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THE UNIVERSITY AND SOCIAL JUSTICE - Aziz Choudry and Salim Vally (eds.)

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The University and Social Justice Struggles Across the Globe This review was originally published at  LSE Review of Books Blog . Compiling an edited volume is always a daunting task; and to do so on a topic as contemporary and interdisciplinary as student struggles, even more so. In The University and Social Justice: Struggles Across the Globe, editors Aziz Choudry and Salim Vally do just that – and brilliantly. The book is a collection of studies on university-based activism, essential reading for anyone intrigued by the state of Higher Education in the world. Over the last few years, a lot has been said and written about social justice movements in universities all across the globe. Thus, to draw out researched pieces from amongst a barrage of fake news is a big task, yet extremely necessary at this juncture. To the larger public, the university takes on a lot of different meanings. It is considered as a training ground for the elite or as an institution to reproduce the norms and cu
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THE HIDDEN CURRICULUM - Rachel Gable

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The Hidden Curriculum First-Generation Students at Legacy Universities Imagine stepping into one of the world’s most prestigious universities—Harvard or Georgetown—excited and determined to succeed, only to realise that you’re playing a game with  rules you’ve never learned. That’s what Rachel Gable's The Hidden Curriculum: First-Generation  Students at Legacy Universities captures. This book pulls back the curtain on the subtle and unspoken  aspects of elite academic life, showing how these nuances—what Gable refers to as the "hidden  curriculum"—present an extra layer of challenge for first-generation students, those who are the first  in their families to attend college. Through her detailed research, interviews with over 100 students, and analysis of the cultural and social codes at play, Gable doesn’t just tell the story of academic difficulty. She uncovers the silent struggles of navigating a system that is unconsciously designed for students from more privileged,
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Five Dystopian Books to Read During Quarantine

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2020 is a year that does not stop giving. With people all over, burdened with multiple simultaneous tragedies, this is not a year that anyone alive is going to forget easily. However, we need to find comfort in the fact that things could be a lot worse. The world is a strange place right now, and it does feel like the world as we know it has ended. We will have to embrace ourselves for a new normal whenever we get the chance to get back to our routine.  Thankfully though, many books have dealt with this already- albeit in different ways. Dystopian novels have been around for many years, intriguing us with varying kinds of end-of-the-world scenarios. These are surreal stories of oppressive regimes, genetic control, apocalypses, and are just as gripping as they are terrifying.  Here is a list of five of the most notable books of the genre. Whenever you feel the need to  escape to another more disturbing world, pick up a book from the list below: 1. Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury        
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BORN TO RUN - Christopher McDougall

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I got to reading Born to Run because it is highly recommended, and a considerable number of reviews available online call it a must-read. I agree with them to the point that this book could inspire people to take up running, and to even turn towards a healthier diet- with chia seeds and such mentioned at a number of places. However, how amazing a book do I really think it is? It was not satisfying trying to read it as a novel because it seems like a patchwork of several magazine pieces glued together. And I could not consider it a journalistic account due to its excessive claims, misleading statistics and analyses, logical inconsistencies and plain odd errors. Having said that, though, the book has a fun core of semi-mystical lost knowledge and its tone, written as someone who is continually discovering ancient legends, made the book enjoyable. The author, Christopher McDougall, is an American magazine correspondent and he writes about the Running tribe of Tarahumara in M
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