Low-Paid Industries Rely on Gig Workers. Are They Actually Employees?

A new survey sheds light on the working conditions of New York City’s “independent contractors”

Ask any organizer and you’ll hear how hard it is to reach gig workers. These workers typically lack a physical place of work or regular schedule (though many work all the time), and their work is poorly measured in Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics datasets. The gig workers ...
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Low-Paid Industries Rely on Gig Workers. Are They Actually Employees?

Social Research on Exile

Banishment, “refugeedom,” and the political problem of our time

In the latest issue of Social Research (Vol. 92, No. 1), scholars explore the nature of exile. Some essays reflect on exile forced by war and political persecution, others on the difference between being an exile and being a refugee. TABLE OF CONTENTS Avishai Margalit, "Internal Exile and Politics"This essay has two ...
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Social Research on Exile

Very Far From the Homeland

On contemporary readings from Etel Adnan, Mahmoud Darwish, and Alice Oswald exile in the Iliad

One of the cruelties of the Iliad is how alive each person is made to appear just before they are killed. That is the point of Homer's long, detailed lists of Greeks and Trojans: names, deeds, parents, brothers, spouses, children, lovers, skills, bad hair, swift feet, words, and weapons. The poem about ...
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Very Far From the Homeland

It’s Not a Migrant Crisis—It’s a Political Crisis

The creation of a global category of the unfree

Amidst acknowledging the immediate suffering of migrants and asylum seekers, this critique challenges the narrative surrounding the so-called "migrant crisis." It argues that diverting attention from systemic issues perpetuates dehumanization and supports policies hindering migrants' rights. Emphasizing the need for equitable immigration policies, it advocates for building diverse, inclusive societies....

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It’s Not a Migrant Crisis—It’s a Political Crisis

Testing the Waters in Gotham

A look at how residents throughout the city’s history have chosen what to drink

The three forms of water distribution form a fluid archive of community formation, civic pride, and the many different possible ways New Yorkers can choose the water they drink....

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Testing the Waters in Gotham