Episode 49: Dr. Neil Kraus: A Close Look at The Attention Economy

Welcome back to Yeah, I Got a F#@*ing job with a Liberal Arts Degree. This week's episode features a conversation with Dr. Neil Kraus who is Professor of Political Science at the University of Wisconsin, River Falls. He teaches several courses in American politics and public policy, and specializes in urban politics and policies.  And he is the author three books  Majoritarian Cities: Policy Making and Inequality in Urban Politics (2013, University of Michigan Press), Race, Neighborhoods, and Community Power: Buffalo Politics, 1934-1997 (2000, State University of New York Press), and The Fantasy Economy: Neoliberalism, Inequality, and the Education Reform Movement (2023, Temple University Press. We invited Neil on the show because his work, research and The Fantasy Economy were suggested to us by previous guest David C. K. Curry , who was featured on episode 36 of the show.  This conversation is ever relevant as we head into a time of potential upheaval in policy around education. The Attention Economy and Dr. Kraus's research are so well laid out to explain the role that higher education should play within society, and how that has been weaponized by groups interested in diminishing it's value. This conversation is sobering and necessary as we look ahead to what's next. A description from Temple University Press of The Fantasy Economy: "The Fantasy Economy challenges the basic assumptions of the education reform movement of the last few decades. Kraus insists that education cannot control the labor market and unreliable corporate narratives fuel this misinformation. Moreover, misguided public policies, such as accountability and school choice, along with an emphasis on workforce development and STEM over broad-based liberal arts education, have only produced greater inequality." Follow the show on X ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠@JobLiberalArts⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠and on Instagram @LiberalArtsJobPod Purchase ⁠The Fantasy Economy here. ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Music by Silverman Sound Studios⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ Yeah, I Got an F#%*ing Job with a Liberal Arts Degree is produced by Abigail Smithson