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	<title>Civic Studies &#187; Unpopular Opinions</title>
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	<link>http://civicstudies.org</link>
	<description>An intellectual community of researchers and practitioners dedicated to building the emerging field of civic studies</description>
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		<title>Polls and Partisanship</title>
		<link>http://sarahshugars.com/2017/11/polls-and-partisanship/</link>
		<comments>http://sarahshugars.com/2017/11/polls-and-partisanship/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 13 Nov 2017 22:38:49 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Shugars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Citizens & Civil Society]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unpopular Opinions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sarahshugars.com/?p=2297</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[A recent poll found that 37% of evangelicals are more likely to vote for GOP Senate candidate Roy Moore&#160;following&#160;allegations of sexual misconduct against him. That makes for a nice clickbait headline. It sounds appalling, and it is&#160;appalling, though perhaps not for the reasons one might think. First, some details on the poll itself: it was [&#8230;] <a href="http://sarahshugars.com/2017/11/polls-and-partisanship/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Freedom of Speech</title>
		<link>http://sarahshugars.com/2017/08/freedom-of-speech/</link>
		<comments>http://sarahshugars.com/2017/08/freedom-of-speech/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 08 Aug 2017 20:56:19 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Shugars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Citizens & Civil Society]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unpopular Opinions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sarahshugars.com/?p=2212</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[While I was offline for most of the weekend, there was a bit of excitement generated by a 10-page, misogynist manifesto published internally by a male employee at a certain well-known tech company. The employee has since been fired. I&#8217;ll admit that I haven&#8217;t read&#160;the entire controversial post. Quite frankly, I&#8217;m not sure I need [&#8230;] <a href="http://sarahshugars.com/2017/08/freedom-of-speech/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Gendered Creative Teams: The Challenge of Quantification</title>
		<link>http://sarahshugars.com/2017/06/gendered-creative-teams-the-challenge-of-quantification/</link>
		<comments>http://sarahshugars.com/2017/06/gendered-creative-teams-the-challenge-of-quantification/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 06 Jun 2017 20:59:26 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Shugars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Network Analysis]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social norms]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unpopular Opinions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sarahshugars.com/?p=2179</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I recently had the privilege of being an invited speaker at the Gendered Creative Teams workshop hosted by Central European University and organized by Ancsa Hann&#225;k, Roberta Sinatra, and Bal&#225;zs Vedres. It was a truly remarkable gathering of scholars, researchers, and activists, featuring two full days of&#160;provocations and rich discussion. Perhaps one of the most [&#8230;] <a href="http://sarahshugars.com/2017/06/gendered-creative-teams-the-challenge-of-quantification/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://civicstudies.org/2017/06/06/gendered-creative-teams-the-challenge-of-quantification/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<title>Optimism and Futility</title>
		<link>http://sarahshugars.com/2017/02/optimism-and-futility/</link>
		<comments>http://sarahshugars.com/2017/02/optimism-and-futility/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 27 Feb 2017 21:38:20 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Shugars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Meaninglessness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unpopular Opinions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sarahshugars.com/?p=2098</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[People often tell me that they find my writing optimistic. Indeed,&#160;this is a primary reason people frequently give me for why they enjoy my writing. It&#8217;s just so optimistic. Well, not saccharine-sweet, over-the-top optimistic, but optimistic nonetheless. I find this hilarious. I wouldn&#8217;t self-identify as an optimist, and those who know me are likely to [&#8230;] <a href="http://sarahshugars.com/2017/02/optimism-and-futility/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://civicstudies.org/2017/02/27/optimism-and-futility/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>On Violence and Protest</title>
		<link>http://sarahshugars.com/2017/02/on-violence-and-protest/</link>
		<comments>http://sarahshugars.com/2017/02/on-violence-and-protest/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Feb 2017 18:47:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Shugars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Citizens & Civil Society]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[civic studies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[history]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Justice]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unpopular Opinions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sarahshugars.com/?p=2071</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I&#8217;ve been thinking a lot recently about the role of violence in social movements. Such violence could take many forms, from punching nazis to property damage. Conventional wisdom among the mainstream left is that such violence isn&#8217;t a good tactic: not only is morally problematic, it is typically unsuccessful. In his biography of Gandhi, Bhikhu [&#8230;] <a href="http://sarahshugars.com/2017/02/on-violence-and-protest/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://civicstudies.org/2017/02/03/on-violence-and-protest/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Hope and Utopia</title>
		<link>http://sarahshugars.com/2016/07/hope-and-utopia/</link>
		<comments>http://sarahshugars.com/2016/07/hope-and-utopia/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 13 Jul 2016 15:40:27 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Shugars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[civic studies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Meaninglessness]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unpopular Opinions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utopia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sarahshugars.com/?p=1895</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[There is a common sentiment that hope is required for&#160;social action. We must hold on to hope. We must not give in to despair. Perhaps it is simply the contrarian in me, but I cannot help but sigh when hearing these&#160;exhortations. We must hold on to hope? Why? On the surface, I suppose it seem [&#8230;] <a href="http://sarahshugars.com/2016/07/hope-and-utopia/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://civicstudies.org/2016/07/13/hope-and-utopia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Discontent of the Commons</title>
		<link>http://sarahshugars.com/2016/06/discontent-of-the-commons/</link>
		<comments>http://sarahshugars.com/2016/06/discontent-of-the-commons/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jun 2016 16:19:09 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Shugars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Citizens & Civil Society]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[civic studies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[politics]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unpopular Opinions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sarahshugars.com/?p=1878</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[In a session on &#8220;The Politics of Discontent&#8221; at this year&#8217;s Frontiers of Democracy conference, democracy scholar Alison Staudinger proposed considering &#8220;discontent&#8221; as a common pool resource. I am deeply intrigued by this idea, and interested to understand just what that might mean. In 1968, ecologist Garrett Hardin popularized the concept of the &#8220;Tragedy of [&#8230;] <a href="http://sarahshugars.com/2016/06/discontent-of-the-commons/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://civicstudies.org/2016/06/29/discontent-of-the-commons/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Self-Skepticism</title>
		<link>http://sarahshugars.com/2016/06/self-skepticism/</link>
		<comments>http://sarahshugars.com/2016/06/self-skepticism/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 Jun 2016 15:57:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Shugars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Mental Health]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Miscellaneous Musings]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social norms]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unpopular Opinions]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sarahshugars.com/?p=1849</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I have complained before about the common solution to the so-called &#8220;confidence gap&#8221; &#8211; that those with less confidence (typically women) should simply behave more like their confident (typically male) peers. There&#8217;s a whole, complex, gender dynamic to this conversation, but even putting that issue aside, I have a hard time accepting that the world [&#8230;] <a href="http://sarahshugars.com/2016/06/self-skepticism/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://civicstudies.org/2016/06/10/self-skepticism/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Embracing Behinity</title>
		<link>http://sarahshugars.com/2016/06/embracing-behinity/</link>
		<comments>http://sarahshugars.com/2016/06/embracing-behinity/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 03 Jun 2016 15:48:41 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Shugars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Citizens & Civil Society]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[civic studies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social norms]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unpopular Opinions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utopia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sarahshugars.com/?p=1838</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Throughout the week, I&#8217;ve been reflecting on&#160;S&#225;ndor Szathm&#225;ri&#8217;s great work of social satire,&#160;Voyage to Kazohinia. The&#160;work critiques a number of social institutions, but largely seems to focus on a broader question: is an ideal society one at equilibrium or one which embraces extremes? Szathm&#225;ri presents this question by introducing us, through the shipwrecked Englishman Gulliver, [&#8230;] <a href="http://sarahshugars.com/2016/06/embracing-behinity/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://civicstudies.org/2016/06/03/embracing-behinity/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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		<item>
		<title>Equilibrium, Madness, and Utopia</title>
		<link>http://sarahshugars.com/2016/06/equilibrium-madness-and-utopia/</link>
		<comments>http://sarahshugars.com/2016/06/equilibrium-madness-and-utopia/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jun 2016 21:05:16 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator><![CDATA[Sarah Shugars]]></dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Citizens & Civil Society]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[civic studies]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[social norms]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Unpopular Opinions]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Utopia]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://sarahshugars.com/?p=1826</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Is it possible to have the good without the bad?&#160;Does beauty create ugliness and does love beget hate? These questions are often explored in dystopian fiction, but&#160;Szathm&#225;ri S&#225;ndor&#8217;s&#160;Voyage to Kazohinia&#160;is notable in its resounding answer. Yes, these opposites endlessly create each other, Szathm&#225;ri argues, and thus is it better to have neither. It is better [&#8230;] <a href="http://sarahshugars.com/2016/06/equilibrium-madness-and-utopia/">Continue reading <span class="meta-nav">&#8594;</span></a>]]></description>
		<wfw:commentRss>http://civicstudies.org/2016/06/01/equilibrium-madness-and-utopia/feed/</wfw:commentRss>
		<slash:comments>0</slash:comments>
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