Entries by Jeffrey Ian Ross

Who’s teaching this college course anyways? And why does it matter?

Over the past few years, COVID-19 has had significantly affected community college, liberal arts college, and university instruction. Many institutions of higher education have pivoted to on-line and hybrid instruction. With the introduction of the vaccine, mask mandates, testing, and hygiene theatre during the past few semesters, there was an assumption that by the Spring […]

The downsides of commodifying Street Culture

In general, if someone or an organization like a business, can make a buck they will. From the agricultural to utility sectors, this approach is the backbone of capitalism. Recently, this phenomenon has been increasingly visible in the field, actions, and products produced in the realm of street culture (i.e., the beliefs, dispositions, ideologies, informal […]

Unanswered questions regarding the January 6, 2021 insurrection

A year has passed since an angry mob of pro Trump supporters, believing that the 2020 election was stolen, stormed the United States Capitol, and broke through a cordon of underprepared and understaffed Capitol Police. For four hours, the mob attacked law enforcement, vandalized the building, its chambers and offices, stole documents, and terrorized members […]

How I killed time in 2021

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to my friends, family, colleagues, and readers. Like many people, during the last week of December I’m naturally drawn to reflect back on the past year; things that I’ve done (stayed home during the pandemic), places I’ve gone (the grocery store, while wearing a mask), and things […]

Academics shouldn’t be seduced by the rubber chicken banquet circuit

Scholars are exposed to and trained how to do comprehensive literature reviews, collect data in a systematic manner, analyze this information using appropriate methods, make interpretations from this evaluation, and then subject their findings to peer review. This process is typically resource intense and often frustrating. But this is how academics conduct rigorous scientific research. […]