by Michael Burawoy | May 4, 2020 | Commentary, Weekly
Covid-19 has magnified inequalities. The poorer you are, the greater likelihood of contracting the Covid-19 virus. The disproportion in mortality rates among different racial groups is shocking, and points to unhealthy “underlying conditions” of labor and lack of...
by Michael Burawoy | Apr 28, 2020 | Commentary, Weekly
There is a big question hanging over UC Berkeley as well as many other campuses: how will education resume in the fall? Will we be able to return to campus? Might it be necessary to continue remote instruction for all classes? Or will some hybrid scheme be developed?...
by Michael Burawoy | Apr 20, 2020 | Commentary, Weekly
In recent weeks, we have devoted much space in our newsletter to the plight of undergraduates from poorer homes or those who don’t have any homes to go to, graduate students who will face a job market without jobs, and precariously employed lecturers. But our concerns...
by Michael Burawoy | Apr 13, 2020 | Commentary, Weekly
Even as we begin to adapt to the shift to remote instruction, Berkeley faculty know how much time and energy have been involved in transforming our pedagogy-and how much time it has taken away from other activities, especially research. Yet as tough as the adaptation...
by Michael Burawoy | Apr 6, 2020 | Commentary, Weekly
On April 1, Chancellor Christ announced a hiring freeze at Berkeley. Her message primarily concerned non-academic positions, but warned that open faculty searches “may receive additional scrutiny.” Departments in the midst of or planning faculty searches...
by Michael Burawoy | Mar 30, 2020 | Commentary, Weekly
As we prepare to reassemble (virtually) after Spring break, some of the long-term probable consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for the campus are beginning to come into focus. Higher education will surely feel the impact of the recession that will grip the...
