Bridgewater Review, Vol. 37, No. 2, November 2018

Bridgewater Review

Volume 37 Issue 2 Article 1

11-2018

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Recommended Citation Bridgewater State University. (2018). Bridgewater Review. 39(1). Available at: http://vc.bridgew.edu/ br_rev/vol37/iss2/1

This item is available as part of Virtual Commons, the open-access institutional repository of Bridgewater State University, Bridgewater, Massachusetts. Bridgewater Review

Also in this issue: ASEEM HASNAIM and ABHILASHA SRIVASTAVA on Multigenerational Households in India JAMIE HUFF and SARAH COTE HAMPSON on Title IX Activists JONATHAN SHIRLAND on The Art of Paul Stopforth WILLIAM F. HANNA on Abraham Lincoln and Science Criminal History and Employment: Why We Need to Ban the Box! by JAKARI GRIFFITH TEACHING NOTE Cultural Immersion and Student Perceptions of Jordan by SARAH THOMAS and CHRISTY LYONS GRAHAM and Book Reviews by TODD HARRIS, JEANNE INGLE, and NORMA ANDERSON

MEGHAN HEALY-CLANCY ON TEACHING THE LIFE OF WINNIE MADIKIZELA- MANDELA

NovemberVolume 37, 2018 Number 2 November 2018 BRIDGEWATER STATE UNIVERSITY1 Credits for Author Photographs Ellen Scheible (by Mia McIver); Meghan Healy-Clancy (by Michael Benabib); Aseem Hasnaim (by Abhilasha Srivastava); Abhilasha Srivastava (by Aseem Hasnaim); Sarah Cote Hampson (Courtesy of University of Washington at Tacoma); Jonathan Shirland (by Maggie Shirland); Sarah Thomas (by Nigel Hitchings); Christy Lyons Graham (by John Winters); Jeanne Ingle (by Stephen R. Ingle); Norma Anderson (by Linneah Anderson).

2 Bridgewater Review Bridgewater Review Volume 37, Number 2 November 2018

2 Editor’s Notebook EDITORS Ellen Scheible and Norma Anderson Ellen Scheible English & Irish Studies 4 Nomzamo: Teaching Complexity through the Interim, Fall 2018 Life of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Meghan Healy-Clancy Andrew C. Holman History & Canadian Studies 10 Social Norms, Gender Roles and Time Use: On leave, Fall 2018 Multigenerational Households in India ASSOCIATE EDITOR Aseem Hasnain and Abhilasha Srivastava Norma Anderson 15 Title IX Activists: Sociology A First Look at Movement Goals Interim, 2017-18 Jamie Huff and Sarah Cote Hampson EDITORS EMERITUS 19 Suspended: The Art of Paul Stopforth Michael Kryzanek Jonathan Shirland Political Science & Global Studies William C. Levin 25 Something Solid to Rest Upon: Sociology Abraham Lincoln’s Interest in Science William F. Hanna Barbara Apstein English 29 Criminal History and Employment: Why We Need to Ban the Box! Brian Payne Jakari Griffith History DESIGN 31 TEACHING NOTE Philip McCormick’s Design Cultural Immersion and Student Perceptions of Jordan Works, Inc., North Easton, MA Sarah Thomas and Christy Lyons Graham

35 BOOK REVIEWS We Are What We Make, Todd Harris Dignity, Justice and Real Achievement, Jeanne Ingle The One True Universal, Norma Anderson

On the Front Cover: Winnie Mandela in New York City, June 20, 1990 (Photo Credit: Luc Novovitch / Alamy Stock Photo).

Bridgewater Review is published twice a year by the faculty and librarians of Bridgewater State University. Opinions expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the policies of Bridgewater Review or Bridgewater State University.

Letters to the Editor are encouraged and should be sent to: Editor, Bridgewater Review, [email protected]

November 2018 1 room full of colleagues, put on the spot EDITOR’S NOTEBOOK to define something that you usually assume speaks for itself, before chaos This is the first occasion in the history of the magazine that Bridgewater Review erupts. It only took me one second to has an all-female editorial staff. say, “My definition of feminism is the personal is political.” The Personal is Political It has occurred to me many times over n April of 2015 I chaired a roundtable at the the past two years, since Gloria Steinem disappointed so many young voters by American Conference for Irish Studies on Irish urging us to vote for Hillary Clinton poet Eavan Boland and her powerful collection, and, simultaneously, reminded so many I middle-aged voters why feminism is Domestic Violence. To many, Boland is rivaled only by an essential part of the work we do Seamus Heaney in her nuanced ability to navigate every day, that students at Bridgewater the Irish experience from a personal perspective that State University tend to live lives that deliberately make the political personal gently and brilliantly overlaps with the Irish national on a regular basis. Sometimes choosing gaze. And in the poetic tradition of Heaney, she is to go to college is a political act for our often quoted as claiming that her poetry is neither students. Sometimes choosing to miss class or settle for a “C” is a personal political nor feminist. Yet, in the wake of the repeal choice made to maintain the political of the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution, act of staying enrolled, of slouching a referendum that will end the constitutional ban toward the Bethlehem of graduation. on abortion in Ireland, and the tremendous vigor Feminism will always be personal and political to me and it will continue to of #wakingthefeminists, an Irish movement similar be the lens through which I best under- to #metoo, it has become impossible to ignore the stand our students. If nothing else, it has given me this perspective because it is a feminist voice, conscious or unconscious, that informs term defined by the pressure it puts on so much of Irish women’s poetry, particularly works a binary. That pressure has increased like Boland’s Domestic Violence. exponentially as women enter more into the political arena in preparation I was surprised by two moments during for me, domestic violence is not only for the next election cycle. Political that 2015 roundtable and often find a marring political act but also always struggle has become openly personal them resurfacing when I teach Boland, one that lays claim, usually to the and the power behind that transition especially when I consider the ques- detriment of the victim, to any per- carries historical momentum and hope- tion of whether any kind of Irish art sonal experience thereafter. In effect, fulness, tools that can tear down even or literature can shirk politics. During I cannot see domestic violence, when- the most rigid of binary oppositions. the opening remarks, our roundtable ever referenced, as anything less than discussed the title of the collection, ask- personally political. ing whether the reference to domestic Toward the end of what turned out violence could be separated from its to be a fiery debate about the politics legislative and physical connotations. of poetry, after I argued ferociously One of my male colleagues argued time and again that Domestic Violence that we must separate it; that the title is a political and, more importantly, is more than a personal reference but feminist book, a female colleague yelled a national imperative and a way for to me from the back of the room, in a the poet to transcend gender politics resentful tone, “What is your defini- by speaking to national history. I was tion of feminism, then?” I would say Ellen Scheible is Associate Professor blindsided by this argument because, that you have maybe five seconds in in the Department of English. that moment, standing in front of a

2 Bridgewater Review and Gina Ortiz-Jones in Texas, who are vocal about representing all people, but who will provide a breadth of personal experience that differs significantly from some of the representatives they hope to replace. Importantly, LGBTQ candidates are also running in record numbers: Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona and Sharice Davids of Kansas, for example. By the time this issue is in print, we will know if primary winners have emerged winners in the general election but regardless, women’s success in the primaries indicates there is openness for new ideas and diverse perspectives which I hope will continue. For most feminists, the personal has long been political: many of the women on the “You Women are All Alike.” The Hard Times Press, Feb. 2, 1972 [BSC student newspaper], ballots this year, whether they consider Archives & Special Collections, Bridgewater State University. themselves feminist or not, are taking their personal public. And while he women’s (or feminist) movement in the “identity politics” is often publicly denigrated, openness about one’s United States has seen numerous iterations, personal narrative and the ways our from early efforts to extend basic rights to personal histories intersect with social T and economic realities may allow (white) women, expanding and changing with time others to find commonality. Thus the to emphasize suffrage, labor and representation rights, personal can help us, but especially contraception and abortion rights, and, more recently, our students, connect with each other, with new ideas, and with a sense of a focus on greater inclusion, the ubiquity of sexual their own potential, personal revela- violence and coercion, and a renewed focus to get tions that can have long-lasting effects. women in positions of political power. Currently, we are witnessing unprec- Republican women are running in edented numbers of women running all races, there is a bipartisan rise in for political office. The Center for women’s candidacy for political office. American Women and Politics found It is impossible to draw unyielding that 53 women (31 Democrats and 22 conclusions about why, but the current Republicans) filed for Senate candidacy uptick in women’s political participa- and 22 won their primaries. Four hun- tion cannot be argued. What may be dred seventy-six women (356 Demo most exciting about women’s political crats, 120 Republicans) filed to run for moves is that we are seeing newcomers Norma Anderson is Associate Professor the House of Representatives and 234 unseat long-standing incumbents, such in the Department of Sociology. have won their primaries. State and as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in New local races have seen similarly unparal- York City and Ayanna Pressley in leled numbers of women running for Boston. And many of the women now office. While more Democratic than running for office are women of color, including Rashida Tlaib in Michigan

November 2018 3 Nomzamo: Teaching Complexity through the Life of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela Meghan Healy-Clancy hen Winnie Madikizela-Mandela passed away in early April 2018, I was teaching Wmy seminar on Apartheid and the Anti- Apartheid Movement. I have been studying apartheid for well over a decade, but I am always surprised by the excitement and challenge of teaching about it. Before Winnie Mandela (Photo in Public Domain). my class, students have rarely learned much about the only through the lives of “great men,” racist regime that ruled South Africa from 1948 to but also through the lives of women? 1994, or about the global human rights movement How does change look different when viewed “from above”—from the van- that tenaciously fought to transform South Africa into tage point of high politics—and “from an inclusive democracy. But students often come into below”—through people’s everyday experiences? Ultimately, what are my class convinced of one thing: apartheid ended the personal costs of participating in a primarily because of the heroic actions of one man, world-historic revolution? Nelson Mandela. No one challenged the great man narrative of South African history centered I aim for students to leave my class unheralded South Africans, who reveal on Nelson Mandela more than his grasping the complexity of anti-apart- that apartheid ended through decades former wife. “Mandela was extricated heid activism—both in and far beyond of struggle, shaped by many forms of from the masses,” Madikizela-Mandela the campaigns to which Mandela was both heroism and villainy. This April, told London Review of Books journalist central. The anti-apartheid movement we talked more than ever about the late Stephen Smith in 2013, in an interview drew upon Christianity and commu- Madikizela-Mandela. featured in Smith’s “Mandela: Death of nism; it enlisted families in boycott For no one emblematized the complex- a Politician” (2014). “He was made an campaigns and militants in bombing ity of anti-apartheid activism more than idol, almost Jesus Christ! This is non- campaigns. It rallied ordinary peo- the woman known before her mar- sense, a lot of nonsense. The freedom of ple—especially young people—from riage as Nomzamo Winifred Zanyiwe this country was attained by the masses Soweto to university campuses in Madikizela: her isiXhosa first name of this country… It was attained by Massachusetts; it eventually captured can aptly be interpreted as “mother of women who were left to fend for their the moral imagination of the world. struggle.” It is not only that she embod- families… We are the ones who fought And it culminated in a democratic ied the difficulties of commitment to the enemy physically, who went out transition that no one expected: a the anti-apartheid movement, which to face their bullets. The leaders were transition at once remarkably peace- South Africans call “The Struggle,” cushioned behind bars. They don’t ful in Pretoria’s corridors of power, and served as “mother of the nation.” It know. They never engaged the enemy and filled with enduring violence is also that seeing the liberation move- on the battlefield.” and tension in communities across ment through her perspective is itself South Africa. I teach this complex- Students initially tend to find her a struggle, causing students to grapple ity by bringing an array of voices to critique shocking. Her claim that with core questions of social history class, through primary sources rang- “leaders were cushioned” on Robben that transcend South Africa. How do ing from manifestos to songs. My Island, the prison off the coast of Cape we understand political transformations students encounter many famous and Town where Mandela spent most of his differently when we examine them not

4 Bridgewater Review 27 years of confinement, is offensive. that her ex-husband and other politi- Communist Party, key members Mandela nearly went blind from the cal prisoners had “never engaged the of which spent decades in prison glare of the sun during forced labor enemy on the battlefield” is absurd. beside him. in the prison’s limestone quarry. He Mandela was imprisoned for leading Yet, as students reflect more fully on and other prisoners endured violence the sabotage campaign of Umkhonto the anti-apartheid movement, they and periods of solitary confinement, we Sizwe (“Spear of the People,” or begin to understand her perspec- and many never expected to leave, as MK), a militant organization founded tive. Robben Island was a political Mandela detailed in his 1994 memoir by the African National Congress prison, but resilient prisoners turned Long Walk to Freedom. Her suggestion (ANC) and the South African it into “Robben Island University.” They played soccer and discussed Shakespeare. Activists without formal schooling—including future president Jacob Zuma—were tutored by university-educated prisoners like Mandela. And above all, they talked politics and organized to protest prison policies. Loyalties forged in prison were enduring, with time on Robben Island later serving as a badge of honor for political candidates: in both popular culture and scholarship, Robben Island has fre- quently figured as a cradle of democracy. As Mandela famously said, with dark humor, “In my country we go to prison first and then become president.” The 1994 collection Voices from Robben Island illuminates the prison experiences of Mandela and other men who would lead democratic South Africa. Women were absent from Robben Island, which was reserved for black men. But women were far from absent from the democratic struggle. Women led early fights against “pass laws,” the despised documents that black South Africans were forced to carry to prove that they were employed by white South Africans, or otherwise author- ized to be in cities deemed “white areas.” My class studies photographs of 20,000 women marching on the prime minister’s offices to protest pass laws, in the famous protest on a day in 1956 now commemorated as Women’s Day. We read their eloquent words decrying how apartheid was destroying homes and dividing families. We listen to the “struggle songs” they sang—paying close attention to their lyric, “When Stencil graffiti of Winnie Mandela, Barcelona, Spain (Photo Credit: Guy Moberly/Alamy you strike a woman, you strike a rock.” Stock Photo).

November 2018 5 in African nationalist publications as a In the 1960s, everything changed. In contribution to the struggle; to activist April 1960, the government banned the men, a pioneering social worker was a ANC and other liberation movements, catch. Soon after she began work, her after a massive new wave of protests nurse roommate married ANC activist and unprecedented police violence. Oliver Tambo, partner in South Africa’s Leading activists either went into exile, first black-run law firm, Mandela and or went underground: law partners Tambo. In 1957, Winnie began dating Tambo and Mandela exemplified these Nelson. This was not an easy match: strategies, as Tambo moved to London nearly forty years old, Mandela was to lead the ANC’s global campaigns going through both a divorce and a trial and Mandela traveled the country for treason, due to his leadership of the undercover, disguised as a chauffeur ANC’s recent campaigns of non-violent for a white communist comrade. In mass resistance. But the politically- December 1961, the ANC—previously Winnie Mandela in exile in Brandfort, South engaged young Winnie quickly became committed to non-violence—launched Africa, in 1977 (Photo Credit: Pictorial Press engaged to Nelson, and they married the armed wing MK, which began to Ltd/Alamy Stock Photo). soon after his divorce was final, their bomb power plants and government bridal car covered in ANC regalia. buildings. Mandela, a key architect Women were the core of resistance. As the treason trials of Mandela and of MK, again faced trial, and now he They suffered arrests and detention in the Women’s Jail in Johannesburg and Pretoria Central Prison. Leading women activists, like their male counterparts, were “banned,” mean- “The freedom of this country ing that it was illegal for them to speak in public or attend meetings. They was attained by the masses of were confined to house arrest and this country… It was attained exiled—forced to leave the country, or forcibly removed to remote rural by women who were left to areas. Examining women’s activism brings into clearer focus apartheid’s fend for their families… We are violence toward families: as my research explores, women tended to root their the ones who fought the enemy political commitment in their commit- ments as mothers and wives. physically, who went out to face Madikizela-Mandela’s political their bullets.” coming-of-age epitomized how anti-apartheid activism was a family project. She was initially politicized by her family, Mpondo royalty who had other ANC leaders stretched on, was convicted of plotting revolution. fought against colonial expropriation of Madikizela-Mandela became a more In 1964, he went to Robben Island. their family lands long before apartheid. serious activist, as journalist Emma He would not be released from prison With the support of her schoolteacher Gilbey described in her 1994 biogra- until 1990. parents, she launched a career devoted phy, The Lady: Life and Times of Winnie During Mandela’s long imprisonment, to black families: in 1956, in her early Mandela. In 1958, five months preg- his words and image were banned in twenties, she became the first black nant, she was jailed at an anti-pass law South Africa. His wife, and in time social worker at Baragwanath Hospital protest, losing her job at the hospital. their two daughters, spoke for him, in Soweto, the vast black township Despite this repression, the Mandelas demanding the liberation of politi- outside of Johannesburg. Black women built a home in Soweto. Mandela cal prisoners and the end of apartheid. teachers and health professionals were was acquitted of treason, as the state Their home in Soweto became a cell highly respected, their work celebrated could not prove that the ANC was plotting violence.

6 Bridgewater Review for MK recruitment. In return, officials repressed the Mandela family merci- [Winnie Mandela] embodied the lessly. In 1965, Madikizela-Mandela was issued the first of several ban- personal costs of participating in ning orders: she was restricted to her neighborhood, barred from activism. In a revolution: she was imprisoned, 1969, police descended on her home in tortured, and separated from a 2 a.m. raid, arresting her on charges of terrorism. She spent 491 days in deten- her family. tion at Pretoria Central Prison, enduring months of solitary confinement and torture, and worrying ceaselessly about her daughters, as she detailed in prison diaries published in 2013 as 491 Days: Prisoner Number 1323/69. Upon her release in 1970, she returned to her children and home, but was placed under house arrest and prohibited from having visitors. She furtively continued to work for the ANC and MK, resulting in another six-month prison term from 1974 to 1975. After her release, she founded the Black Women’s Federation, which aimed to “re-direct the status of motherhood” to include supporting Soweto’s student activists, as its archives at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, detail. When Soweto exploded in unrest after student protests in 1976, officials found Madikizela-Mandela’s presence in the community dangerous. She was ban- ished in 1977 to the remote village of Brandfort, where she knew no one and did not speak the local language. Police surveilled her and her family constantly. But both her social service and political defiance continued: she opened a clinic serving local families, recruited for MK, and spoke to visiting jour- nalists in spite of her ban. She shaped the ANC’s global campaign for the release of political prisoners by speaking on behalf of her husband, to whom she had limited but singular access. And increasingly, she snuck away. In February 1985, when her daughter Zindzi read a statement from Mandela to an ecstatic crowd in a Soweto stadium, Madikizela-Mandela was there, disguised as a domestic worker, Nelson Mandela, leader of the ANC, released from prison in 1990, salutes the crowd with his wife Winnie Mandela (Photo Credit: Trinity Mirror/Mirrorpix/Alamy Stock Photo).

November 2018 7 between how the end of apartheid Women were the core of looked from above and below. From the perspective of high politics, the resistance. They suffered arrests negotiated transition seemed miracu- and detention in the Women’s lously smooth. But in communities like Soweto, the transition was anything Jail in Johannesburg and but peaceful. Between the time of Madikizela-Mandela’s return to Soweto Pretoria Central Prison. and South Africa’s first democratic elections in April 1994, some 20,000 Leading women activists, like South Africans were killed in political violence—many at the hands of their their male counterparts, were neighbors. On New Year’s Day in 1989, fourteen-year-old Stompie Seipei thus “banned,” meaning that it was lost his life—at the hands of members of the Mandela United Football illegal for them to speak in Club, and reportedly at the orders of public or attend meetings. “Mama.” He was accused of being a spy, informing police about activities at Madikizela-Mandela’s home. When the Truth and Reconciliation Commission as described in Pascale Lamche’s 2017 soccer team under her patronage—the (TRC) investigated this and other mur- documentary Winnie. Enraged by her Mandela United Football Club—and ders linked to Madikizela-Mandela, she influence, security police burned down served as her bodyguards. It is here would say only “things went horribly her Brandfort house in August 1985. that her story—already exemplifying wrong.” Her testimony aired in 1997 apartheid’s violence—becomes even She then returned to Soweto, in brazen on the South African Broadcasting more painful to teach. Examining defiance of her ban. Her home became Corporation’s Truth Commission Special South Africa’s turbulent era between a center for young activists, who called Report—sparking a national conversa- the mid-1980s and mid-1990s from her “Mama Winnie.” They joined a tion about the violence of the “mother her home in Soweto reveals the gulf of the nation” in the name of the anti- apartheid movement. (Political scientist Shireen Hassim explores this ongoing conversation in the next issue of the Journal of Southern African Studies.) When students watch Madikizela- Mandela’s TRC hearing, they are horrified to see how much more harrowing South Africa’s democratic transition was than the image of an elated Nelson Mandela, hand and hand with Winnie after his release from prison, would suggest. “She seems so repulsive at the TRC,” one student said in April, visibly stunned after having admired Madikizela-Mandela’s courage in Brandfort during a previous class discussion. We then discuss how she got there. As Madikizela-Mandela herself maintained, her experiences of intense state violence hardened her. She embodied the personal costs of participating in a revolution: she was Winnie Mandela’s coffin (Photo Credit: SOPA Images Limited/Alamy Stock Photo).

8 Bridgewater Review London UK 28th April 2018. Pictures of Winnie Mandela are projected on to the windows at South Africa house following her death (Photo Credit: amer ghazzal/Alamy Stock Photo). imprisoned, tortured, and separated research, as historian Jacob Dlamini struggle, that historians continue from her family. The revolution—and shows in his 2015 Askari: A Story of to struggle to understand, using the especially the security police’s exten- Collaboration and Betrayal in the Anti- tools of social history. sive counterrevolution—also made her Apartheid Struggle. But the presence paranoid. After the Soweto protests of informers led accusations and coun- in 1976, the South African police and ter-accusations of spying to proliferate, military infiltrated the liberation move- with Madikizela-Mandela stalwart ment with a network of spies. Often in her calls for ANC loyalists to root these spies were former revolutionaries, out spies. “turned” through torture. Others had At the end of our discussions about their own political or personal reasons Madikizela-Mandela, it is impossible for informing on activists, including for students to see the anti-apartheid police paychecks. The spy program movement as a straightforward story was not publicly known until the TRC of heroism. It looks more like an Meghan Healy-Clancy is Assistant Professor and subsequent investigations—and in epic of complexity—a very human in the Department of History. fact it remains a challenging subject to

November 2018 9 the formal workforce, or quit jobs to Social Norms, Gender Roles and take care of children and the elderly in multigenerational households. Time Use: Multigenerational However, scholarship on household division of labor has tended to focus Households in India on married couples in nuclear families only, the dominant household structure Aseem Hasnain and Abhilasha Srivastava in advanced industrialized nations. nlike Hollywood stories, marriage is not just In developing economies, multigenera- the beginning of the happily ever after, but tional households are common. These households accommodate three to four Ualso the starting point for a number of hard generations and make joint decisions questions. Who will go out to work? Who will do about consumption and division of labor. Further, gender norms govern- household chores? Who will look after the kids and ing the multigenerational family differ elderly? And so on. According to the Nobel laureate substantially from a nuclear family, as economist, Gary Becker, the answer to these questions there are multiple actors, both male and female, with varying roles and comes from an unlikely but dependable source: expectations living as one unit. In such division of labor. His idea that rational calculations living arrangements, women under- may underpin romantic relationships goes back to take a disproportionately heavy load of unpaid care work as there are almost no the 1970s when Becker first proposed an economic market substitutes for such work; there model of marriage, arguing that marriage was based is poor infrastructure; and food security is an ongoing concern. In India, the on the principle of division of labor, and that gains multigenerational, patriarchal, patrilo- from marriage were determined by how efficient this cal household is the prevalent form of division was. The one with comparative advantage family, and about 312 million people live in such an arrangement. A typical at earning wages would go out and work; and the multigenerational household includes other person would do the chores and stay at home. the husband’s parents—father-in-law, mother-in-law, the husband (son), his However, this model was contested by Time use data, which was collected by wife (daughter-in-law), and their chil- feminist, institutional, and social econ- national statistical survey organizations dren. Usually, the father-in-law makes omists who claimed that the couple based in individual countries since the unilateral decisions about consumption negotiated division of labor under the early 1980’s, came in handy for this expenditures and distribution of public influence of social norms, institutions, purpose. This data revealed how much goods within the household, while the biases, and power relations. This article time individuals devote to activities mother-in-law makes decisions about uses time use data from India to show such as paid work, unpaid work includ- division of labor. She passes on most of how household division of labor is not ing household chores and childcare, the household work to the daughter-in- simply a rational or objective decision leisure, and self-care activities. This law, according to traditionally estab- based on individual’s capacities to earn data helped researchers in improving lished gender roles. The son (husband) wages in the market, but a complex their understanding about how people is usually the primary breadwinner, and function of social norms and notions made decisions about time and how it his wife (daughter-in-law) is subordi- about expected gender roles. affected their well-being. Surprisingly, nate to her husband as well as to her time use data also revealed a global Over time, household division of labor parents-in-law. reality: despite an increase in married and its implications for individual well- women’s labor force participation, they In India, the multigenerational house- being became an important area of did disproportionately more unpaid hold creates the greatest restraint on the study for economists and sociologists work than men. This anomaly was daughter-in-law’s freedom. The typical alike who were interested in studying starker in the Global South where a Indian bride enters a patriarchal family work-life balance, resource alloca- large number of women never entered through an arranged marriage, where tion, and bargaining within the family. she is expected to become obedient to

10 Bridgewater Review him and his parents. Along with her husband, her mother-in-law also moni- tors her access to material resources and external contacts. Consequently, co-residence with in-laws is associated with stricter gender norms and, in turn, lower scores on measures of the daughter-in-law’s autonomy. The mother-in- law plays a major role in encouraging daughters-in-law to adhere to norms such as ‘housework is the ideal wifely duty.’ Thus in a multigeneration patriarchal household, the private sphere of housework is negotiated and contested between the two women, but under an unequal power relation. We use data from the only available, nationally representative Indian time use survey (1998-99) to show such a division of labor in multigenerational families. Multi-tasking lady (Photo Credit: Zulfiqar Sheth, 2012). Graph 1 shows time-allocation in (cooking, cleaning, laundry and house- strict division of household labor along mean hours of work for all members of hold repair and maintenance), unpaid gender lines where men do most of the household. Activities are divided care work (care of children, sick and the work in the paid labor market and into paid work (work done for wages elderly), and total work (total of paid women do all the unpaid work in the outside the house), unpaid housework and unpaid work). Results point to a household. Results also point to differences in housework allocation within the same gender, with the daughters- GRAPH 1: Time spent on different work activities (paid & unpaid) by all members of the household in hours per day. in-law doing twice the amount of unpaid work than their mothers-in-law. Data shows that a daughter-in-law is 7.0 3 the most time-poor individual in the Father- 0.17 multigenerational household as she in-law 0.16 7.38 undertakes significantly more total work, compared to all other members 3.59 Mother- 3.17 in the household. Male members are in-law 1.06 almost completely absent from day- 7.84 to-day tasks within the house and the 8.44 division of labor in the household is 0.29 only between the mother-in-law and Son 0.17 daughter-in-law, with the daughters- 8.92 in-law shouldering a disproportion- 2.86 ately high burden of household chores Daughter- 6.15 (known as reproductive work among in-law 1.15 10.25 field specialists) in the household, as much as 8 hours of unpaid work per day 0 2 4 6 8 10 10.25 and around 10.5 hours of total work mean hours of: on average. The main takeaway from this simple analysis is that males do paid work unpaid unpaid total work per day housework care work paid + unpaid not do any unpaid work in their own per day per day per day households, and the mother-in-law and

November 2018 11 daughter-in-law do all unpaid work with the latter doing disproportionately Data shows that a daughter-in-law more work. is the most time-poor individual Data reveals surprising facts about the effect of education on the division of in the multigenerational labor in the household. In his pioneering work on India, demographer John household as she undertakes Caldwell (1984) showed that universal education or mass schooling changed significantly more total work, the cultural superstructure of society. He argued that educated women see compared to all other members themselves as part of a larger world in the household. and education acts to reduce “the hold of the patriarch,” prepares children of both genders to work in a market economy, and informs girls of their mothers-in-law for a larger slice of the decrease her unpaid work and increase economic options outside the home. family budget to spend on food, and her paid work in the economy. health care for their children. Thus, Caldwell also argued that education According to Caldwell’s thesis, their a young daughter-in-law’s education transformed the power relationship in paid work should increase, and un- tips the traditional balance of famil- a multigenerational household such paid work should decrease as their ial relationships in her favor, and by that, “a young woman with schooling education increases. is more likely to challenge her in-laws, extension she is likely to exert more Graph 2 shows the amount of work and the in-laws are less likely to fight autonomy by doing less household done by daughters-in-law based on the challenge” (412). According to work and demanding equal participa- their educational levels. Interestingly, him educated daughters-in-law can tion from her mother-in-law. Therefore we see the exact opposite: as the educa- bargain successfully with less-educated one expects that an increase in the education of a daughter-in-law would tion level of a daughter-in-law in a multigenerational household increases, her paid work decreases while her GRAPH 2: Time spent on different work activities (paid & unpaid) by daughter- unpaid work increases. How do we in-law in hours per day based on education levels. explain this anomaly? Patriarchal Bargain Theory 4.02 Patriarchal bargain theory (PBT) helps Illiterate 5.58 1.06 explain how the increased bargain- 10.6 ing power of an educated daughter- in-law fails to decrease her burden of 2.50 Secondary 6.48 unpaid household work or increase 1.15 her opportunities for paid work. PBT 10.16 notes that educated women are more 1.48 likely to resist patriarchal norms, and High School 6.52 are more likely to be subjected to vio- 1.27 9.30 lence in order to discipline and control their behavior inside and outside Graduate 1.39 the household. While one can argue 6.76 & Above 1.48 that patriarchal households should 9.63 thus prefer daughters-in-law with less 0 2 4 6 8 10 education, in reality the reverse hap- mean hours of: pens. Marriage market preferences in India are increasingly skewed towards paid work unpaid unpaid total work getting an educated bride because she is per day housework care work paid + unpaid thought to be better at raising children. per day per day per day

12 Bridgewater Review This creates a dilemma in patriarchal Caste and class heavily influence that daughters-in-law from ‘upper households that feel pressured to accept practices such as marriage, divorce, caste’ households (known as ‘General’ educated brides for their sons, but inheritance, and asset ownership in castes in India) do more unpaid work are not ready to accommodate their India. These institutions also shape a and less paid work per day as compared terms. An educated daughter-in-law is woman’s options outside the home and to daughters-in-laws from ‘lower caste’ subjected to coercion and violence to her bargaining power inside it. households. Among these marginalized mold her according to the norms of the ‘lower caste’ groups exist two specific Graphs 3 and 4 show the time spent per patriarchal marital home. These norms categories of communities that the day on different work activities (paid & aim to confine her to unpaid work in Indian constitution lists as Scheduled unpaid) by daughters-in-law based on the household and to restrict her mobil- Caste (SC), and Scheduled Tribes (ST). caste and class identities. Graph 3 shows ity outside the household. A woman’s mobility outside the household is seen as an opportunity for romantic or GRAPH 3: Time spent on different work activities (paid & unpaid) by daughter- sexual encounters out of wedlock, and in-law in hours per day based on caste. hence fiercely regulated in patriarchal households. An educated bride does not automatically consent to these 4.34 restrictions and so she is seen by her ST 5.48 1.10 marital family as a threat. Thus, a patri- 10.92 archal household considers non-participation in market work by women as a 3.28 SC 5.79 proxy for sexual fidelity and a marker 1.11 of family honor. 10.19

Since the son is usually employed and 2.47 away from the home during the day, the General 6.36 1.17 task of confining an educated daughter- 10.01 in-law falls on the mother-in-law. She 0 2 4 6 8 10 makes sure that the daughter-in-law is mean hours of: completely devoted to her household duties. When a daughter-in-law is more paid work unpaid unpaid total work educated and assertive, her bargaining per day housework care work paid + unpaid power challenges the mother-in-law’s per day per day per day authority. Thus the mother-in-law exerts more power on the daughter-in- law by giving her even more household GRAPH 4: Time spent on different work activities (paid & unpaid) by daughter-in- law in hours per day based on class. work. Within this patriarchal context, daughters-in-law rarely rebel. Instead they are more likely to internalize these norms and do more housework in order 3.35 5.98 to prove themselves to be compliant Lower Class 1.10 members of the household. In cases 10.4 where the daughter-in-law rebels, violence is used. This is evident from 2.10 the thousands of reported cases of domes- 6.42 Upper Class tic violence in India. 1.23 9.75 Role of Caste and Class While PBT helps explain the unex- 0 2 4 6 8 10 mean hours of: pected results of our time use patterns among educated daughters-in-law, paid work unpaid unpaid total work these patterns vary based on the caste per day housework care work paid + unpaid and class position of the households. per day per day per day

November 2018 13 more time in household/care work. But for lower-class married women, working outside the home is inevitable and is seen as a necessary evil given the need for additional income. Increased education is less likely to be a source of bargaining power for upper caste/class daughters-in-law, who are more likely to be constrained by caste and class than lower caste/class daughters-in-law. Conclusion It is easy to imagine that one chooses to spend time based on one’s educational qualifications, job, business or interests. However, data shows that social norms and expectations, such as gender roles, play an important role in these deci- Cartoon featured in The Hindu, 2011. sions. This short piece analyzes the Indian time use survey to show how Graph 4 shows that daughters-in-law women are part of the patriarchal setup individuals spend their time not just from upper class households do more where contact with males outside the of their own volition but under the unpaid work and less paid work per day household is deemed as ‘polluting’ and influence of complex societal factors. as compared to daughters-in-law from is to be avoided at all cost. Therefore Finally, these factors are not the same lower class households. working outside, especially for young for everyone, but differ based on the married women, is considered socially Within the sensibilities of the Indian privileges of age, household structure, degrading for the household, and work- caste system, the higher a particular caste, and class. ing inside the house is considered a pure caste group is perceived to be, the form of wifely duty that is enforced as lesser market work is expected from well as rewarded. This effect is particu- its women. This means that ‘higher’ larly strong for the daughters-in-law in caste households tend to diminish the ‘upper’ caste households, causing edu- preference for obtaining work and cated daughters-in-law in ‘upper’ caste incidence of women’s employment households to do relatively more house- outside the household. On the other work compared to the ‘lower’ caste hand, such norms are less likely to be household. Since caste and class status imposed in households that belong to in India are highly correlated, upper the ‘lower’ castes. These restrictions class women also strictly specialize on the bargaining power of Indian Aseem Hasnain is Assistant Professor in in household management, spending the Department of Sociology. The main takeaway from this simple analysis is that males do not do any unpaid work in their own households, and the mother-in- law and daughter-in-law do all Abhilasha Srivastava is an Adjunct Professor unpaid work with the latter doing in the Department of Sociology. disproportionately more work.

14 Bridgewater Review States have used law to push for social Title IX Activists: A First Look at change from the abolitionist, women’s suffrage, and labor movements of the Movement Goals nineteenth century to the Civil Rights, women’s liberation, and LGBTQI Jamie Huff and Sarah Cote Hampson movements of the twentieth and This research was funded by a Faculty/Librarian Research Grant from the Center for twenty-first centuries. American social Academic Research and Scholarship at BSU. Dr. Hampson and Dr. Huff are extremely movements used law to confront gender grateful for the support the grant provided. In addition, we thank Mikayla Eaton at BSU inequality in numerous areas, including for her research assistance. ith the proliferation of the #metoo movement, public attention has focused Won the persistent issue of sexual violence. The movement to confront sexual violence has its roots on American college campuses in the activism of students. Beginning around 2011, many students demanded that their campuses create better policies to address sexual violence, and many initiated lawsuits through Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972 (Title IX). Beginning in Fall 2017, we began a study of the goals and strategies of activists using Title IX to confront sexual violence on college campuses and how campuses respond to these demands. This brief article highlights the preliminary results from our ongoing study. Timesup sign (Photo Credit: Wikimedia). Title IX, the “Dear address allegations of sexual violence pay equity (McCann 1994), sexual Colleague Letter,” and promptly, to use the preponderance harassment (Epp 2009), and parental of evidence standard used in the civil leave policies (Albiston 2010; Hampson Legal Mobilization courts, and to provide accommoda- 2017). Legal mobilization studies For much of its history, Title IX has tions to victims during the investiga- examine how activists use the law to been known as a law affecting uni- tion process. The letter also required achieve their goals, often uncovering versity sports. The law, which bars sex universities to treat all parties to a case how activists make meaning of the law discrimination in educational settings, equitably and encouraged schools to in the process. For example, McCann’s requires equal treatment in educational prevent violence through educational 1994 study of the pay equity movement opportunities. A series of lawsuits gave programs. Title IX activists consider found that while legal victories were rise to the idea that Title IX required the 2011 DCL a major development in few, activists were galvanized by their something more. Beginning with cases addressing sexual violence. interaction with the law, ultimately like Mullins v. Pine Manor (1982), courts raising their consciousness about issues Researchers in our field, Law and held that universities had obligations to of inequality. The legal mobilization Society, have studied the relation- keep students safe on campus. In 2011, literature finds similar patterns in other ship between activism, law, and social the Obama administration codified movements—that is, the law itself may change. Using a framework called legal guidelines to help universities deter- not result in immediate social change, mobilization, we study how activists mine their obligations under Title IX, but activists’ use of the law raises their use law to pursue social change, and called the “Dear Colleague Letter” understanding of legal issues and allows how the laws they interact with shape (DCL). The DCL ordered campuses to them to draw public attention to social social meaning. Activists in the United

November 2018 15 problems. Our study is the first to apply The interview subjects for this study outreach educators, policy trainers, staff a legal mobilization framework to Title come from a variety of organiza- attorneys, civil litigators, and policy IX activism. tions. Some work for national policy advocates. Outreach educators con- advocacy groups, which shape policy duct training for students to help them Methods surrounding sexual violence on a recognize and address sexual violence. This study relies on in-depth interviews large scale. There are also organiza- Policy trainers take on advisory roles with activists confronting campus tions that provide legal assistance to for universities, assisting when craft- sexual violence and with university victims of sexual violence by helping ing policies, and providing training administrators, such as Title IX coor- victims find legal services, providing for coordinators and administrators dinators, who ensure compliance with legal representation to students, and on how to comply with Title IX. Staff Title IX. In this article, we focus on the advising universities on their policies. attorneys provide legal representa- results from interviews with activists In addition, many current and former tion for student survivors as they move only. We have interviewed 22 activists college students have formed organiza- through their campus’s procedures. from a variety of locations and inter- tions that educate others about sexual Civil litigators use lawsuits to shape views are ongoing. violence and raise awareness about the the contours of the law. Finally, policy advocates push legislative solutions that they believe will induce change; this advocacy occurs at both the state Title IX has been known as a law and federal level. Our analysis includes responses from activists from each of affecting university sports. The these categories. law, which bars sex discrimination Preliminary Results Within our interviews we found key in educational settings, requires themes that were immediately evident. First, we identified a set of goals among equal treatment in educational the activists we interviewed. These opportunities. A series of lawsuits goals were: 1) advocacy for survivors 2) empowering students with education gave rise to the idea that Title around sexual assault and 3) tackling the cultural roots of sexual violence. IX required something more. Three or more interview subjects mentioned each of these goals, and none Beginning with cases like Mullins presented these goals as in tension with the possible goals of other organiza- v. Pine Manor (1982), courts held tions. We believe that these three goals represent activist goals generally across that universities had obligations to the movement. keep students safe on campus. The first goal we identify in our interviews is advocacy for survivors. Advocacy for survivors means meeting Our interviews range from 30 minutes survivors where they are and helping requirements of Title IX. To protect in length to an hour and a half. While them through the process. Alicia, a staff the privacy of our interviewees, we use all interview subjects are asked the same attorney, says that “justice” may look pseudonyms for individuals throughout questions about activism, in-depth very different from institutional or soci- this paper. interviewing allows the subject to offer etal expectations for victims. She states, information beyond the confines of our Interview subjects were also from “my Title IX clients have had predetermined questions. We analyze a variety of occupational positions. concerns about, I don’t want him interviews for patterns in responses, The activist community surround- to necessarily be punished or put tracking the contours of how activists ing Title IX comprises many occupa- in jail. I just want justice for what articulate their goals, concerns, and tions, from national policy advocates happened. I just don’t feel safe at experiences with Title IX. to staff attorneys. Our subjects include school anymore. I want him to

16 Bridgewater Review Bridgewater State University women graduating. (Photo Credit: Tim Llewellyn).

go away from my school. So, that to ensure that victims feel that they can educator, noted that her organization type of victim-centered justice is report and that the process is there.” provides workshops aimed at “changing something that my organization Empowering students with the infor- campus culture.” Other activists stated feels very strongly about.” mation they need to take advantage of that Title IX is a limited tool in work- their rights under Title IX was a thread ing toward a more important goal— Other activists also talked about the that ran through the interviews at all that of systemic cultural change. Bev, importance of protecting survivors levels of activist organizations. “One an outreach educator, states: against retaliation. As Megan, also a of our main goals…is really inform- staff attorney, notes: “Title IX most often deals with ing students about the rights that they an act of sexual violence or acts of “Two of our really big concerns have…as much as anyone can try make sexual violence that have hap- right now…one has to do with schools more compliant…I think pened against a person. It doesn’t retaliation and making sure that ultimately empowering students is one deal with the kind of systemic and survivors are better protected both of the things we strive for,” says Alicia. institutional macro aggression from retaliation by the original Chelsea, an outreach educator, noted that also creates a hostile envi- offender but also third parties, so that her organization is interested in ronment… A college campus is a their associates, and then the other informing students about resources: microcosm of the larger society. thing is ensuring that accommoda- “for me what I am most concerned We’re not going to end sexual tions are put into place...” about is what resources are available on violence in our society until we campus and those outside. And are they The second goal we identified was the look at the root causes of why fully aware of what the options are?” need to empower students on campuses sexual violence occurs… And for with education about sexual assault The third goal identified in our inter- me it’s just so much bigger than a prevention and response. When talking views was that of activists discussing federal policy.” about the relationship with campuses, the need to tackle the roots of sexual Indeed, several activists identified Shannon, a policy trainer, states, “a lot violence in our culture more broadly the ability to effect cultural change of what I talk to them about is how are (and the limitations of Title IX in get- as a limit to Title IX and its related you structuring your campus systems ting at this problem). Kate, an outreach

November 2018 17 policies. Many students are now focus on student empowerment, nearly who had previously worked in criminal receiving training about sexual assault every interview subject mentioned the defense noted that she felt stronger due and harassment during college orienta- need to understand how to best reach process protections beyond the already- tion sessions. However, activists argued marginalized populations. existing equity requirement would be that this was far too late to change beneficial to all students. students’ attitudes about sexual vio- Conclusion and Future Finally, we are planning to investigate lence. Liz, a policy advocate, noted that Directions further how both activists and coor- they are focusing on “working with While much of this paper detailed the dinators view motivations for institu- younger kids in the K-12 environment” goals of activists working to confront tional changes. What are the proverbial because this group was more likely to campus sexual violence, our interviews “carrots” and “sticks” that make uni- be affected by prevention workshops. revealed a much richer picture about versities change their practices on cam- Another outreach educator had devoted the concerns, frustrations, and limita- pus around prevention and response? several years to prevention workshops tions activists faced. Many activists Moreover, we hope to uncover how for young people of color for similar found themselves working with student effective those changes are when they reasons—she believed that prevention clients in situations that Title IX was do happen, from the perspective of must begin before students arrive on not drafted to address. For example, those involved in their implementation, college campuses. a staff attorney noted that Title IX and from the perspective of those on Attention to the cultural sources of guidance documents have not offered the outside, looking in, and demanding sexual violence is especially important instructions that address retaliatory meaningful change. for activists working with marginalized complaints against student survivors. communities. Marginalized students Other activists noted that even the are impacted by sexual violence in best, most thorough policy could still unique ways, and cultural norms or be implemented by an incompetent stigmas often leave their voices out of administrator. Still others felt that cam- the conversation about sexual violence pus policies veered too much toward on campus. Several activists discussed the language and process of the crimi- their organization’s goals in tackling nal justice system. In future work, we the cultural stigmas around marginal- will analyze interview responses that ized students. Shannon, the director speak to the limits of the law and activists’ difficulties in using it to address of a legal aid project, noted that she Jamie Huff is Assistant Professor in the campus sexual violence. hears from survivors: “I’m undocu- Department of Criminal Justice. mented. I’m LGBTQ, I’m not out, or In addition to discussing the perceived I’m in an older Christian conservative limits of Title IX, our future work will school and I can’t be out, or my family also explore how activists and Title IX doesn’t know. I will be shunned. I’m an coordinators view the issue of due pro- immigrant who cannot return home cess. Our interview subjects expressed because I’ve been assaulted. There’s just divergent views on the issue of due a million identities and policies need to process in Title IX procedures. Most reflect the communities that are going responded that Title IX includes a suffi- to be frankly, the most vulnerable.” cient equity requirement for the inves- Concerns about marginalized students tigation and hearing process. Further, many activists perceived critiques were at the forefront for many inter- Sarah Cote Hampson is Assistant Professor surrounding Title IX and due process viewees. The increasing diversity of in the School of Politics, Philosophy and to be intentional misunderstandings younger generations means that activ- Public Affairs, University of Washington of the law. Though most activists felt ists are working with a student popula- at Tacoma. tion diverse in terms of race, sexuality, that Title IX procedures were fair to gender identity, class status, and immi- all students involved, some did men- gration status. In keeping with activists’ tion concerns about unfair treatment in campus proceedings. One activist

18 Bridgewater Review was taken only after many of his Suspended: activist colleagues had been arrested and his close friend David Webster was The Art of Paul Stopforth assassinated on a Saturday morning having gone to buy groceries at a local Jonathan Shirland supermarket. To be suspended is to “I have slowly suspended the narrative context of my search for meaning in favor of pictorial be in an unresolved, indeterminate structures that emphasize the use of color...The importance of varied and complex figure/ state; to be exiled often results in ground relationships suspended in fields of variegated color, constitute a search for beauty acutely experiencing a similar condi- and mystery” (Paul Stopforth) tion for perpetuity. uspended above the entrance to the Moakley However, if we return to the first definition of being suspended - “hung auditorium are two artworks by internationally above something” - the potential renowned artist Paul Stopforth donated to benefits of the exilic condition (what S Edward Said called its “pleasures” in his Bridgewater State University by Lawrence and essay, “Intellectual Exile: Expatriates Katherine Doherty in 2013. They are exemplary of and Marginals”) come into focus. In Stopforth’s practice since he moved to the United this sense, being suspended offers the possibility of unique perspective, a States in 1988 in that they are technically daring pieces special vantage point above the conven- that sparkle with luminosity. If you crane your neck tional, that connotes a kind of freedom from orthodox judgement and which and look slowly, your eyes will become dazzled by can foster “appreciative sympathy” to the densely dotted surfaces, which allude to Xhosa, use Said’s evocative phrase. For me, Zulu and Ndebele beadwork. These shimmering Stopforth’s practice is full of such senti- ments—his outlook has become pro- patterns infuse and harmonize the “fields of variegated foundly humane and optimistic despite color” and the “complex figure/ground relationships” the deprivations of displacement. As he that the artist identifies in the quotation at the start remarked in 2010, life in America has made him more generous and open- of this essay. But it is his repeated use of the term minded. It also allows him to explore “suspended” in this section of his artist statement color and gestural mark-making for their own sake; under the constrictions that inspires ways into a fuller appreciation of these of apartheid, such enjoyment felt like a paintings, and Stopforth’s practice more broadly. As betrayal of the struggle and its martyrs. well as meaning to hang above or from something, Similarly, an interest in the traditional arts of Southern Africa is something the term also denotes an indeterminate but imposed Stopforth has only developed in exile, cessation, or a painful enforced debarring. In this alongside his intense study of Buddhism and Hinduism, a critical armature of sense, “suspended’ is achingly appropriate for an artist his search for healing after moving to who has endured thirty years of exile from his home Boston. His spiritual and intellectual country. Stopforth left South Africa heartbreakingly explorations of a wide variety of world cultures have encoded a truly global close to the end of Apartheid, the terri- a mortuary tray after his death on 12 perspective into his work. Perhaps ble racist regime his activist art repeat- September 1977 from brain damage exiles necessarily become adept at edly condemned, most famously in his suffered during police detention) made cultivating a syncretic bricolage in Death and Detention series. Works like Stopforth one of the most well-known the pursuit of a sustainable suspended Elegy for Steve Biko from 1981 (which “Resistance Artists.” They also made identity. Regardless, his works can depicts the charismatic leader of the him a target. The difficult decision guide Bridgewater’s mission to pursue Black Consciousness Movement on to settle in Boston with his wife Carol a generous, enlightened policy of inter- national engagement.

November 2018 19 of alchemical transfer from one state The difficult decision to settle to another. This symbolism can be related to Stopforth’s testimony that in Boston with his wife Carol moving to Boston provided space for was taken only after many of him to breathe because, “America is big enough to provide people with his activist colleagues had been the opportunities to live out their lives regardless of how they feel connected arrested and his close friend David to, or are affiliated to, the countries that they were born in.” The hands Webster was assassinated on a interlaced with the skull are playing an invisible flute, perhaps the oldest Saturday morning… and most widespread instrument in the world, able to transform breath into music. Its portability and ethereal sound Look at Alchemist, made in 1992 (fig.1). is a reference to the ancient Egyptian make the flute an ideal medium for the God Hapi, whose baboon head adorns musician as exile. The flute is associ- Centered on the stippled surface is the stopper on the canopic jar respon- ated in many cultures with the voice of a baboon skull interwoven with the sible for the preservation of the lungs. the Gods; ancient Egyptians believed outline of a pair of hands. The skull Hapi is the divine guardian of air, and that Isis spoke through its notes. In

Figure 1: Alchemist by Paul Stopforth (Photo Credit: Jay Block).

20 Bridgewater Review Figure 2: Diviner by Paul Stopforth (Photo Credit: Jay Block). classical mythology, the flute is most positions, and many poets have con- worked surface and complex symbolic strongly associated with Pan’s pining nected the holes in the instrument to allusions, Alchemist feels light and airy, for the nymph Syrinx, whom the Gods the sorrows of the human heart. It is suspended above the weight of human turned into reeds to save her from his through suffering that the heart is made intransigence. lustful pursuit. Despondent Pan binds hollow; yet it is only through such Next to Alchemist in the Moakley audi- some reeds together and blows through hollowness that it can be transformed torium is Diviner (fig. 2). them in order to hear Syrinx’s voice into a flute, an instrument for the God again. But the most important allusion of love to play upon. Throughout Made on an unusual cut-out birch is to the Hindu God Krishna, whose Alchemist’s stippled ground are red out- wood support, the crouching figure flute playing can erase separateness lines of lotus blossoms, another symbol seems at once grounded and weight- and generate unconditional love. In of transformation, one of Buddhism’s lessly suspended in the palms of the classical Indian dance, there are a series central allusions to the progress of the four wing-like hands around him. of mudras that delineate flute-playing soul. Despite the giant hands, minutely His stretched out right hand reiterates the axis of larger hands and is poised in the position of a diviner whether casting sacred nuts or bones, reading His spiritual and intellectual animal tracks on the ground, record- ing results of mystical numerology, or explorations of a wide variety of consulting an ancient text. It is also the hand gesture of the painter. Both world cultures have encoded professions can diagnose afflictions, decode seemingly random patterns, a truly global perspective into serve as repositories of memory and wisdom, and bring insight into the his work. human condition.

November 2018 21 Figure 3: Malagasy Mourner by Paul Stopforth (Photo Credit: Jay Block).

Hands are also prominent in Malagasy indicating the importance of these scrubland alluded to in the background Mourner, also installed nearby in sites for communication with ancestral of Stopforth’s composition. The title Moakley (fig.3). spirits. Often skulls and horns of the of the work also gestures towards the distinctively humped zebo cattle that funerary traditions of the Malagasy The pink outline stretches across the have been sacrificed during funeral people of central Madagascar known as panel and illuminates the rocky ground ceremonies are incorporated into these “Famadihana” or the “turning of the behind. This is one of Stopforth’s more structures, ensuring that they stand bones.” During these celebrations held enigmatic works, but the title provides out dramatically from the surrounding every two to seven years, the remains a key to decoding its symbolism. The central motif of a figure astride a cow and holding its ear is derived from a finial on top of one of the dramatic “America is big enough to provide wooden stelae made by the Mahafaly peoples of Southern Madagascar. These people with the opportunities to monumental sculptural posts, known as aloalo, are embedded in dense fields live out their lives regardless of of arranged stones which serve as fam- how they feel connected to, or ily tombs, into which bodily remains are interred. The term is derived from are affiliated to, the countries that the word “alo” meaning “messenger,” they were born in.”

22 Bridgewater Review of the deceased are exhumed, lovingly affirmative mudra gestures to channel The Anderson Gallery held an exhi- wrapped in new silk shrouds, anointed the flow of bodily energy in pursuit bition of Stopforth’s paintings from with perfume, and danced with in of insight and healing. The circular August 27 to October 15, 2018, organ- a form of family reunion, before an markings are reminiscent of the con- ized around the juxtaposition of one of elaborate re-cleansing and re-burial. centric circles composing Aboriginal the artist’s depictions of the breakwater Reaffirming the link between the dreamtime paintings, but also evoke in Provincetown with Trinity, perhaps living and the dead, the practice is body paint and other cicatrization the greatest work from his Robben based on the belief that passage to the patterns traditionally used throughout Island series (fig.5). spirit world remains incomplete until Africa to mark rites of passage. They In 2003, Stopforth became the first the body decomposes completely, so are embodied signs of new membership artist-in-residence on the rocky out- Famadihana helps the process along. but also new responsibility accompany- crop off the coast of Cape Town, most Grief is part of Malagasy mourning ing a change in life status. famous as South Africa’s maximum but so too is communal celebration and the two-day festivities blend a joyful affirmation of life with respect- ful honoring of the dead. During his time teaching at Harvard University, Stopforth used bones in innovative exercises that required students to complete one another’s drawings in a ritual of creative interdependency, so allusion to this Malagasy rite seems fitting. More pertinently, a ceremony aiding spiritual passage on one hand and leavening grief through transcen- dental familial reunion on the other has special resonance for the artist-exile. The fourth Stopforth work donated by Lawrence and Katherine Doherty is located in the Welcome Center, a particularly appropriate location given the cumulative implications of its symbolism (fig.4). Initiate is a bas-relief made of sculpta- mold (a paper and wood adhesive com- pound) from 1994. Out of a densely dotted shimmering surface inspired by both African beadwork and Aboriginal Dreamtime paintings, a grid of hands and birds moves out into the viewer’s space, greeting the initiate as if at a threshold. The birds are oxpeckers, famous for their symbiotic relationship with rhinos, and are thus emblematic of reciprocally beneficial affiliation. Balanced on the larger animal’s back and serving as a natural alert system, oxpeckers also signify how to ‘ride through’ life by using one’s ‘voice’ for communal good. The hands reach- ing out towards the viewer suggest Figure 4: Initiate by Paul Stopforth (Photo Credit: Jay Block).

November 2018 23 Figure 5: Trinity by Paul Stopforth (Photo Credit: Jay Block). security prison from 1961 until 1991, practices that use casein (the protein in that can shake up our spirits as well as where Nelson Mandela spent 18 of the milk) as a binding agent, and Stopforth our eyes. 27 years he was incarcerated. Three often then works with charcoal through The Stopforth exhibition provided simple stools fashioned by the inmates it. This is one of the techniques the art- the catalyst for the publication of the in the prison workshop span the com- ist has experimented with over recent first in a new series of studies exam- position. They seem to float free yet years in pursuit of the “fields of varie- ining the visual arts collections at remain suspended in each other’s orbit, gated color” described in his artist state- Bridgewater State University. My like three martyred bodies hanging on ment. His intense engagement with the essay for this catalogue, ‘Bethesda, adjacent crosses (the shapes of the “T” materiality of paint also bears reference Breakwater, Bridgewater,’ offers a more and “Y” behind evoking splayed body to chemical and medical uses of the in-depth analysis of Stopforth’s career parts). Most importantly, the stools con- term “suspended”: the state of a sub- and situates the artworks now in the vey human companionship even in the stance when its particles are larger than Bridgewater permanent collection in incarceration of Robben Island, bring- colloidal size and are mixed with but greater art historical context. More ing together Nelson Mandela, Robert remain undissolved in a fluid medium. importantly, the show precipitated Paul Mangaliso Sobukwe and Govan Mbeki It is an important reminder that for Stopforth’s generous decision to donate in a configuration reminiscent of an all of the complex symbolic content, Trinity to the university, complement- ‘amaphakhati,’ a meeting of elders able Stopforth’s practice is forged through ing the works given by Lawrence and to resolve conflict through consensus deeply considered technical daring. Katherine Doherty. In my opinion, borne of patient, dignified debate. It is when these two forms of visual this quintet of pieces constitutes an They become a ‘Trinity,’ a mysterious sophistication are brought together important and profoundly intercon- union of personhood through relation- that his art succeeds in its “search for nected collection that greatly enriches ship and community. mystery and beauty.” If we permit a the environment we live and work in slight etymological slippage borne of Trinity utilizes an extraordinarily at BSU. linguistic proximity, a final insight varied, liquid ground behind the black facilitated through pursuing the notion lettering and stool motifs that stains the of “suspension” in Stopforth’s art is wooden support but also seems to break the excited, slightly agitated alertness through the representational elements brought about through the experience and erupts on the surface towards the of “suspense.” His works can hold us edges of the composition. This is milk in this indeterminate state of uncertain paint, a medium Stopforth stumbled expectancy because of their mysteri- across when staining wooden book- ous yet alluring properties, hovering cases. Made from milk and lime, and between abstraction and representation. sold in powder form, it can be clotted They are dense with symbolic allu- or smooth, opaquely textured or softly sions that offer sudden bursts of insight Jonathan Shirland is Associate Professor in transparent, depending on the mixing but ultimately remain beyond formal the Department of Art and Art History. with water. Milk paint is evocative of resolution (in both senses). At the same a range of traditional African artistic time, they excite with a luminosity

24 Bridgewater Review of another kind. Keenly aware of the Something Solid to Rest Upon: vagaries of an ever-changing world, he confronted the painful ambiguity of life Abraham Lincoln’s Interest and death by seeking solace in the laws in Science of physical science. Lincoln’s interest in science and math- William F. Hanna ematics began in 1833, when he took a surveying job in Illinois. Wayne C. s darkness fell on a warm summer evening Temple writes that the twenty-four- in August 1864, Dr. Joseph Henry, the year old Lincoln mastered enough geometry and trigonometry to earn A Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, a reputation as a competent surveyor. stood in the tower of a building on the grounds of William H. Herndon was Lincoln’s longtime law partner, and his volumi- the Old Soldiers’ Home, located three miles northwest nous correspondence has been col- of the U.S. Capitol. Called by one historian the lected and edited by Douglas L. Wilson greatest American scientist since Benjamin Franklin, and Rodney O. Davis. Their research presents a letter in which Herndon Henry was a physicist by training. His work on remembered that during the same electromagnetism in the 1840s helped lay the period that Lincoln mastered survey- groundwork for the first practical telegraph. ing, he also studied natural philosophy, astronomy and chemistry. “His Standing nearby was President mind,” wrote Herndon, “required and Abraham Lincoln, whose summer lived in facts, figures and principles.” cottage was located adjacent to the Although generally a patient man, said Old Soldiers’ Home. The two men Herndon, his partner hated abstraction. were together to witness an ultimately “If you wished to be cut off at the knees successful experiment in which Morse just go at Lincoln with … glittering code signals would be flashed by lan- generalities.” tern light from the Soldiers’ Home with In addition to the demands of fron- the hope of receiving an answer from a tier surveying, Lincoln also put his signalman placed across the city in the accumulating knowledge of scientific tower of the Smithsonian Institution. principles to another, deeply personal, As the Civil War dragged into its fourth use. As a young man, Lincoln was an year, Lincoln and his generals looked outspoken religious skeptic. It was for any advantage that might bring the during this period, wrote his friend bloodletting to a speedier conclusion, James Matheny, that Lincoln, “at least and they hoped that improvements in bordered on absolute atheism.” He was communication would help. “enthusiastic in his infidelity,” and he Over the previous three years the sci- used science to argue against scriptural entist and the president had developed a revelation. His was “the language highly successful working relationship, President Abraham Lincoln, November 1863 of respect,” wrote Matheny, “yet it (Photo credit: Alexander Gardner). based in large part upon Lincoln’s life- was from the point of ridicule—[but] not scoff.” long fascination with scientific prin- his ability to read, write and perform ciples and their practical application. simple arithmetic, Lincoln admitted In 1834 Lincoln was elected to the Unlike Dr. Henry, the president’s mea- that whatever education he gained Illinois legislature for the first of four ger formal education had come through afterward had come informally and as terms, and two years later was admit- brief sporadic attendance in frontier required during his rise to professional ted to the state’s bar. After moving “blab schools.” In an autobiographi- and political success. “The pressure to Springfield in 1837 he became cal sketch written during his 1860 of necessity,” he called it. And yet, as a familiar figure within legal and presidential campaign, he noted that he Lincoln matured, he also felt pressure political circles. As a loyal member went to school only “by littles.” Beyond

November 2018 25 of the Whig Party, both in the state the difficulty of boats trying to navigate brought into the office one volume legislature and later during his single the Sangamon River, Lincoln’s inven- in a series edited by David A. Wells term in the Thirtieth Congress (1847- tion was intended to keep vessels from entitled Annual of Scientific Discovery. 1849), Lincoln supported a vigorous running aground. Equipped with what These books featured brief articles program of “internal improvements,” he called “buoyant chambers,” the on new developments in science and and became a strong proponent for the apparatus was designed to float a vessel technology. Herndon wrote that after construction of railroads and canals. over dangerous shoals. Nothing came examining the book, Lincoln rose from of it, and Lincoln returned to his law his chair and said that he was going Robert V. Bruce, in his prize-winning practice, but to this day he remains the to immediately purchase the entire history of American science, writes that only president ever to hold a patent. set. After doing so, he told Herndon, Lincoln’s rise to prominence coincided “I have wanted such a book for years, with the era that saw the beginning In Lincoln’s time, frontier lawyers rode because I sometimes make experiments of modern scientific practice in the the Illinois Eighth Judicial Circuit, and have thoughts about the physical United States. In addition to rapid pop- traveling from town to town to hold world that I do not know to be true or ulation growth, the three decades after court each spring and fall. John T. false. I may, by this book, correct my 1846 witnessed geographic and eco- Stuart, the future president’s mentor errors and save time and expense.” nomic expansion resulting in scientific and first law partner, said that Lincoln improvements to both agriculture and knew nothing about history, had no Another book that Lincoln found industry. This period also saw increased faith in biography, and knew only a lit- interesting was Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, published in 1859. This was not Lincoln’s first foray into the subject of evolution. Both Robert In a world that often seemed V. Bruce, and more recently James Lander, have written that he had earlier random and capricious, Lincoln read Robert Chambers’ Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation, published found comfort and a degree in 1844. Based on his partner’s inter- of certainty in the empirical, est in the subject and also upon many discussions with him, Herndon stated disciplined domain of science. unequivocally that Lincoln was a well- informed evolutionist. His election to the presidency in November 1860 gave Lincoln the specialization in science; more formal tle geography. Nevertheless, said Stuart, opportunity not only to meet practic- education in scientific subjects and Lincoln “read hard works,” remembering scientists, but also to influence more fulltime work in the field. In ing that as early as 1844 and continu- federal policy toward the adoption 1846, the year in which Lincoln was ing after his return from Congress, and implementation of new technol- elected to Congress, the Smithsonian he carried a volume of Euclid in his ogy. During this period he also forged Institution was founded and the first saddlebags while traveling the circuit. an important relationship with the issue of Scientific American was pub- Indeed during the campaign of 1860, Smithsonian Institution and Dr. Joseph lished. While living in Washington, the candidate himself thought it impor- Henry, its first secretary. The president it is likely that the young congress- tant enough to state that he had “nearly and his cabinet were ex-officio regents man visited the National Observatory, mastered” the six books of Euclid. of the Smithsonian, and though they which had opened in 1844 with a While many of Lincoln’s friends agreed never attended a meeting, Lincoln state of the art telescope. The planet that he read only to gain specific took an active interest in its welfare. Neptune had been discovered shortly knowledge and not for pleasure, it was In addition to attending lectures and before Lincoln’s arrival in the capital not because there was a shortage of witnessing the signaling experiments and considering his interest in astron- books available to him. Herndon had conducted there, he occasionally asked omy the Illinoisan was almost certainly an extensive library, Lincoln had full Henry for clarification or informa- a regular at the observatory. access to it, and he occasionally availed tion on scientific matters that might In March 1849, at the end of his con- himself of the privilege. For example, affect the war effort. Lincoln also gressional term, Lincoln applied for and Herndon remembered that he once provided critical help in bypassing the was granted a patent. Remembering

26 Bridgewater Review President Abraham Lincoln signing the Charter of the National Academy of Sciences (NAS). Apocryphal rendition shows Lincoln with several founding members of the NAS. Left to right: Benjamin Peirce, Alexander Dallas Bache, Joseph Henry, Louis Agassiz, President Lincoln, Senator Henry Wilson, Admiral Charles Henry Davis, Benjamin Apthorp Gould. (Painting by Albert Herter, 1924, courtesy of the National Academy of Sciences).

War Department’s bureaucracy after White House or the Soldiers’ Home, to Colchester’s body. When the scientist fire ravaged the Smithsonian Castle in and Lincoln, always the skeptic, asked asked to examine Colchester’s person, January 1865. Upon an urgent request Dr. Henry to look into the subject the medium fled. from Henry, Lincoln saw to it that and figure out how the “communica- Thanks to the Republican Party’s the building’s roof received critically tion” actually worked. To comply with majority in both houses of the Thirty- important emergency repairs. the president’s request, Henry invited Seventh Congress (1861-1863), Lincoln Charles J. Colchester, one of the most At least once, Lincoln consulted was able to sign into law two bills prominent psychics of the day, to Henry on a matter of personal inter- that helped join both theoretical and display his powers at the Smithsonian. est. In 1862, Mary Lincoln, distraught applied science. On May 15, 1862, he When Colchester appeared, Henry over the death of their son Willie, signed a bill creating the Department of quickly determined that the sounds had turned to spiritualism in an effort Agriculture as a separate, non-cabinet allegedly emanating from “spirits” to communicate with her lost boy. federal agency removed from the Patent actually came from something attached A séance had been held at either the Office. Its first commissioner, the appropriately named Isaac Newton, was a self-made man who favored a scientific approach to agriculture, and …during the first three years within a short time his department had hired a chemist, botanist, entomologist of the Civil War, Lincoln, and statistician. Gabor S. Boritt, in his Lincoln and the Economics of the American because of his natural curiosity Dream, has written that in supporting the newly independent agency, Lincoln and the obstinacy of the was simply endorsing the traditional army’s bureaucracy, sometimes Whig “inclination toward intensive, scientific husbandry,” and Bruce notes found himself involved in that farmers soon began to appreci- ate the benefits of applied science. We the development of weapons can perhaps see the president’s influ- and ordnance. ence in Commissioner Newton’s first

November 2018 27 annual report. It was the department’s Additionally, Lincoln took an interest goal, he wrote, “to make two blades in any weapon that he thought might of grass grow where one grew before.” bring an earlier end to the war. In 1861, It appears that the inspiration for those for example, Thaddeus Lowe secured words came from Lincoln himself, who an appointment with the president to in an 1859 address to the Wisconsin present his idea to use hot air balloons Agricultural Society, said: “Every blade for reconnaissance. Lincoln was present of grass is a study; and to produce two as Lowe brought his balloon down where there was but one, is both a Pennsylvania Avenue and tethered it profit and a pleasure.” in back of the White House overnight. Lincoln’s intervention also led to the In July 1862, Lincoln signed the Morrill Union army’s largest order of breach- Land Grant Act into law thus support- loading rifles, and also resulted in tests ing colleges that gave instruction in of many unconventional weapons, agriculture and engineering. Originally including incendiary devices and body passed in 1859, this measure had been armor. By 1864, as a Union victory vetoed by President James Buchanan. became more apparent, Lincoln’s atten- Under the terms of the act, each state tion was demanded elsewhere and his received 30,000 acres of federal land for Dr. Joseph Henry, first Secretary of the active efforts to promote new weapons each member of Congress in 1860. The Smithsonian Institution. (Photo credit: and ordnance substantially decreased. land could be sold by the states with the Henry Ulke, courtesy of the Smithsonian proceeds going to fund the colleges. Institution Archives). Twelve weeks after securing a tempo- Engineering courses had been almost rary roof for the Smithsonian Castle, exclusively taught at the U.S. Military The most extensive study of Lincoln’s Lincoln was dead, and unburdened of Academy at West Point, but the new interest in science and technology has the “pressure of necessity.” Not only law made it possible for other institu- been in his advocacy of certain weap- had it made this boy who had gone tions to train engineers. ons of war, and in this the bar was to school “by littles” one of the most again set by Robert V. Bruce, whose eloquent proponents of human rights, In March 1863, eight months after the 1956 book, Lincoln and the Tools of War, it had also driven his enduring interest passage of the Morrill Act, Lincoln remains the standard. Bruce states that in science. “He wanted something solid signed an Act of Incorporation creating during the first three years of the Civil to rest upon,” said his friend Joseph Gillespie, and he pursued it in the mysteries of the physical universe. In a …to this day [Abraham Lincoln] world that often seemed random and capricious, Lincoln found comfort and remains the only president ever to a degree of certainty in the empirical, hold a patent. disciplined domain of science. the National Academy of Sciences. War, Lincoln, because of his natu- The president’s support came in spite of ral curiosity and the obstinacy of the opposition from his friend Dr. Henry, army’s bureaucracy, sometimes found who feared that the organization himself involved in the development would become elitist and undemo- of weapons and ordnance. Inventors cratic. Henry eventually overcame his hoping to skirt regular army channels objections and served as the Academy’s often appealed directly to Lincoln for second president. help, and this sometimes resulted in a request from the president to the War William F. Hanna is an Adjunct Department asking that a man be given Professor in the Department a hearing. of History.

28 Bridgewater Review state, and municipal correctional budg- ets. And it also means the loss of professional licensures, significant gaps in employment history, and skills atrophy for the offender. Consequently, there is an even larger penalty to be faced long after the original offense has been committed. That penalty manifests as the failure to find employment (or attend college). Recent analysis by the Society of Human Resources (SHRM), the non-profit devoted to investigation Law (iStock photo Photo credit: Michat Chodyra [www.skycinema.pl]). of employment practices, found that approximately 69 percent of organizations solicit criminal history informa- Criminal History and Employment: tion from job applicants. This trend is troublesome to some observers who Why we need to Ban the Box! believe that criminal records informa- Jakari Griffith tion is overused, causing many firms to overlook good candidates. Moreover, fter presenting a paper on the relationship the inability to find employment is a between criminal records and employment significant contributor to recidivism. So, is there an alternative that balances at an academic conference in 2015, a session the rights of the applicant against the A concerns for the employer? attendee came to me and shared that he had once been arrested for a marijuana charge. Although he Yes: An increasing number of states and cities are adopting Ban the Box was an exceptionally bright young man and graduated (BTB) policy, which asks employers to from a prestigious law school, he was unable to gain delay or refrain from making inquiries employment due to having a criminal record. into an applicant’s criminal history. In 2000, just one state, Hawaii, adopted Another attendee also shared that for less than 5 percent of the world’s this legislation; by 2016, it has climbed he scored a 740 out of 800 on the population…but 25 percent of its to 24 states and 150 cities and coun- Graduate Management Admissions Test incarcerated inhabitants.” To make ties. This policy not only adds integrity (GMAT), but had been passed over matters worse, incarceration rates have to the employment screening process, by several top-ranking MBA programs continued to increase even as rates by compelling employers to focus on because of a criminal altercation for violent crime have decreased, an candidate skills and qualifications first, he had while intoxicated. Because effect largely attributed to changes in but it sets out guidelines that inform many elite business schools ask about drug policy and sentencing guidelines. when criminal information should be criminal convictions, and in some Of the 14 million arrests recorded by considered during the selection process, instances adjudications withheld, he the Department of Justice in 2009, for if such information is considered at was unable to escape the burden of example, less than four percent related all. Yet, the program is no panacea. his criminal past. to violent crimes. Compliance with BTB is hard to verify and the degree to which it helps ex- In the United States, it is common to The rise of this carceral state does not offenders is largely unknown. In one of hear of these stories. That is because come without severe economic and the only published articles on the topic, America’s prison and jail populations social consequences. Imprisonment featured in the University of Michigan have increased from 300,000 people often means loss of a household wage Law & Econ Research, an examination in 1970 to 2.2 million in 2012. A 2015 earner, a predicament sending families of 15,000 fictitious online job applica- article featured in The Atlantic claims into near immediate poverty. It means tions submitted to employers in New that the United States “now accounts diverting taxpayers’ money to federal, York City and New Jersey found a

November 2018 29 Metal Wheel Concept (iStock photo Photo credit: EtiAmmos). disturbing pattern of discrimination in as “a strategic business decision to not In short: Johns Hopkins Hospital has the number of interview callback rates. overlook the best talent—even if that demonstrated to the business commu- Specifically, applicants without crimi- means hiring someone who needs a sec- nity that it is possible (and even profit- nal records received 61 percent more ond chance.” Moreover, Hopkins’ hir- able) to engage ex-offenders as impor- callbacks than applicants with criminal ing efforts have achieved fairly impres- tant human capital assets. If BTB policy records. The employment landscape for sive results. Of the approximately 500 had been available to the two confer- ex-offenders appears rather grim. ex-offenders it hired over the past five ence attendees, they might not have years, all have shown higher retention gone without employment for so long. However, there are good reasons to rates than non-offenders for their first Both men have gained meaningful be hopeful. Following the Baltimore 40 months of employment. This repre- employment (one was even admitted to riots in 2015, The Washington Post notes sents a tremendous business opportu- a top MBA graduate program), but only that Johns Hopkins Hospital made a nity, considering hospital staff turnover after relocating to two different Ban concerted effort to hire 174 people with rates hovered around 17.1 percent the Box states. And to think, there are criminal backgrounds, referring to it nationally in 2015. thousands of people across the United States living without access to any BTB protections. For their sake, we must continue the push for BTB nation- America’s prison and jail ally, so that Ban the Box means second populations have increased from chances for all! 300,000 people in 1970 to 2.2 million in 2012… the United States “now accounts for less than 5 percent of the world’s population…but 25 percent of Jakari Griffith is Assistant Professor in the its incarcerated inhabitants.” Department of Management.

30 Bridgewater Review Planning for and TEACHING NOTE experiencing the tour Cultural Immersion and The idea for a study tour to Jordan began after two BSU professors par- Student Perceptions of Jordan ticipated in a faculty exchange program with Tafila Technical University Sarah Thomas and Christy Lyons Graham (TTU) in March 2016. The faculty exchange program was an effort to n March 2017, nine students from Bridgewater forge a collaborative partnership State University [BSU] spent one week in Jordan. between the two universities. The fac- In this article, we highlight some of the ways a ulty who participated in the exchange I were moved by the kindness of the cultural immersion experience can be transformative Jordanians and amazed by the wealth for our students and how this trip, particularly, reso of history in the beautiful country. They were also struck by the similari- nated with them. After the trip, students completed ties in the hopes and fears expressed by an online questionnaire and from their responses, we TTU students when compared to BSU learned that three areas most influenced by cultural students. The experience had such a strong impact on the visiting professors immersion in Jordan were: (1) an increased awareness from BSU, that we thought offering a of social justice; (2) a changed worldview; and (3) cultural immersion study tour to Jordan would provide BSU students with a empathy for others and personal growth. These similar opportunity to learn about outcomes suggest that individuals who participated Jordanian culture from Jordanians. in the Jordanian study tour may have more cultural After a year of planning, students took part in our study tour in March 2017. empathy for individuals from the Middle East and While in Jordan, we stayed in the city who practice Islam, hence leading to the develop- of Tafila at an off-campus hotel populated by students from TTU. Many of ment of global citizenship, a major education goal the participants remarked that the time at BSU. in the hotel was especially important

Educating college students for the sole purpose of gaining a set of pre-determined job skills is no longer sufficient in our increasingly global society. In order to be successful, college graduates will need to possess a greater understanding of the complex world in which they will be employed. Furthermore, a more global understanding can lead to an awareness of the importance of overcoming cultural difference and of developing cultural sensitivity in order to work together to address critical, universal needs. Cultural immersion experiences that challenge existing worldviews and assumptions may provide an efficient means to this end (Canfield, Low, & Hovestadt, 2009; Pope-Davis & Coleman, 1997).

Camels in Petra (Photo Credit: Sarah Thomas and Christy Lyons Graham).

November 2018 31 because they were living in close trip was to develop global citizenship, a (Reimers, Chopra, Chung, Higdon, proximity to Jordanian students, which major education goal at BSU, it was not and O’Donnell 2016). In order to sig- enabled them to forge friendships with surprising that our students developed nificantly reconstruct one’s worldview, young people from that culture. The cultural empathy for individuals from a individuals must encounter situations experience of living and socializing Muslim-majority country. that challenge their existing paradigms; with students from TTU thus allowed situations requiring them to reexamine the American students to reflect on Cultural immersion existing perspectives (Mezirow, 1990). their perceptions of individuals from a challenges beliefs There may be no better way for indi- different country as well as look inward and worldviews viduals to learn about another culture and confront their own biases. and to think more deeply about them- Given the divisiveness of today’s politi- selves within their own cultures than by The tour was designed to allow students cal climate, understanding different working and living in another country, interaction not only with Jordanian cultures through immersion expe- a highly effective form of experiential college students but also with people riences is a critical way people can education. Our students reported that and organizations in several parts of the become better informed global citizens, they gained a greater sense of cultural country. Students had the opportunity an extension of one of the historical empathy from their interactions with to visit government elementary schools aims of education: cosmopolitanism. the students and professors from TTU. as well as a private elementary school. Global citizenship requires thinking One student stated, “It is one thing to

Visiting with students at the Abu Bana School (Photo Credit: Sarah Thomas and Christy Lyons Graham).

The trip to the schools was included beyond one’s own set of experiences, strive to learn about other culture, but because one of the goals of the program working together to solve world meeting people from that culture is the was to expose students to the educa- problems and to create a more inclusive most important thing you can do to tional system in Jordan in an effort society. Changing demographics of the understand [the culture].” to see the similarities and differences United States means that U.S. students Historically, there have been concerns between U.S. and Jordanian schools. must be prepared to work with individ- about the lack of global awareness Future tours plan to provide students uals from different countries, regardless Americans have compared to their with the opportunity to teach English of location, employment, or socioeco- counterparts from other countries, lessons to students. Students were also nomic status. which can lead to stereotypical beliefs able to experience the natural beauty of Research has shown that for individuals and misunderstandings (Unger, 2015). Jordan by visiting the Dead Sea, Jarash, to become citizens of the world, they If Americans do not learn from and Petra, Amman and the Dana Nature must develop a keen understanding about other cultures, their ability to be Reserve. These experiences enabled the of their own worldview and develop productive members in an increasingly students to feel first-hand what it is like cultural empathy. A good way to do global society decreases. How is one being the “other” as well as broaden- this is through interaction with people able to work effectively with members ing their knowledge of another part of who are not from the United States of another culture if one’s worldview is the world. Since one of the goals for the

32 Bridgewater Review so insular that stereotypes of those who female and one was male. After the participant stated, “having actual inter- are different are at the forefront of one’s tour ended, we provided students with actions with [people] from a different mind? Without a broad worldview, a 10-question online survey. Eight stu- culture than my own is the easiest way individuals are cutting short social and dents started the questionnaire. Seven to gain an understanding and empathy economic opportunities, which could students completed all ten questions. of their worldview.” impact future generations across the Though it is a tiny, non-generalizable We asked participants if their involve- globe. Fortunately, beliefs are influ- sample, students’ reflections provide ment in the study tour would influence enced by practical experience and clear evidence for the importance of their future actions, conversations and/ practical experience influences beliefs. cultural immersion opportunities. or decisions and all responded yes. Their responses illustrate the impact The concern that Americans lack a When asked to explain, participants an immersion experience had on their broad worldview is one reason it is stated they would use the experience to worldviews, feelings of social justice, essential for universities to provide educate others about people from the and cultural empathy. opportunities and encourage student region and dispel the Muslim terrorist participation in cultural immersion The ten survey questions focused on myth that is perpetuated in the media, programs. Every student on our Jordan how and in what capacity the cultural while others said the experience would trip reported that their participation in immersion experience changed them. have a direct impact on their work with this program changed their worldview, Of the seven respondents, three (43%) disadvantaged groups and influence their pursuit of social justice. A participant remarked that the experience completely changed their perception Study participants were consistent of the Middle East as a “bad place”, to an area of a world that they would like in reporting that they now have to visit again. And finally, a participant stated that the experience “caused me a better understanding of Islam to be bold in conversation regarding culture”, leaving us to speculate that the and are able to view Islam participant has grown more comfort- able challenging disingenuous stereo- through a lens that is not afforded types of Muslims by some Westerners. to most Americans. Perhaps the most poignant responses were provided in answer to the following fill in the blank: “Regarding which could ultimately enable them to said that their participation in the my perception of the Middle East, look at individuals from other cultures Jordan study tour caused them to be before I went to Jordan I used to think with more empathy. For instance, one more accepting of differences between ______, but now I think ______.” student said, “[Prior to this experience people. Interestingly, a slightly higher Answers varied from focus on travel I was exposed to] many misconceptions response of four (57%) respondents said and religion to US intolerance about a Middle Eastern culture and the experience caused them to want to of Muslims and commonalities, Muslims and now I have a much more search out and cherish the differences for example: complex understanding of Jordan and in people, which was not expected. I used to think “That our cultures their compassionate people.” When they elaborated on these themes, have nothing in common,” but now a participant said they were “nervous” Students’ reflections on I think “our cultures have more in to visit Jordan, but once we arrived and common than we know.” their learning met the inhabitants their worldview I used to think “Religion dictated Our paper considers survey responses changed “100 times over,” and that every aspect of [Jordanian] people’s from the nine students who participated they “fell in love with it.” Two other lives,” but now I think in our immersive Jordanian study tour. respondents suggested that the experi- “but now I know I was wrong.” One student had recently earned a ence enabled them to learn about Islam master’s degree; six were undergradu- and recognize that the stereotypes I used to think “it was a horrible ates and two were enrolled in a master’s regarding Muslims that permeate the place” but now I think “they are the program. Of these students, eight were media are not necessarily true. One kindest people.”

November 2018 33 From these and other responses, it is evident that participation in the cultural immersion study tour had a profound impact on participants. Many of the students suggested that this experience provided them with a new perspective on people in the Middle East, Muslims in particular, and this knowledge will be beneficial in their chosen professions. Terms such as advocate, social justice, and empathy were routinely used in the responses, as well as the words kindness and compassion.

The final survey question asked partici- Visiting a school in Jordan (Photo Credit: Sarah Thomas and Christy Lyons Graham). pants to state the most significant takeaway from the experience, and answers case, understanding and acceptance of learning from people who are different highlighted the depth and breadth of Islam, what cannot be overstated is the from them. In providing these oppor- the impact. One participant responded personal growth participants experi- tunities, BSU will play a role in creat- that conflict was caused by people and enced while in Jordan. Study partici- ing cross-cultural awareness, but, more not religion, while another said the pants were consistent in reporting that importantly, will provide a powerful experience illustrated the kindness of they now have a better understanding influence on students’ perceptions of the people and had a lasting impres- of Islam and are able to view Islam the world around them and their abili- sion. It should be noted, however, that through a lens that is not afforded to ties to bring about positive change.

The concern that Americans lack a broad worldview is one reason why it is essential for universities to provide opportunities and

encourage student participation in Sarah Thomas is Assistant Professor in the Department of Secondary Education cultural immersion programs. and Professional Programs. the majority of the responses touched most Americans. The friendships cre- upon how an opportunity to experi- ated and the desire to return to Jordan ence another culture is what enables can only support the belief that partici- someone to truly understand another pation in a cultural immersion project culture, and this is what ultimately had has lifelong implications for those who the most impact on our students. participate and, by extension, for people who later interact with participants. The importance of study The results of this cultural immer- tours and study abroad sion study tour provide an impetus to While the findings of our small pilot challenge BSU and other institutions to Christy Lyons Graham is Professor in the study support the idea that participa- encourage students to visit places where Department of Counselor Education. tion in a cultural immersion study tour they may be the “other” so they can impacts one’s worldview, and in this confront their beliefs and worldviews,

34 Bridgewater Review BOOK REVIEWS

world has been the subject of wither- We Are What We Make ing critiques from the political left and right alike and has been implicated in Todd Harris tectonic political plate-shifting such as Joshua B. Freeman, Behemoth: A History of Brexit and the 2016 election of Donald Trump. As the factories went dark, the Factory and the Making of the Modern World something else was extinguished as (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2018). well—a vision of the future where material prosperity is widely shared he shirt on your back. The phone in your and children outpace the accomplish- hand. The shoes on your feet. What do these ments of their parents. three items have in common? Each of them Freeman’s sure-handed exploration T reminds readers that factories used to was very likely made in a factory. For better or worse, elicit strong emotions—awe, wonder, we live in a factory-made world, or at least many of hope and fear. The powerful psycho- us do. Modern life is built on three centuries’ worth logical responses many people had to factories was at least partly attributable of advances in manufacturing efficiency, productivity to their sheer size. Ford’s River Rouge and technology. Behemoth: A History of the Factory and plant, designed by Alfred Kahn, the foremost factory designer of the twenti- the Making of the Modern World written by Joshua B. eth century, had a building with a floor Freeman, is a cogent, novel and accessible overview of area of 1,450,000 square feet, 142 miles how the modern factory system developed. Freeman, of conveyors and monorails, and was situated on a 1,096-acre site. At its peak, a distinguished professor of history at CUNY-Queens in 1929, it employed 102,811 workers. College, claims that large factories impact almost It was the largest and most complicated everything that we touch, see and experience, and underpin the modern consumer economy. Many people would find it difficult to survive, even for a short time, without factory-made products. Freeman ranges widely across place United States lost nearly five million and time, transporting the reader factory jobs between 2000 and 2016. from eighteenth-century England to In 1970, more than a quarter of U.S. twenty-first-century China. In his employees worked in manufactur- superb telling, Freeman deftly connects ing. By 2010, only 1 in 10 did. This the factory, which he defines as “a large trend is not restricted to the United workforce engaged in coordinated pro- States. According to the Organization duction using powered machinery” to for Economic Cooperation and important cultural, social, political and Development (OECD) data, Germany’s economic consequences. share of manufacturing jobs has been halved since the early 1970’s, and Freeman’s book can be read as a cri Australia’s has dropped by two-thirds. de Coeur to push the factory back These jobs are commonly seen as into modern consciousness. In the “good jobs”—relatively stable and United States, it is typically the absence comparably high-paying. The steady of factories garners attention. The erosion of factory jobs in the western

November 2018 35 factory ever built, a testament to human countryside to draw labor from. The of the sun, but by the clock. Instead of ambition, problem solving and creativ- women tended to be young, unmar- spending the day with a relatively small ity. Another Ford plant, Highland Park, ried, well educated and used to doing number of friends and family members, where the workforce numbered 55,300, hard work. Additionally, to the mill the factory worker interacted in some seemed small by comparison. owners’ liking, they also were a revolv- form with thousands of strangers. The ing labor force. If and when they ability to do highly structured, largely Freeman treats at length the prominent became unhappy or economic condi- repetitive work, often in harsh condi- role of women in factories, especially tions deteriorated, they could return to tions and for low pay, became prized. after concentrated manufacturing made their families rather than staying nearby In 1914, Henry Ford’s assembly line the leap from the “old” England to the and fomenting discontent and disorder. reduced the time needed to assemble “new.” European writers visiting New a car from twelve and half hours to England textile centers such as Lowell Paternalistic mill owners did their ninety-three minutes, but also lead to in the mid-nineteenth century were best to provide morally uplifting and a nervous condition that employees often struck by the sharp contrast of culturally enlightening environments, labeled “Forditis,” as well as a stagger- the soot-belching urban factories in with some mills even publishing ing employee turnover rate of 370%. Factory work proved more physically and psychologically demanding than The United States lost nearly five other types of labor. A “desirable” million factory jobs between worker was no longer one with deep knowledge and a mastery of a craft, but 2000 and 2016. In 1970, more one possessing speed, manual dexterity and endurance. This shift in how work than a quarter of U.S. employees was done and the required attributes of those doing it may have reached worked in manufacturing. its apotheosis in Frederick Winslow Taylor’s “Scientific Management,” By 2010, only 1 in 10 did. which posited that there was “one best way” to do a job. Workers’ autonomy was reduced, and more cognitively English cities such as Lancashire and journals of poetry and fiction and host- demanding tasks such as work plan- Manchester. In Society, Manners and ing lectures. For these workers, the mill ning and coordination became strictly Politics in the United States: Being a Series gave them an opportunity prior to the province of management. Contrast of Letters on North America, Michael marriage to broaden their perspec- this approach with what contempo- Chevalier, a French political economist, tives, lead a more cosmopolitan and rary management scholarship counsels described manufacturing as “the canker independent life, and to assist them- regarding increasing work motivation of England,” while he found the sight selves and their families financially. and job satisfaction—paying workers of Lowell to be “new and fresh like an Unfortunately, jobs in the mills were equitably and giving them a sense of opera scene.” Freeman informs us that strictly segregated by sex, with women autonomy, purpose, and progress. in some New England mills, women holding almost all of the jobs involving constituted 85% of the workforce. As operating machinery, and men doing a point of comparison, today across all of the construction and holding all the United States women account for of the management positions. 29% of manufacturing employment. Freeman also shows how the shift from Mill owners in New England largely an agrarian economy to a manufactur- recruited young women from farms as ing economy impacted the nature and a workforce due to a paucity of alter- meaning of work. The physical condi- natives. Owners sought to avoid the tions, organization and the required social disapproval that accompanied competencies of employees in a factory the wholesale employment of children. differed drastically from those on a Todd Harris is Assistant Professor in the Contrary to Britain, New England farm. For example, for the first time, an Department of Management. did not have large numbers of urban employee’s schedule was dictated not male workers or an over-populated by the seasons and the rising and setting

36 Bridgewater Review Dignity, Justice and Real Achievement Jeanne Ingle Derrick Darby and John L. Rury, The Color of Mind: Why the Origins of the Achievement Gap Matter for Justice (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2018). he Color of Mind is a gift to educators and future educators who seek to understand T inequality in our schools and the persistence of institutional racism. Teachers work hard. Teachers in inner city schools work exceptionally hard, 50- 60 hours per week on average. To work so hard and to see your students not achieve on standardized create extensive illustrations of what- tests is extremely frustrating, but the day-to-day ever book we were reading in class; he made a series of drawings depicting achievements are amazing, invigorating, and what what the Titanic might look like if built makes it all worthwhile. I know this because I was an today, including a gaming room, bas- ketball court, and a minutely detailed inner-city teacher and I have had experiences just like food court. How does this creativity those highlighted in Darby and Rury’s book. and life experience get measured in our current system of achievement testing? Sebastian came to my fourth grade Sebastian had only been in his room Short answer: it doesn’t. classroom in the second half of the for three months – Sebastian’s fam- school year. He was bright, creative, ily was in crisis. In Sebastian’s second As a former inner-city teacher, I found and extremely impulsive. On his first week in my class we began four days of The Color of Mind neither easy to read day of school we were prepping for the standardized testing that would have nor shocking in its revelations. Racism high stakes state testing that my stu- multiple implications for Sebastian, our is old and deeply entrenched in Western dents would begin the following week. school, our school district, and me. culture. “The Color of Mind” is a He had a rocky first week, and I spent a term Darby and Rury use to describe Fast forward to the following sum- lot of time on the phone with his mom the “construction of racial differences mer when I received Sebastian’s scores discussing his needs, his past perfor- in intellect, character and conduct, (that’s right, teachers don’t often get mance, and anything else I might need … and its role in establishing racial their students’ standardized scores for to know. I found out that Sebastian and inequality of educational opportunities months following the actual testing). his family had recently been evicted, and other opportunity gaps, has had a Unsurprisingly, Sebastian did poorly that they had moved across the state to profound impact in shaping the racial in almost every area. Not because of live with an aunt, and that his mom was achievement gap” (142). The Color Sebastian, but because we had so many trying to leave an abusive relationship of Mind is a systematic racist view of children like Sebastian, our test scores behind. I also found out that Sebastian black people’s intelligence, perfor- as a school and as a district were also was a wonderful artist, a significantly mance and abilities. It is not a new poor. Five years after Sebastian left my below-grade-level reader, and a pretty view invented by white supremacists, classroom, the school district continues strong student in math. He was also the KKK, or even Southern slavehold- to fail. funny, sweet, and harbored an explosive ers. The Color of Mind is as old as the temper. You might be wondering if I Sebastian was complicated, but also a first European/African encounters spoke with Sebastian’s former teacher. I delight to work with. He loved draw- and is well articulated in the work of did, but he couldn’t help me much since ing, especially cartooning. He would Kant, Hume, and Thomas Jefferson.

November 2018 37 of “natural slaves” and continues to The book meticulously Jefferson’s ideal that “all men are created equal.” They argue that neither No documents the cultural and Child Left Behind or nor even Plessy vs. Ferguson caused the achievement societal programs that have gap; but rather the view that there is a maintained The Color of Mind natural hierarchy is deeply embedded in our culture and our history. All men so that it permeates every aspect may be created equal but that equal- ity depends on how you define a man of our society, and nowhere so or a person. “Qualified egalitarianism thus is a useful conceptual framework glaringly or so profoundly as our for making sense of the long-standing socially and legally constructed racial educational system. patterns of unequal treatment and opportunity in America” (32). With this kind of historical depth and The book meticulously documents that all these statistics taken together societal foundation it is easy to wonder the cultural and societal programs that are the real measure of the black/white if anything can be done. Darby and have maintained The Color of Mind achievement gap. It is nothing short Rury present The Color of Mind Index so that it permeates every aspect of our of frightening. (150), an accountability tool that asks society, and nowhere so glaringly or so I once went with another student, educators to measure the number of profoundly as our educational system. Luis, and his mom to a disciplinary black students expelled, placed in spe- To understand the achievement gap meeting. Luis had gotten into a fight on cial education, or tracked into remedial between white students and black stu- the playground. I don’t know whether classes. The higher the ratio of black to dents in this country, Darby and Rury he started the fight or not, but he white students in these areas, the higher argue that it is necessary to understand definitely hit another child. Luis’ mom the indignity to these children. In the that current educational failings are was upset. She lashed out at the school end it is dignitary justice that The Color deeply rooted in the philosophical and psychologist, saying that her son needed of Mind argues for, and it is dignitary political history of the United States. support, that he wasn’t a bad person— justice that we as educators must cham- Racial bias and white dismissiveness of everything a mother would say to pion. The authors bring their unique black intellectual ability are part of our defend her child. After the meeting blend of historical and philosophical origin story and drive the programs we the school psychologist looked at me viewpoints to the fore as they examine utilize today to educate our children. and said, “Apple, tree – what can you with skill and readability the past and The achievement gap traditionally expect from that kind of background.” present of education. measures the difference between black I thought of that story as I read Darby Student names are replaced with pseudonyms and white student academic achieve- and Rury’s discussion of “No Child in this review to protect the privacy of those ment. Darby and Rury cite data from Left Behind,” “Zero Tolerance” and mentioned. the National Assessment of Educational other flawed and failed programs. Luis Progress (NAEP), commonly known was expelled for three days – three days as “The Nations Report Card.” NAEP without instruction, three days to fuel measures student achievement in math, his anger and three days that would reading, and science at ages 9, 13, and remain in his academic file and label 17. The overall academic achievement him. All for a two-minute playground gap between black and white students event when he was ten years old. is approximately 30 percentage points Understanding that racism was justi- (19). The Color of Mind goes beyond fied by the Ancient Greeks, secured academic performance to include the in European culture, and planted and alarming statistics that black students cultivated in our country is sober- are three times more likely to be sus- Jeanne Ingle is Assistant Professor in the ing. Darby and Rury review and retell pended from school than white students Department of Elementary and Early this history of qualified egalitarian- and are twice as likely to drop out than Childhood Education. ism which began with Aristotle’s view white students. I agree with the authors

38 Bridgewater Review microphages in particular, so when she The One True Universal read an article that implicated them in assisting the growth of some cancerous Norma Anderson tumors, Ehrenreich was dismayed, to Barbara Ehrenreich, Natural Causes: an Epidemic of say the least. Wellness, the Certainty of Dying, and Killing Ourselves The breast cancer Ehrenreich suffered in 2000 is one of numerous cancer to Live Longer (New York: Twelve, 2018). types that the immune system has been shown to abet, thus the cells she n the beginning of her most recent book, Natural once studied and celebrated might well Causes: an Epidemic of Wellness, the Certainty of have played a role in her own illness. Dying, and Killing Ourselves to Live Longer, Barbara Looking further into current and ongo- I ing research, she learned that there is Ehrenreich admits that she has made the somewhat growing awareness of “cellular decision unusual decision to forego preventative medical care. making” and that “the natural world, as we are coming to understand it, Noting that most of her similar-aged peers were pulses with something like ‘life’” (XI). deeply enmeshed in a never-ending battle against Whereas we like to believe we have getting old, including unappealing diets, exercise control over our bodies, that mindfulness, eating habits, and medicine can regimens, and a bevy of exploratory medical tests, increase our longevity, Ehrenreich Ehrenreich writes that she had a different response to began to accept that if indeed our aging: “I gradually came to realize that I was old enough immune cells are neither all good nor all bad but in fact act in ways we can not to die,” and “decided that I was also old enough not to understand or predict, then we don’t incur any more suffering, annoyance, or boredom in actually have control at all. the pursuit of a longer life” (2-3, emphasis in original). From these starting points, it should be clear that the book is of interest Ehrenreich endured breast cancer in her to get tested for sleep apnea, and to those of us who are aging, might the early 2000s, and a false positive on a Ehrenreich balked, insisting she has no possibly begin aging, have parents or mammogram, a decade later, leading to symptoms of the problem, “the dentist weeks of stress, anxiety, and distraction, said that I just might not be aware of it, helped prompt her decision. But her adding that it could kill me in my sleep. critical consideration of medicine began This, I told her, is a prospect I can live when she was a young woman expected with” (7). to be quiet and pliant as her doctor But it was not only her own experi- performed invasive tests and proce- ences with medical care that sent dures and delivered her children. These Ehrenreich researching and writing experiences not only awakened her to Natural Causes, it was ongoing and feminism but also impelled Ehrenreich enlightening scientific research, some to question medical professionals, rather of which she found deeply disturbing. than simply follow orders. While most of us recognize Ehrenreich Lest anyone accuse her of a misguided for her bestselling Nickel and Dimed: campaign against the wonders of On Not Getting by in America, she earned modern medicine, Ehrenreich assures her doctorate in cell biology, conduct- the reader she eats well, exercises for ing research on microphages, immune the joy of it, and will seek care when cells “considered the ‘frontline defend- she feels there might be an issue, but ers’ in the body’s unending struggle simply refuses to seek out problems. For against microbial invaders” (XI). Her instance, when her dentist encouraged research had given her great respect for our immune systems, and

November 2018 39 family members who are aging, or criticism here, it is important to con- Much of the latter part of Natural Causes those of us who might one day die. sider how often we blame poor health focuses on our growing understand- But Ehrenreich’s style is thoroughly on people (consider commonplace ing of immunity and cellular biology. critical: for anyone who is deeply com- social proscriptions against smoking, While research scientists might grum- mitted to the omnipotence of science drinking—did you read that recent ble at Ehrenreich’s simplification of and medicine, or even the absolute study of how any alcohol is bad for complex biological processes, laypeople power of mindfulness, positivity, and you?1 —and a sedentary lifestyle. We might grumble at her facility with the primacy of the self, you might find are often presumed guilty, or at least scientific terminology and focus on yourself defensive in a few places as she complicit, in our own illnesses). microscopic life. But it is her explana- takes aim at socially accepted truisms. tions of cellular behavior (and a final look at the historical growth of a concept of “self”) that round out the Looking further into current and book and emphasize her argument that we should live our lives “to die ongoing research, she learned into the actual world, which seethes with life, with agency other than that there is growing awareness our own, and, at the very least, with of “cellular decision making” and endless possibility” (208). For me, the richest parts of Ehrenreich’s that “the natural world, as we are work are those that meld her personal experience and acerbic wit with social coming to understand it, pulses and scientific research. Unfortunately, in several places, the book strays from with something like ‘life.’” these. But regardless of whether we agree or disagree with her interpreta- tions and use of research, Natural Causes raises interesting ideas of selfhood, Her early chapters examine humiliating Given a tendency to assign simple cau- health, and the absolute certainty and sometimes even assault-like reali- sality for illness, wellness culture fills of dying. ties of medical procedures (for anyone a large void. Fitness guides and Silicon who has ever experienced a pelvic exam Valley tech gurus have all monetized or mammogram, you know exactly the realm of living well, living long, what she is talking about here). They and controlling our bodies to fight also detail how medicine has, histori- death. “Conflict may be endemic to cally, been rooted not in evidence but, the human world, with all its jagged rather in authority and ritual, a fault not inequalities, but it must be abolished simply of the medical system but also of within the individual” (111). Though patients who expect certain procedures the list of well-known fitness or tech and tests (even when unnecessary). giants felled by illness in their middle age is significant (Steve Jobs, Apple Ehrenreich then explores the enormous Norma Anderson is Associate Professor in founder, Jerome Rodale, founder of commodification and inequalities of the Department of Sociology. Prevention magazine, and numerous health, wellness, and mindfulness, others) longevity and holistic health considering gym culture, simplified have become middle and upper-class meditation rituals (those two-minute pursuits, further marginalizing those mindfulness apps on your phone), the who don’t have the time, money, or rise of various fad diets and pills, and even ability, at the end of working companies’ investment in “wellness” multiple shifts, to devote themselves for their employees. To be open to her to wellness.

1 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(18)31310-2/fulltext#seccestitle70

40 Bridgewater Review READERS RESPOND to Editor’s Notebook: Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed your Editor’s Notebook—Brought back some interesting smell-scape memories … One from my first interview at BSC … walked by the painting studio and immediately thought “I am at home here.” The terps. and linseed oil smell wafted out of the painting studio … ahhhhh did love it although a few years later the department decided that we should use the environmentally more friendly acrylic paint.

The other scent scape (not so nice) prominent memory was of the dumpster just below my office window in Tilly. Swapped for another office and lucky Roger Dunn got that one.

- Professor Dorothy Pulsifer Department of Art

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