Journalist – Historian – Speaker
Image Description: Me on CNN. Michigan Ave/Chicago River behind me. David Perry: Associate Professor, Dominican University Headline: Oregon Massacre, Campus Shooter Kills 9, Wounds 9 I went on CNN on Friday, 10/1, to discuss the terrible shooting on a community college campus in Oregon. CNN hasn’t released a clip so I can’t show it to …
OPINIÓN: No debemos temerle al sÃndrome de Down http://t.co/3YRfPluotm pic.twitter.com/zKsFTjcSgO — CNN en Español (@CNNEE) February 19, 2015 I have a new piece up at CNN (here’s the English language version. I’ve just never, to my knowledge, been translated before, so sharing this!). I try to make some big points, but at the core there’s …
Last Tuesday, CNN published an essay of mine that took the occasion of Kanye West’s bad behavior, in which he demanded fans prove their disabilities, to talk about the way that this happens to people with disabilities all the time. Response was mostly very positive, but I always pay attention to criticisms, even though I …
Today I have a new piece on CNN about Kanye West. I build on yesterday’s blog post, expanding my argument that the Kanye West’s behavior is a magnified celebrity egotistical version of the kinds of skepticism and suspicion faced people with disabilities all the time. In the piece, I write: Reaction to this incident throughout …
As I continue to write about language, politics, and ethics, I thought it would be useful to place statements all on one page, without comment. Eden Foods, Whole Foods, The Wedge Co-Op, Willy Street Co-op. I also have links to major reporting on the topic, especially from a year ago when their first suit was …
I have a new piece up on CNN on Trigger Warnings in the Classroom. I make two arguments. 1. Psychological disability involving trauma is serious and should never be dismissed. However, we have a mandate through the ADA to provide reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities. Let’s increasingly support, fund, and use those services, make …
I’ve been at the 49th International Congress on Medieval Studies, held annually at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, MI. It’s an extraordinary event – over 3000 medievalists come to this small town and lovely campus and, over four days, work on everything from the most micro-specialized topic to giant sweeping questions about the academy and …
I have a new essay up on CNN today reacting to Sarah Palin’s “forced baptism” remarks. In it, I link her most recent comment and her use of “blood libel” back in 2011 (after the Giffords shooting) to the history such words invoke (or evoke, depending on intention). One thing that startles me is that …