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A modern “Antebellum puzzle”?

Claude Fischer, professor of sociology | January 4, 2013

As described in an earlier post, there was a long period during America’ nineteenth-century economic growth in which progress was so uneven, so unequal that the height and life spans of Americans declined for a few decades. On average, those who were born between roughly 1830 and 1870 grew up a bit shorter and lived … Continue reading »

Shaken but secure

Claude Fischer, professor of sociology | March 24, 2011

The horrific images from the Japanese earthquake-tsunami have probably shaken everyone’s confidence. When a nation so modern — so modern that its technology is considered cutting edge — is knocked down so badly, with thousands of citizens dead and many more left in the cold dark for days, with food running short, communities isolated, and … Continue reading »