Category Archives: Kathy M. Newman

ABC Sitcom The Conners: The Struggle is Real

Posted on December 3, 2018 by

Life expectancy for Americans has fallen to an average of 78.6 years. This is a drop from the most recent estimates—indicating a downward trend that is virtually unheard of in Western countries. A report just released from the Centers for … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Sorry to Bother You: A Spectacle That Teaches

Posted on August 20, 2018 by

If you haven’t seen Sorry to Bother You yet, please stop reading this and find somewhere in your town that is still playing the film. SEE IT NOW. If you have seen Sorry to Bother You, I hope you will … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman, Labor and Community Activism, Work | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Class, Politics, and the Return of Roseanne

Posted on April 30, 2018 by

When ABC brought Roseanne back to life on March 27 it attracted more than 25 million viewers to its initial episode—and an additional 5-10 million caught the second airing or streamed it online. In today’s media ecosystem these numbers are … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Class at the Intersections, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman, Working-Class Politics | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Karl Marx Makes a Comeback

Posted on September 4, 2017 by

Several months ago the Communist party in Russia updated their visual propaganda by giving three of their most controversial icons—Lenin, Stalin, and Karl Marx—a makeover. In their new poster series, Stalin looks handsome and serious in a puff of vaping … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman, Labor and Community Activism, The Working Class and the Economy | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Bottom Chefs: A Working-Class Lens in the Competition Kitchen

Posted on November 23, 2014 by

Last week Top Chef Boston aired its Thanksgiving episode (filmed in July) in which the chefs had to squat over open fires, stir pots with large wooden spoons, and to try to cook a Thanksgiving feast limited by the ingredients … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman | Tagged , , , , , | 17 Comments

Working-Class Hero Explains How to Save our “Wounded Colossus”

Posted on October 6, 2014 by

Bob Herbert had no childhood dreams of becoming a journalist. As he explained in a recent interview, he grew up in Montclair, New Jersey, in an African American family that he once described as “working-class with a middle-class sensibility.” In … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and the Media, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

The Culture of Success

Posted on September 22, 2014 by

This semester I am teaching a freshman seminar on the college novel. We started with This Side of Paradise, Fitzgerald’s bizarre, Princeton-set contribution to the genre. The main character, Amory Blaine, starts life in Minneapolis with many material advantages. But … Continue reading →

Posted in Class and Education, Contributors, Issues, Kathy M. Newman, Working-Class Culture | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments