moving to music in their rooms or playing a pickup game of basketball or soccer with a friend or sibling.

Focusing on the positive things exercise can do for the body such as improvements in mood and energy can help avoid making movement feel compulsive or forced. When teens are able to find movement that they enjoy, it can help them to appreciate their body for all it is able to do.

Sydney Hartman-Munick, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, UMass Chan Medical School

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

A Flatbread for the Family

When dining outside with your loved ones, there are few things better than a tasty dish the whole family can enjoy. This Chipotle Chicken Flatbread makes for a perfect al fresco meal.

Prepared along with a fresh salad or simply enjoyed by itself, this flatbread is simple to make and even kids will love adding the toppings and sauce. It’s colorful and fresh, making it a perfect addition to get-togethers on the patio.

Plus, the cooking time is only 16 minutes, which makes this a quick and delicious solution to defeat.

For more al fresco recipe ideas, visit Culinary.net.

Watch video to see how to make this recipe!

 

Chipotle Chicken Flatbread

Adapted from butteryourbiscuit.com

• 2          flatbreads
• 2          cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1          clove garlic, diced
• 4          chicken tenders, cooked and cubed
• 1          pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 1/2       cup ranch dressing
• 1 1/2    teaspoons chipotle seasoning
• 2          tablespoons cilantro leaves, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Place parchment paper on baking sheet and add flatbreads. Sprinkle cheese on flatbreads. Top with garlic, chicken and tomatoes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Bake 16 minutes until cheese is melted.
3. In small bowl, mix ranch and chipotle seasoning.
4. Drizzle ranch dressing on flatbread and sprinkle with cilantro leaves.

SOURCE:
Culinary.net

Why the humble city bus is the key to improving US public transit

Indianapolis debuted a bus rapid transit system with 60-foot articulated electric buses in 2019. Momoneymoproblemz/Wikipedia, CC BY-SA

Nicholas Dagen Bloom, Hunter College

Public transit in the U.S. is in a sorry state – aging, underfunded and losing riders, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic. Many proposed solutions focus on new technologies, like self-driving cars and flying taxis. But as a researcher in urban policy and planning, I see more near-term promise in a mode that’s been around for a century: the city bus.

Today, buses in many parts of the U.S. are old and don’t run often enough or serve all the places where people need to go. But this doesn’t reflect the bus’s true capability. Instead, as I see it, it’s the result of cities, states and federal leaders failing to subsidize a quality public service.

As I show in my new book, “The Great American Transit Disaster: A Century of Austerity, Auto-Centric Planning, and White Flight,” few U.S. politicians have focused on bus riders’ experiences over the past half-century. And many executives have lavished precious federal capital dollars on building new light, rapid and commuter rail lines, in hope of attracting suburban riders back to city centers and mass transit.

This was never a great strategy to begin with, and the pandemic-era flight of knowledge workers to home offices and hybrid schedules has left little to show for decades of rail-centric efforts. Meanwhile, countries in Europe and Latin America have out-innovated the U.S. in providing quality bus service.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. Many U.S. cities are coming around to the idea that buses are the future of public transit and are working to make that vision real. And the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law enacted in 2021 is providing billions of dollars for new buses and related facilities.

The car-centered U.S. transportation system has impoverished public transit and left many people’s transit needs unmet.

Buses as disruptors

A century ago, motorized buses were the technological wonder of their day. Rolling fast on tires over newly paved streets, buses upended urban rail transit by freeing riders from aging, crowded, screeching streetcars. In 1922, American buses carried 404 million passengers; by 1930, they were carrying 2.5 billion yearly.

At that time, transit lines were mostly privately owned. But this model was failing as riders became car drivers, new zoning laws prioritized car-friendly single-family housing and government regulators battled transit companies over fares and taxes.

Transit executives trying to eke out a profit saw buses as a way to reduce spending on track maintenance and labor costs for “two man” operated streetcars. City leaders and planners also embraced buses, which helped them justify removing streetcar tracks to make streets more navigable for cars. From the 1920s through the 1960s, nearly all U.S. streetcar lines were replaced with buses powered by either internal combustion engines or electric overhead wires.

London’s signature red buses cover the entire city, with 24-hour service on many lines. Mark Kerrison/In Pictures via Getty Images

This wasn’t just a U.S. trend. Toronto massively extended bus service across a vast metropolitan area between 1954 and 1974, using buses to feed suburban riders to a new subway system and a few remaining streetcar lines. By 1952, London’s managers had replaced streetcars with the city’s signature fleet of double-decker buses, which complemented its legendary Underground service.

Across Europe, cities relied on buses to support and complement their modernizing tram or subway networks. Political leaders provided deep subsidies to deliver better bus and rail service.

The auto-centric US path

In the U.S., however, federal investments in the same time frame focused on building a national highway system to serve private automobiles. Lacking tax subsidies, bus networks could not compete with cheap cars and government-funded highways. Aging buses and infrequent service became the default postwar reality – and those buses had to travel on local streets crowded with private cars.

Between 1945 and 1960, U.S. transit companies and agencies typically lost half or more of their riders as white Americans moved to urban fringes or suburbs and became car commuters. Bus service remained concentrated in older, central-city neighborhoods, serving a disproportionately nonwhite, low-income ridership.

Many public systems had to cut bus service year after year to balance their books. Only a few cities that were willing to provide significant operating subsidies, including San Francisco and Boston, were able to maintain better bus networks and some trolleybuses.

Los Angeles once had a high-quality public transit system, centered on streetcars.

New, better buses

Today, there’s renewed interest in improving bus service in the U.S., inspired by innovations around the globe. The Brazilian city of Curitiba, which is well known for its innovations in urban planning, set a model in the 1970s when it adopted bus rapid transit – buses that run in dedicated lanes, with streamlined boarding systems and priority at traffic signals.

Curitiba helped popularize bi-articulated buses, which are extra-long with flexible connectors that let the buses bend around corners. These buses, which can carry large numbers of passengers, now are in wide use in Europe, Latin America and Asia.

A bi-articulated bus in Metz, France. Florian Fèvre/Wikipedia, CC BY-SA

Cities across the globe, led by London, have also aggressively expanded contactless payment systems, which speed up the boarding process. Advanced bus systems and new technologies like these flourish in regions where politicians strongly support transit as a public service.

In my view, buses are the most likely option for substantially expanding public transit ridership in the U.S. Millions of Americans need affordable public mobility for work, study, recreation and shopping. Car ownership is a financial burden that can be as serious for low-income families as the shortage of affordable housing.

The average yearly cost for U.S. households to own and operate a new car reached US$10,728 in 2022. Nor are used cars the bargain they once were. Used car prices are high, financing is often subprime and older vehicles require expensive maintenance.

Rapidly extending bus networks would be the speediest and most economical way to serve these families and grow transit ridership in the sprawling landscape of American metros. U.S. roads and highways are already maintained by the government, eliminating the need to build and maintain expensive rail lines.

There are promising domestic models even amid the pandemic ridership crisis. In the past two decades, Seattle’s Sound Transit has upgraded its bus network, aligning these improvements with increased residential density, low fares and a carefully considered light rail expansion. San Francisco and New York have developed exclusive bus lanes that move riders along popular routes at higher speeds. Indianapolis is expanding an effective bus rapid transit system. Many cities, including Denver and Boston, are investing in “better bus” upgrades that emphasize frequent service, easy transfers and better geographic coverage.

Innovations like these will only succeed long term with sufficient subsidies to maintain innovative services at reliable levels. The history of bus transit is littered with pilot programs that were abandoned on cost grounds just as they were gaining popularity. As I see it, buses don’t need to be faster or more convenient than cars to attract and retain riders – but they need to be, and can be, much better transit options than they are today.

Nicholas Dagen Bloom, Professor of Urban Policy and Planning, Hunter College

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

How to Help Children Build a Growth Mindset

A new year is a perfect time to consider the habits you want to keep and the ones you’d like to develop. One resolution to consider is helping your children develop a growth mindset this year.

“We know one of the greatest boosts to parents’ confidence over the past year came from knowing their children’s whole selves are being nurtured, and we want to see that trend continue,” said Carter Peters from KinderCare Learning Center’s education team. “A growth mindset helps children try new things despite fear of failure. It’s the kind of thinking that allows inventors and creative thinkers to get excited about trying something new and ensures they have the cognitive flexibility and problem-solving skills to work through hurdles.”

Adults can often easily spot when children are engaged in creative thinking and prideful of their work, but that confidence may be lost as failures turn into insecurities. By nurturing a growth mindset and showing children they can learn and develop new skills in any area, it better sets them up for long-term success.

Consider these three tips to help children build a growth mindset:

Praise effort: It’s easy to fall into the habit of praising successes. However, praising effort encourages children to try new things without the fear of failing. It also teaches children personal growth and achievement are possible, even if their overall effort wasn’t a success.

“Young children often get excited to try something new,” Peters said. “By praising effort and showing children they’ll still be loved and valued despite the outcome, you can reframe how they approach challenges and teach them that difficult doesn’t mean impossible.”

Encourage the process: People often withhold praise until there’s a result, which leads children to hurriedly scribble a picture to hold up for a “good job” instead of taking time to focus on their efforts. When children know adults will encourage them during the process, instead of only upon the achievement, they’re more likely to try new things or master a new skill. For example, try providing encouragement such as, “I can see you’re focused on drawing that tree. It looks so lifelike because you’re putting so much thought into what you’re doing.” Once their project is finished, continue the encouragement by hanging up their artwork or school projects in a prominent place.

Model a growth mindset: You can model a growth mindset for children by narrating your actions when you are facing a challenge: “I am having a difficult time putting this shelf together, but it’s OK. I’ll take a break then read the instructions again.” Remove negative words from your vocabulary, such as “I can’t” or “I’m stupid.” Even when you are joking, children may not be able to tell the difference. You can also ask your children to join you in problem-solving. Take time to hear their ideas and try them even if you think they won’t work. This not only supports the development of their growth mindset, but the quality time and encouragement reinforces their sense of self-worth and builds confidence.

For more tips to help children develop a growth mindset, visit kindercare.com.

 

SOURCE:
KinderCare

Why does money exist?

Cash is pretty convenient. Dilok Klaisataporn/EyeEm via Getty Images

M. Saif Mehkari, University of Richmond

Curious Kids is a series for children of all ages. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, send it to curiouskidsus@theconversation.com.

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Why do money and trading exist? – Vanessa C., age 10, Gilbert, Arizona

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Imagine a world without money. With no way to buy stuff, you might need to produce everything you wear, eat or use unless you could figure out how to swap some of the things you made for other items.

Just making a chicken sandwich would require spending months raising hens and growing your own lettuce and tomatoes. You’d need to collect your own seawater to make salt.

You wouldn’t just have to bake the bread for your sandwich. You’d need to grow the wheat, mill it into flour and figure out how to make the dough rise without store-bought yeast or baking powder.

And you might have to build your own oven, perhaps fueled by wood you chopped yourself after felling some trees. If that oven broke, you’d probably need to fix it or build another one yourself.

Even if you share the burden of getting all this done with members of your family, it would be impossible for a single family to internally produce all the goods and provide all the services everyone is used to enjoying.

To maintain anything like today’s standard of living, your family would need to include a farmer, a doctor and a teacher. And that’s just a start.

This account of making a sandwich ‘completely from scratch’ in six months required a lot of machines built by others.

Specializing and bartering

Economists like me believe that using money makes it a lot easier for everyone to specialize, focusing their work on a specific activity.

A farmer is better at farming than you are, and a baker is probably better at baking. When they earn money, they can pay others for the things they don’t produce or do.

As economists have known since David Ricardo’s work in the 19th century, there are gains for everyone from exchanging goods and services – even when you end up paying someone who is less skilled than you. By making these exchanges easy to do, money makes it possible to consume more.

People have traded goods and services with one kind of money or another, whether it was trinkets, shells, coins and paper cash, for tens of thousands of years.

People have always obtained things without money too, usually through barter. It involves swapping something, such as a cookie or a massage, for something else – like a pencil or a haircut.

Bartering sounds convenient. It can be fun if you enjoy haggling. But it’s hard to pull off.

Let’s say you’re a carpenter who makes chairs and you want an apple. You would probably find it impossible to buy one because a chair would be so much more valuable than that single piece of fruit. And just imagine what a hassle it would be to haul several of the chairs you’ve made to the shopping mall in the hopes of cutting great deals through barter with the vendors you’d find there.

Paper money is far easier to carry. You might be able sell a chair for, say, $50. You could take that $50 bill to a supermarket, buy two pounds of apples for $5 and keep the $45 in change to spend on other stuff later. Another advantage money has over bartering is that you can use it more easily to store your wealth and spend it later. Stashing six $50 bills takes up less room than storing six unsold chairs.

Nowadays, of course, many people pay for things without cash or coins. Instead, they use credit cards or make online purchases. Others simply wave a smartwatch at a designated device. Others use bitcoins and other cryptocurrencies. But all of these are just different forms of money that don’t require paper.

No matter what form it takes, money ultimately helps make the trading of goods and services go more smoothly for everyone involved.

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Hello, curious kids! Do you have a question you’d like an expert to answer? Ask an adult to send your question to CuriousKidsUS@theconversation.com. Please tell us your name, age and the city where you live.

M. Saif Mehkari, Associate Professor of Economics, University of Richmond

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Novelist, academic and tattoo artist Samuel Steward’s plight shows that ‘cancel culture’ was alive and well in the 1930s

Outside of teaching and writing, Samuel Steward took up tattooing. The Estate of Samuel M. Steward

Alessandro Meregaglia, Boise State University

In January 2023, Hamline University opted not to renew the contract of an art professor who showed a 14th-century depiction of the Prophet Muhammad in class. Hamline labeled the incident “Islamophobic” and released a statement, co-signed by the university’s president, saying that respect for “Muslim students … should have superseded academic freedom.”

After widespread backlash, the university walked back that statement. However, the lecturer was still not rehired.

Concerns about academic freedom are nothing new. Rather than being a product of recent “cancel culture,” tension has long existed over the ability of professors to freely teach and write about controversial topics without fear of retribution.

More than 80 years ago, an English professor named Samuel Steward was dismissed from his teaching position after publishing what his college’s president deemed a “racy” novel.

As an archivist and scholar studying publishing in the American West, I’ve located published and unpublished archival sources detailing the controversy surrounding Steward after he published his first novel, which ultimately cost him his job.

A book met with backlash

A native of the Midwest, Steward earned his Ph.D. in English in 1934 from Ohio State University. The following year, Washington State College – now Washington State University – hired Steward to teach classes on a one-year contract.

An aspiring writer, Steward drafted his first novel while still a graduate student. He worked to find a publisher and contacted a small firm in rural Idaho. After an editorial review, Caxton Printers agreed to publish Steward’s novel, “Angels on the Bough,” which told the story of a small group of characters and their intertwined lives in a college town.

Caxton Printers founder James H. Gipson. Lehigh University Special Collections

Founded in 1907, Caxton Printers has earned national attention for its fierce defense of freedom of expression and unique publishing philosophy. Caxton’s founder, James H. Gipson, understood the transformative power of books and sought to give a voice to deserving writers when other firms rejected them. Profit was not a motivator. As Gipson explained to Steward, “We are interested not in making money out of any author for whom we may publish, but in helping him.”

Caxton published “Angels on the Bough” in May 1936.

The book immediately received reviews, almost entirely positive, in dozens of newspapers across the country. The New York Times wrote favorably about the novel, describing Steward as possessing “a very distinct gift above the usual.”

And Gertrude Stein, the American writer and expatriate who lived most of her life in France, lauded “Angels on the Bough” in a letter she penned to Steward.

“I like it I like it a lot, you have really created a piece of something,” Stein wrote. “It quite definitely did something to me.”

Steward loses his job

Despite the favorable reception, the book started causing trouble for Steward before it was even published. Review copies reached campus in early May 1936. Steward soon began hearing rumors that college administrators found his book distasteful for its sympathetic portrayal of a prostitute, one of the main characters.

The publication of ‘Angels on the Bough’ prompted Washington State College to not renew Steward’s contract. Alessandro Meregaglia

Yet, as Steward noted in an interview during the 1970s, the book was “very tame – reading like ‘Little Women’ by today’s standards.”

Steward sent an urgent telegram to Gipson asking him to stop selling the book on campus: “A young poor man with only one job asks that you withdraw his novel … because his departmental head and dean hint at his discharge.”

Caxton had advertised the book as “not appeal[ing] to the less liberal mind.” This “alarmed several people,” according to Steward. The head of the English department told Steward his book contained “unsavory material” and that Steward’s position “would undoubtedly prove very embarrassing” to the college.

Despite this, Steward still planned to return to teach classes the following autumn. Earlier that spring, he had been verbally assured that he would receive another one-year contract. Three weeks later, however – and just hours before he left campus for the summer – Washington State’s president, Ernest O. Holland, summoned Steward to a meeting.

Holland informed Steward his contract would not be renewed. He accused Steward of writing a “racy” novel and of being sympathetic with a student strike a month earlier.

Angered, Steward immediately dashed off a telegram to Gipson: “Discharged by God Holland for writing a racy novel … I have no regrets whatsoever despite the fact his methods were those of Hitler but think I will take up stenography.”

Steward and Gipson both set to work to widely publicize Steward’s dismissal. Steward appealed to the Association of American University Professors for assistance. Founded in 1915, the association’s primary purpose is “to advance academic freedom.” The organization still regularly investigates violations of academic freedom, including what happened at Hamline University.

After months of investigation, the AAUP published its report. It determined that Steward had been unjustly let go and concluded that “President Holland’s handling of the Steward case has been most ill-judged, and indicates … improper restriction of literary freedom.”

From teaching to tattooing

After leaving Washington State, Steward promptly found a position at Loyola, a Catholic university in Chicago. Before hiring him, Loyola’s dean read Steward’s book and apparently had no objections. An AAUP member noted the irony: “Apparently our Catholic brethren are much more tolerant than a state institution in Washington.”

Samuel Steward worked as a tattoo artist under the alias Phil Sparrow. Wikimedia

Outside of teaching, Steward, who was gay, published gay erotica under the pseudonym Phil Andros and took up tattooing. By 1956, Steward permanently left academia to ply his trade as a tattoo artist full time on Chicago’s South State Street under another alias, Philip Sparrow.

In the 1960s, he moved to California and opened up a tattoo parlor in Oakland, where he became the “official” tattoo artist for the Hells Angels motorcycle club.

After retiring from tattooing, Steward lived a quiet life in Berkeley. He still wrote frequently, producing a handful of fiction and nonfiction books. Steward died in California in 1993 at the age of 84.

Despite his prolific and varied career, Steward’s legacy as a “remarkable figure in gay literary history” was not widely known until the publication of Justin Spring’s meticulously researched 2010 book, “Secret Historian.”

Interest in Steward continues. Performance artist John Kelly recently staged a show, “Underneath the Skin,” in December 2022 that examined Steward’s life.

It is impossible, of course, to know the trajectory of Samuel Steward’s career if he had been reappointed to Washington State for another year. But a prescient comment Steward made just before his dismissal suggests that he sensed he couldn’t stay in academia forever: “I am afraid I will have to get out of the teaching profession in order to be able to write the way I want to.”

Academic freedom is related to free speech. A long-standing tradition afforded to college faculty, it shields professors from retribution – from both internal and external sources – for teaching controversial topics within their area of expertise. According to the AAUP, academic freedom is based on the premise that higher education promotes “the common good (which) depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition.”

This protection covers both classroom lectures and publications.

With debates about academic freedom lately making headlines – from outside interests influencing appointments, to administrators kowtowing to vocal students, to politicians changing oversight of public universities – Steward’s plight some 87 years ago is a reminder that this freedom requires constant defense.

Alessandro Meregaglia, Associate Professor and Archivist, Boise State University

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Legislative Alert: CALL NOW!

 

Legislative Alert: CALL NOW! Action is needed to place House Bill 6 on the Special-Order Calendar for a floor vote!!!!   Good news! House Bill 6 (HB6), known as the Parental Rights Protection Act, received a favorable report out of the House Judiciary Committee with one friendly amendment on April 12, 2023. What’s next? HB6 is now placed in the House Rules Committee and must be selected/picked by the committee to be considered for a floor vote.  HB6 seeks to protect Parental Rights as a Fundamental Right in state code, and to shield Alabamians from government overreach. You can read the amended bill here. The purpose of House Bill 6 is to codify existing precedent of the U.S. Supreme Court and Alabama Supreme Court. We ask you to take a moment to contact as many of these committee members on the Rules Committee as you can and urge them to pick HB6 to be placed on the Special-Order Calendar for April 20th. Communicate to them that you deeply appreciate their commitment to doing what’s right in Montgomery; by protecting parental rights in Alabama, please pick HB6 to be placed on the next Special-Order Calendar.   Below are the House Rules Committee members: Name Phone Email Room Representative LOVVORN, Joe (R) (334) 261-0540 joe.lovvorn@alhouse.gov 519-Q Representative FAULKNER, David (R) (334) 261-0442 David@DavidFaulknerAL46.com 400-D Representative STADTHAGEN, Scott (R) (334) 261-0436 scott.stadthagen@alhouse.gov 401-G Representative SOUTH, Kyle (R) (334) 261-0482 RepSouth16@gmail.com 410-BC Representative KITCHENS, Wes (R) (334) 261-0539 weskitchens@mclo.org 433 Representative WOOD, Randy (R) (334) 261-0552 strep36@gmail.com 417-H Representative SORRELLS, Jeff (R) (334) 261-0542 jeffs@fnbhartford.com 432 Representative PRINGLE, Chirs (R) 334-261-0489 chris.pringle@alhouse.gov 519-G *Representative STRINGER, Shane (R) (334) 261-0594 shane.stringer@alhouse.gov 427-G Representative ALMOND, Cynthia (R) (334) 261-0558 cynthia.almond@alhouse.gov 427-E Representative WOODS, Matt (R) 334-261-0495 matt.woods@alhouse.gov 525-D Representative DANIELS, Anthony (D) (334) 261-0522 anthony.daniels@alhouse.gov 428 Representative WARREN, Pebblin (D) (334) 261-0541 tiger9127@bellsouth.net 517-B Representative BOYD, Barbara (D) (334) 261-0592 barbara.boyd@alhouse.gov 517-F Representative CLARKE, Adline (D) (334) 261-0549 adline.clarke@alhouse.gov 537-A *Co-sponsor We ask for everyone to please take a few moments by calling or emailing the listed members above before 2 pm on Wednesday. Thank you for taking a moment to support Parental Rights in Alabama. Together, we will make a difference and let our voices and concerns be heard in Montgomery.   As a reminder, please always be respectful and courteous with your communications.   Copyright © 2023 Committee to Elect Kenneth Paschal, All rights reserved. Our mailing address is: Committee to Elect Kenneth Paschal PO Box 1214 Pelham, AL 35124-5214

About Kenneth Paschal

     A proven track record of integrity, commitment, and selfless service to his family, community, state, and country. US Army Veteran of 21 years.  Honorably served and earned the rank of First Sergeant.  Received numerous commendations and leadership awards.  American Legion – Post Commander  Appointed by National Commander to serve on the National Executive Americanism Council.  Alabama Family Rights Association, Governmental Affairs Director.  

     Served 11 years striving to protect the rights of families from excessive government.  Founder of Bridge the Gap (Walk-in Our Shoe's survey).  When mass protests affected our communities I organized the Standing United for Progress Forum, which emphasized peace, respect, dialogue, and understanding in our communities. Mayors, police chiefs, and civic leaders from around the state hailed the campaign a success.  State Director of Child Abuse Awareness/ Bubbles of Love.  Nearly a decade of organizing large statewide events with the goal of protecting our children and families from abuse.

Legislative Affairs

     In-depth knowledge of the legislative process from over a decade of drafting bills, establishing many positive working relationships with Alabama and local political leaders working with them on various legislative and proclamation measures.  An active voice and ambassador within the County

     Shelby County Chambers Governmental Affairs Group member; and Exchange Club of Shelby County Board of Directors.  Committed to Pro-Life, a supporter of Gun Rights, protection of your liberties and freedoms, and strengthening the Republican Party.