#AcademicRunPlaylist - 2/10/25

The snow hasn't melted, which made for a lovely run through the woods while I listened to talks for my #AcademicRunPlaylist!

First was a great panel on worker participation on company boards at European Trade Union Institute (ETUI) with Sophie Rosenbohm, Sophia Friedel, Alex S., and Gemma Fajardo https://youtu.be/SfaT5W1JD6E?si=Yyfzvms0BoumAjya&t=19900

Next was a thought-provoking talk by J. Dmitri Gallow on recent developments in the philosophy of causation at the USC Information Sciences Institute https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4rqtlbb1fbs

Next was an excellent talk by Nanthia Suthana on different approaches for understanding the neural dynamics of memory, navigation, and threat detection in the real world at the Kempner Institute at Harvard University. Unfortunately the audio cuts out for awhile in the middle 😞, it's fascinating work https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvCSwIhWqZ8

Next was "Freedom's Dominion" by Jefferson Cowie, who skillfully traces the instantiation of the concept of "freedom" in the US through the centuries, starting in the early 1800s and the blatant disregard for treaties with different Native American tribes and continuing through the fight against desegregation and to the storming of the capitol in 2021. At its root, this book shows how American freedom is the right of white people to exercise dominance over everyone else. The idea that freedom really means "freedom to dominate" is grotesque, but so neatly explains the political trajectory of the US that it cannot be ignored and has to be dealt with. Beyond that, the brief periods of progress - Reconstruction, the New Deal, the Great Society - show how headway can be made, but were always met with strong rollbacks of those gains. Highly recommend https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/jefferson-cowie/freedom%E2%80%99s-dominion-winner-of-the-pulitzer-prize/9781541672819/

Last was "A Brief History of Korea" by Michael Seth. True to the title, this book is just long enough to give you a solid introduction to Korean history, while not long enough to spend lots of time in analysis of different historical trends/events. What emerges is an excellent overview of Korea's fascinating history, with a good amount of the book centering on the pre-1900s while not neglecting the colonial and modern period. Overall, it's a great jumping off point for further reading. Highly recommend https://www.tuttlepublishing.com/korea/a-brief-history-of-korea