The “Legacies of Racism in American Culture” as part of the Perspectives series will return at 3 p.m. Dec. 8 via Zoom (Meeting ID: 998 4330 8081, Passcode: 441316). Dr. Chuck Koeber, associate professor and chair of the sociology department, will present on the subject while Andrew Hippisley, dean, Fairmount College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, will host the event.
This presentation will address the context of work (labor) and its influences on the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol insurrection. It examines the types of jobs in which insurrectionists were employed and also reviews types of right-wing political activism that took place within mass and social media and within communities and political rallies. Several, if not many, insurrectionists learned the skills necessary to carry out a military-style attack while working in their vocation. However, and perhaps more importantly, was the work done away from their jobs, as would-be insurrectionists devoted much time and money to consuming, producing and transferring media and social media content, much of which was not factual. This resulted in the formation and spread of radical right-wing political and racial ideologies that motivated the insurrectionists.
While at Wichita State, Koeber has been the director of the Center for Teaching Excellence and senior associate dean of Fairmount College. He teaches courses in introductory sociology, sociological theory, work and globalization. His research examines contemporary changes and social inequalities in the nature and organization of work. He is the coeditor of “The Critical Study of Work: Labor, Technology, and Global Production,” and the author of a handbook for laid-off Wichita workers titled “I’ve Been Laid Off, What Should I Do?” Koeber has published in several peer-reviewed journals.