Op Eds by Humanists at Illinois

Humanists at Illinois take their work public in all kinds of ways. As part of its 20th anniversary “Paradigm Shifts” theme, HRI brought experts to campus to help us learn how to sharpen our communication skills so that our research and teaching can reach a broad audience.

In April 2018, twenty faculty and staff from across the university participated a workshop run by The Op Ed Project, a New York city-based venture founded, in their own words, “to increase the range of voices and quality of ideas we hear in the world.” Their workshops are two-day intensives that focus on helping participants identify and articulate their expertise, hone their thinking and writing skills, and learn how to pitch their ideas to media outlets where they want their work and wisdom to be heard.

Participants in the Illinois workshop raved about the experience—and they made quick work of what they learned. Below is a growing archive of what the HRI Op Ed alumni have published so far:

Anne Abbott (Spanish and Portuguese) in the Chicago Tribune: "Jimmy Kimmel's joke about Melania Trump's accent hurts all immigrants", "Learning the language of my husband's Parkinsons" in Folks, and "My 10-Year-Old Son Yelled ‘Speak English!’ To A Stranger" in the HuffPost.
Jane Desmond (Anthropology and Gender and Women’s Studies) at CNN: "A surprising victim of the opioid crisis"
John Murphy (Communicaton) in the News Gazette, "Davis must be willing to listen," and "The rhetorical trick Trump used on the'Squad' and how it could affect the vote" at The Conversation.
A. Naomi Paik (Asian American Studies) at The Conversation: "US turned away thousands of Haitain asylum-seekers and detained hundreds more in the 90s," "Immigration activists fighting to abolish ICE have a bigger vision," and "ICE detainees on hunger strike are being force-fed, just like Guantánamo detainees before them." In Truthout: "Abolishing Police Includes Abolishing ICE and Border Protection."
Michelle A. Rodrigues (Anthropology) in Lady Science: "It’s time to stop lionizing Dian Fossey as a conservation hero."

Let us know if you have taken your work public! Contact aburton@illinois.edu.