When The Hills Are Gone: Ch. 3-6

Within chapters three to five, there were many themes that reminded me of the people’s story of Janesville and their intersecting identity with their place of belonging. The Syversen’s their neighbor, and many farmers have lost their land and property because of what Goldberg describes as a, “… potent symbol of ‘creative destruction,’ the remnants …

The Walleye War: Ch. 6 – Epilogue

Nesper’s, The Walleye War, shed light on some of the histories that the United States continuously attempts to bury regarding Indigenous people that have led to extreme poverty rates on reservations, land rights and treaty issues, discrimination against Indigenous practices and traditions, and a lack in the service environment on reservations. Nesper emphasizing the fearful feeling Chapman …

The Start of Spring Semester (Concord Blog)

The month of February quickly came and ended even quicker. In less than three months, I’ll be a first-generation college graduate, and who knew it would be in the middle of a global pandemic. I envisioned what graduation would be like for the last four years — my family traveling from all over to Madison, …

The Politics of Resentment Chapters 3-6

Cramer does an overall noteworthy job writing her explanations to get readers like me from urban areas to understand that the rural consciousness is rooted in place. Reading through the concerns of those from rural areas, I unconsciously reacted with, “oh, well, urban schools are just as underfunded, and healthcare is just as much of an …

The Politics of Resentment – Chapters 1 & 2

The Politics of Resentment is a dramatic shift from both Evicted and Janesville. Although these first two chapters were more of her strategy she will be taking throughout this book and “setting the stage” for the reader, it is clear that this read will be grounded in research, theories and evidence. Initially as I read …

Janesville Part 5 & 6

As I got to the end of Janesville, I thought Goldstein captured the rippling effects the GM plant closing and false hope had on the community, local economy and individual level. There were several investments with the vision of restoring living wages and benefits that inadvertently failed such as providing education through Blackhawk Tech, Rock …

Janesville: Parts 3 & 4

Reading through parts 3 and 4 of Janesville, I kept thinking about the attitude surrounding education and how it provides a gateway into your future career and job success. Or so that’s what we are told as we’re growing up going through the education system to become instruments for capitalism. As students, we adapt to …

Evicted: Chapters 13-24

In these next chapters, several things caught my attention, from Rufus’s racist and stereotypical comment of Black people being seen as filthy to Arleen neglecting the domestic abuse of Trisha. Tobin and Shereena’s attitudes’ continues to infuriate me because of the superiority and classist thinking that illustrates their tenants as ignoble — and their tenants …

Evicted: Ch. 7-12

The further I keep reading along in Evicted, the more infuriated I catch myself feeling. As someone who aspires to make change in the communities I serve, trying to see both the landlord and tenants' perspectives of the renting and eviction process only goes to an extent. In the first few chapters, I made excuses …

Matthew Desmond’s Evicted – Initial Thoughts

Throughout the first 6 chapters of Desmond’s Evicted, reading about the lives of struggling Milwaukeeans facing eviction was both gruesome and overwhelming; however, Desmond did a phenomenal job showing the reader of the capitalistic system that has continued to suppress neglected communities and individuals of misfortune. One after another, the stories of these families became …