AKA Review– March 18, 2022

From Higher Ed Dive:
What's in the 2022 Budget for Higher Education?
By Jeremy Bauer-Wolf
The $76.4 billion appropriation for the U.S. Department of Education, signed this week, represents a $3 billion increase—a stark contrast to the Trump administration’s proposals for major cuts in education spending. This clear summary outlines how the spending package will be distributed. $3 billion will be allotted to higher education programs with a separate $25 billion for federal student aid, including a $400 increase in the maximum Pell award. The package also sets aside $885 million to assist HBCUs and other minority-serving institutions, a $96 million increase from the previous year. Read this article

From The New York Times:
Ukrainian Isn’t ‘Little Russian’ and Black English Isn’t Broken
By John McWhorter
Some Russian nationalists do not consider Ukrainian a language separate from Russian, this linguist/social-critic observes. He describes the importance of revealing “the uniqueness of what traditionally have been dismissed as mere dialects”—particularly when it comes to speech varieties with origins in colonialism and imperialism. In this context, the author makes a case for proper recognition of Black English, noting that rather than viewing it as “English gone wrong,” we should consider people who speak both Black English and Standard English as proficient in, all together, a larger English. Read this article

From Stat:
Ignoring Behavioral and Social Sciences Undermines the U.S. Response to Covid-19
By Judith D. Auerbach and Andrew D. Forsyth

Our nation’s strategy for battling the coronavirus was based on biomedical reductionism, which reduces infectious diseases to their biological, chemical, and physical aspects. But it has been known for years that social, structural, and cultural factors influence decision-making, often in directions that run counter to scientific consensus. Had the U.S. utilized insights and expertise from the behavioral and social sciences, as well as lessons learned in the fight against HIV, the authors argue it would have increased the likelihood that the single best tool—effective vaccines—would stop a highly contagious virus in its tracks. Read this article

From Literary Hub:
American Literature is a History of the Nation’s Libraries
By Ilan Stavans
In this love letter to the American public library, the author explains their history, value, and purpose, emphasizing the important roles they have had and still play in society. Widespread reading has been on the decline recently, but literature throughout history has maintained the importance of well-read society. Ray Bradbury’s famous line, “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them” was as pertinent in 1953 as it is today. Libraries play an important role in keeping our culture alive and democracy afloat. Read this article

From WIRED:
Humans Evolved to Play Music
By David George Haskell
In this excerpt from his book Sounds Wild and Broken, the author explores sound, evolution, and what defines music. While some assert that humans are the only animals to produce music, he argues that may not be the case depending on how music is defined. Is it sonic communication? Is it meant to evoke aesthetic or emotional responses in listeners? Is it given value through culture? However music is characterized, the author maintains that animals and humans interact with sound similarly, emphasizing the value music has to all species.Read this article