Humanities Decanted: Robert Samuels, Educating Inequality: Beyond the Political Myths of Higher Education and the Job Market

Join us for a dialogue between Robert Samuels (Writing) and Heather Steffen (English and Writing) about Samuels’ new work, Educating Inequality. Refreshments will be served.

Politicians and school officials often argue that higher education is the solution to many of our social and economic problems. Educating Inequality argues that in order to reduce inequality and enhance social mobility, public policies are needed to revamp the financial aid system and increase the number of good jobs. Exploring topics such as the fairness of the current social system, the focus on individual competition in an unequal society, and democracy and capitalism in higher education, this important book seeks to uncover the major myths that shape how people view higher education and its relation to the economy. Looking to models that generate economic mobility and social equality, this book advocates a broader vision for public higher education to promote universal equality and global awareness.

Bob Samuels’ research interests include academic writing, social science writing, psychoanalysis, rhetoric, and media. He holds doctorates in Psychology and English, and he is the author of numerous books, including The Politics of Writing Studies: Reinventing Our Universities from Below and Why Public Higher Education Should Be Free. He blogs at Changing Universities.

Sponsored by the IHC’s Harry Girvetz Memorial Endowment.