This week, we turn our attention to how social systems respond to crisis, and how global and local conditions shape community breakdown or cohesion. Our focus includes the 30th anniversary of the 1995 Chicago Heat Wave. Still one of the most lethal urban disasters in U.S. history.

We'll examine how systems of inequality contributed to the loss of life. How crises often expose deeper, long-standing injustices (remember the anniversary of Katrina is coming later this summer). Alongside this case study, we’ll also consider broader global conditions and the legacy of empire through a second reading that pushes us to locate ourselves in the “ruins of the present.” Heat Wave is an excellent example of what happens when community engaged scholars write books. Enjoy!

This Week's Goals

Analyze how crises expose systemic inequalities and affect community structures.
Apply theoretical concepts to the Chicago Heat Wave and broader global conditions.
Connect course readings to your scholarly or professional focus.
Collaborate with your partner(s) to begin outlining your co-authored essay.

To-Do List

Read Two Foundational Texts

Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago
In the Ruins of the Present

Focus on understanding the authors’ central arguments, key terms, and how each text relates to questions of crisis, policy failure, global precarity, and community abandonment or resilience.

Submit 2-Paragraph Notes for Each Text

Write a short reflection for each reading (2 paragraphs per text).
Include the central argument, key terms or frameworks, and initial connections to your scholarly or practitioner interests.

Watch this talk by Eric Klinenberg

Attend the Thursday Night Live Session and talk to your collaborators.

What’s Due This Week

Notes on Heat Wave (2 paragraphs)
Notes on In the Ruins of the Present (2 paragraphs)
Participation in Thursday night’s live session
Select Question and Outline Collaborative Paper