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This year I published 27 public-facing essays in a dozen different outlets. This thread ticks through what I view as the 10 most important, grouped by theme. If you missed some of these in the 2020 chaos, consider reading them now. For better or worse, all remain highly relevant
First up, an essay for @PublicSeminar drawing together core themes from a series of articles I did on #COVID19 and inequality for @thebafflermag, @contextsmag and beyond -- emphasizing the importance of reflexivity for social research and activism: https://musaalgharbi.com/2020/06/08/reflexivity-important-research-activism/
I recently did a follow-up of sorts for @ifyc, looking at the Great Awokening, its religious overtones, its apparent practical impotence, and the significant lag between when attitudinal shifts actually happen v. when they are observed and discussed: https://musaalgharbi.com/2020/12/15/great-awokening-racial-realities/
For @thebafflermag, a statistical analysis of police-involved violence in the U.S. showing that the problems are even worse (and reform, more urgent) when we zoom out beyond a narrow focus on shootings and black people (bad as that picture already is): https://musaalgharbi.com/2020/06/18/police-america-out-of-control/
Subsequently, for @TheAtlantic, I highlighted how good cops that resist/ expose wrongdoing are often, themselves, sanctioned or purged. That is, 'bad apples' often evade consequence even as 'good apples' get punished. This messed up dynamic explains a lot: https://musaalgharbi.com/2020/07/01/police-good-apples/
In leadup to #Election2020, a series for @NBCNewsTHINK on the racial and political dynamics of the last four years. The first essay showed that whites have been fleeing the @GOP since 2015, specifically due to Trump's racialized rhetoric & policies: https://musaalgharbi.com/2020/08/06/trump-voters-misunderstood/
A follow-up showed that even as Trump's racialized rhetoric/ policies alienated whites, his party continued to gain with minorities across the board: https://musaalgharbi.com/2020/11/02/understanding-trump-success-minority-voters/
It seems difficult to square these dynamics with the prevailing narratives on Trump support and race
It seems difficult to square these dynamics with the prevailing narratives on Trump support and race
I did a series on diversity training for @HdxAcademy. Part 1 surveyed the empirical literature on diversity-related training program outcomes; it showed the training is typically ineffective, often counterproductive, with respect to its stated objectives: https://musaalgharbi.com/2020/09/16/diversity-important-related-training-terrible/
A recent follow-up sketched out how same empirical literature demonstrating that diversity training does *not* work can point us in the direction of what actually *could* promote the stated objectives of the training more effectively and consistently: https://heterodoxacademy.org/blog/diversity-training-doesnt-work-this-might/
Very early in 2020, while preparing to step down as @HdxAcademy comms director, I did a series of essays pulling together long-gestating thoughts on the viewpoint diversity movement.
For instance, advice on reaching key stakeholders more effectively: https://musaalgharbi.com/2020/02/25/heterodox-academy-effective-advocacy/
For instance, advice on reaching key stakeholders more effectively: https://musaalgharbi.com/2020/02/25/heterodox-academy-effective-advocacy/
I also detailed intellectual lineage of the movement, and explained why viewpoint diversity needs to be approached holistically (i.e. incorporating ideological *and* identity commitments instead of focusing on one at exclusion or expense of the other): https://musaalgharbi.com/2020/01/14/positionality-homogeneity-social-research-holism/
For public-facing work, I'll leave it there. But I'd be remiss if I didn't highlight an important scholarly essay published this year with @benjyking, @ProfAFigueroa, and Michael Stohl: https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/9954
Journal is open-access, so anyone can read the paper for free. Do it!
Journal is open-access, so anyone can read the paper for free. Do it!
