Hamilton in the News

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio in Albany will feature a reading by Professor of Sociology Dennis Gilbert on Monday, March 5, as part of the public radio station’s Academic Minute. During his reading, Gilbert examines exactly who is considered middle class, pointing out that there are many definitions.

Professor of History Maurice Isserman published an op-ed about American Democratic Socialist Michael Harrington in The New York Times (3/3/12). In “The Poverty of An Idea,” Isserman notes that libertarian writer Charles Murray has lately kept alive the idea of a “culture of poverty, the theory that poor people are trapped by distorted norms and aspirations and not merely material deprivation." Yet, Michael Harrington was in the forefront of analyzing poverty as a social problem, Isserman notes.

Ann Owen, the Henry Platt Bristol Professor of Economics, was interviewed for a story on NPR on Feb. 17 after Congress approved legislation to continue a payroll tax holiday and extend benefits for the long-term unemployed.

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio in Albany will feature a reading by Barbara Gold, the Edward North Professor of Classics, on Tuesday, Feb. 14, as part of the public radio station’s Academic Minute. During her reading, Gold examines how the ancient Romans and contemporary Americans have expressed emotion and passion and what an ancient Valentine would look like.

A guest post titled “Higher education’s $64,000 question” by Professor of Government David Paris ’71 appeared on The Washington Post College Inc. blog on Feb. 2. Paris, who is currently serving as executive director of the New Leadership Alliance for Student Learning and Accountability, expressed his support for establishing evidence-based improvement of student learning as a central focus of higher education.

Dean of Admission and Financial Aid Monica Inzer joined New York Times    education senior editor Jacques Steinberg, on The Today Show to discuss issues related to financial aid on Friday, January 20. Video of this segment can be found on the Times’ admission website, The Choice.

The national news media focused its attention on Hamilton on many occasions in 2011, perhaps most intensely upon the release of a senior thesis written by five graduates. “Are Talking Heads Blowing Hot Air? An Analysis of the Accuracy of Forecasts in the Political Media” was presented on May 2. The New York Times, The Huffington Post, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, The Nation, The Financial Times and dozens of other national and international outlets reported the results almost immediately. Reference to the study continues in various publications.

Dissent Magazine published an article titled 50 Years Later: Poverty and The Other America by Publius Virgilius Rogers Professor of History Maurice Isserman in its winter 2012 issue. The article is an adaptation of the prologue of The Other American: The Life of Michael Harrington, the biography Isserman wrote in 2000. The article included updated statistics and observations.

An article titled “Study: Does enduring extreme weather make you vote liberal?,” appearing on the USA Today website on Dec. 30, reported on a study written by four Hamilton economists. Henry Platt Bristol Professor of Economics Ann Owen, Assistant Professor of Economics Emily Conover and Associate Professors of Economics Julio Videras and Stephen Wu co-authored the study, “Heat Waves, Droughts, and Preferences for Environmental Policy.” The Weather Channel also reported on the study on Jan. 2. 

The New York Times published a letter to the editor written by Professor of Government P. Gary Wyckoff as the leadoff response to “Class Matters. Why Won’t We Admit It?” in its Dec. 22 editorial section titled “Reducing Inequality in Our Schools.” He compared our current educational policies as being “like a requirement that all children clear the same height in the high jump, regardless of their stature.”