Social Studies Study Guide

Corporate America continues to struggle with racial equity in a post-George Floyd world. As the United States becomes more diverse and the public consciousness continues to shift, successful racial equity efforts in the workplace are needed now more than ever. Decentering Whiteness in the Workplace exposes the ways that white culture and expectations are centered in the modern American workplace and the fears within corporate spaces about talking candidly, openly, and honestly about whiteness, white supremacy, and anti-Blackness.

They are everywhere on social media. Images of perfect, pleasant women with perfect, pretty children in perfect, tidy homes—the epitome of “good” moms. But this model of motherhood is an illusion that far too many women either measure themselves against or simply cannot relate to in the first place. Enter Jamilah Mapp and Erica Dickerson: if you are sex-positive, cannabis-friendly, and love sharing NSFW stories with your fellow mom friends, you’re not doing anything wrong and you are definitely not a bad mother. And Jamilah and Erica are your tribe.

In God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything (2007), journalist Christopher Hitchens argues that religious faith is not necessary for humanity’s progress. In fact, faith in supernatural beings has slowed scientific advancement, led to human rights violations, and facilitated the creation of totalitarian regime.

Janet Malcolm delves into the psychopathology of journalism using a strange and unprecedented lawsuit as her larger-than-life example: the lawsuit of Jeffrey MacDonald, a convicted murderer, against Joe McGinniss, the author of Fatal Vision. Examining the always uneasy, sometimes tragic relationship that exists between journalist and subject, Malcolm finds that neither journalist nor subject can avoid the moral impasse that is built into the journalistic situation.

Stamped is Reynolds’ self-described remix of Kendi’s 2016 National Book Award winner Stamped from the Beginning, utilizing humor and slang to transform intellectual and political history into a story for middle school and high school listeners. As the book discusses historical struggles and empowerment, racism and antiracism, and violence and resistance, it invites listeners to become the next generation of empowered and educated antiracists that can resist ongoing affronts to Black freedom and equality.

This audio study guide for Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as the tyranny of the majority and the remedy for it, nostalgia for an aristocracy in decline, and the importance of religious faith. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics. Democracy in America is a multilayered work that spans genres, topics, and continents.

This audio study guide for The Great Influenza by John M. Barry includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as the triumphs and limits of science and the need for truth and leadership in crises. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.

This audio study guide for Spillover by David Quammen includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes, such as the value of scientific expertise, randomness and risk, and humans as animals. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.

This audio study guide for Courtroom 302 by Steve Bogira includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes, such as the prison-industrial complex and the influences of corruption and politics on trial cases. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.

This audio study guide for Imagined Communities: Reflections on the Origin and Spread of Nationalism by Benedict Anderson includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes, such as nationalism, print capitalism, imperialism, and post-colonialism.

This audio study guide for The Emperor of All Maladies by Siddhartha Mukherjee includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the novel’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as cancer as the disease of the atomic age and success through medical failure. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics

Merchants of Truth is the groundbreaking and gripping story of the precarious state of the news business told by one of our most eminent journalists. Jill Abramson follows four companies: The New York Times, The Washington Post, BuzzFeed, and Vice Media over a decade of disruption and radical adjustment. The new digital reality nearly kills two venerable newspapers with an aging readership while creating two media behemoths with a ballooning and fickle audience of millennials.

A comprehensive examination of the struggle to reconcile philosophy and Islam. From the introduction of Greek Philosophy into the Muslim world in the eighth century, right through to modern times, Majid Fakhry charts the evolution and interaction of philosophy, theology, and mysticism in the Islamic context. Highlighting key individuals, movements, concepts, and writings, Fakhry also explores the conflicts and controversies between anti- and pro-philosophical parties.

Short on time? Or, maybe, you’ve already read or listened to the book, but need to refresh on the most important takeaways. In a quick, easy listen, you can take the main principles from The Like Switch: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Influencing, Attracting, and Winning People Over. The Like Switch was published in 2015 by former FBI agent and psychologist Jack Schafer. Schafer offers tips and tools you can use to make other people instantly like you.

This audio study guide for So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as systemic racism, activism, and social justice. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.

This audio study guide for The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life by Erving Goffman includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as the relationship between performers and their audience, communication, and the presentation of self. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life is a sociological study of the ways individuals encounter each other.

SuperSummary, a modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, offers high-quality instructional study guides for challenging works of literature. This audio study guide for Circe by Madeline Miller includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as the nature and power of victory and misogyny and female suffering. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.

SuperSummary, a modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, offers high-quality instructional study guides for challenging works of literature. This audio study guide for Monique and the Mango Rains by Kris Holloway includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as public health and modern medicine, and bridging cultural boundaries. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.

SuperSummary, a modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, offers high-quality instructional study guides for challenging works of literature. This audio study guide for On Tyranny by Timothy Snyder includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the novel’s multiple symbols, motifs, and themes such as the failure of democracy, the rise of tyranny, and the anti-democratic practices of an American president. Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.

SuperSummary, a modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, offers high-quality instructional study guides for challenging works of literature. This audio study guide for Being Mortal: Illness, Medicine and What Matters in the End by Atul Gawande includes detailed summary and analysis of each chapter and an in-depth exploration of the book's multiple symbols, motifs, and themes (such as "Mortality" and "Risk-Taking"). Featured content also includes commentary on major characters, 25 important quotes, essay questions, and discussion topics.