Maria Madison, Interim Dean
Book: Closing the Equity Gap, Creating Wealth and Fostering Justice in Startup Investing by Freada Kapor Klein and Mitch Kapor
"The Kapors beautifully demonstrate the value of DEI on society writ large. Their love as a couple informs their work to spread equity and justice."
Pamina Firchow, Associate Professor of Coexistence and Conflict
Book: Reclaiming Everyday Peace: Local Voices in Measurement and Evaluation after War by Pamina Firchow
"If you are wondering about some of the issues we discuss in COEX classes, my book gives a good overview of the challenges to measurement and accountability in peacebuilding and why it is such a fundamental challenge to get technical about building peace and coexistence. It then offers an alternative way forward for measurement by using community participants' data that are involved in the 'sausage-making' of creating statistics. Happy summer reading!"
Rajesh Sampath, Associate Professor of the Philosophy of Justice, Rights, and Social Change
Book: The Second: Race and Guns in a Fatally Unequal America by Carol Anderson
"Anderson writes that the protection of 2nd Amendment rights to own a gun has always been about systemic white supremacy and anti-Blackness. Professor Anderson gives us the in-depth history from slavery to our contemporary times.
"Also, here's an interview I did with her during her visit to Brandeis!"
Monika Mitra, Nancy Lurie Marks Professor of Disability Policy and Director, Lurie Institute for Disability Policy
Book: Being Heumann by Judy Heumann
"Being Heumann is a memoir by the late Judy Heumann, describing her journey as a disability rights activist. It depicts her struggles from her early days in fighting for her own right to education, to her advocacy and activism in fighting for the civil rights of all disabled Americans."
Book: Disability Visibility by Alice Wong
"Disability Visibility is a powerful collection of essays edited by Alice Wong. The essays include a range of voices, perspectives, and experiences by a diverse group of disabled people and will challenge the stereotype of who is disabled. Judy's book is foundational to understanding the advocacy behind the Rehabilitation Act, IDEA, and the Americans with Disabilities Act, and Disability Visibility is essential to understanding disability justice. Both books are a must-read."
Susan Curnan, Florence G. Heller Associate Professor of the Practice and Director, Center for Youth and Communities
Book: All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis by A.E. Johnson and K.K. Wilkinson
"Edited by climate leaders Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Dr. Katharine K. Wilkinson, All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis is a vital anthology of essays written by women authors featuring a feminist perspective and highly diverse voices in the field of climate change. The editors tell us, 'Climate is not gender neutral' and how climate change is a 'threat multiplier' for women and girls. Includes a wide array of compelling ideas infused with wisdom, poetry, hope, and inspiration. If you choose the audio version, narrators include America Ferrera, Jane Fonda, Janet Mock, Alfre Woodard, and more. And check out the action-packed All We Can Save Project website for educator and community-building resources."
Book: The Environment and the People in American Cities, 1600s-1900s: Disorder, Inequality, and Social Change by D.E. Taylor
"Environmental justice scholar, Yale School of the Environment professor, and author Dorceta E. Taylor's book, The Environment and the People in American Cities, 1600s-1900s: Disorder, Inequality, and Social Change, has been called 'the first history of Environmental injustice in America.' Taylor examines environmental problems in the U.S. through a sharp lens of race, class, and gender, illustrating, throughout the decades, the essential connections between the positionality of the people and their immediate environment. An excellent source for definitions of important theories and practices in environmental justice, spotlighting activism and movements."