Monday, Oct. 25
Teaching HBO's The Wire

The acclaimed series brings us into the world of the urban poor, exposing the interweaving dynamics between drug dealers and cops, politicians fighting the war on drugs, and journalists who report on those events. Sociologist and Harvard Professor William Julius Wilson hailed The Wire's portrayal of the truth of urban poverty as doing more to “enhance our understanding of the challenges of inner-city life and the problems of urban inequality than any other media event or scholarly publication.’’ It is with that sentiment that Professor Wilson developed a course with The Wire as it's central teaching tool. We're also joined by Sonja Sohn, a star in The Wire who founded "ReWired For Change" to bring the insights from the series to urban youth facing similar dilemmas and hardships.