The three different methodologies (open online, traditional online, and residential) are not in conflict. What we want to do is leverage the power of both open and traditional online learning (again different things) to improve residential education. We get the importance of place in higher education. It is also the case that those of us involved in both open and traditional online learning are also big believers in small, residential, and intimate classroom settings. Even the best professors, including Klinenberg, seem to conflate traditional online education with MOOCs. It's a thing.įirst, it is becoming clear to me that those of us who work in traditional and open online learning need to get out more. Academics express affection through argument. There is much that Klinenberg discusses that will surprise and enlighten even card-carrying sociologists.Īs a fellow (if somewhat lapsed) sociologist, I can’t resist offering some constructive criticism from within the discipline. If you are hesitant to read this book because you already know the public library story, I urge you to reconsider. The book, however, goes well beyond the public library in describing how social infrastructure is built, maintained and degraded. You also know that Palaces for the People is a love letter public libraries. Since you’ve read Barbara and Matt's reviews, you already have an idea of how important the concept of social infrastructure is to individual and community well-being.

Palaces for the People did not disappoint. I’m tribally predisposed to like Klinenberg's writing. Klinenberg also wrote the terrific Going Solo: The Extraordinary Rise and Surprising Appeal of Living Alone. I couldn’t be happier that a sociologist is writing sociological books for a non-specialist audience. Then Matt Reed weighed in, and the book moved to the top of my reading list. I purchased the e-book/audiobook combination of Palaces for the People after reading Barbara Fister’s review. Palaces for the People: How Social Infrastructure Can Help Fight Inequality, Polarization, and the Decline of Civic Life by Eric Klinenbergĭoes the fact that three IHE bloggers are now recommending Palace for the People make you less or more likely to read this book?

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