Political Science Professor Celina Su has released Budget Justice, a groundbreaking book that challenges the notion of government budgets as boring or merely technical documents. Instead, Su argues, they are powerful moral blueprints that reveal the health—and failures—of our democracy. In the book, Su calls for a radical reimagining of budgeting as a democratic practice. Through vivid examples and clear analysis, she shows how everyday people can, and must, play a role in shaping public spending to address urgent issues, including skyrocketing housing and food costs, chronic underfunding of schools, unchecked police violence, and the growing toll of climate disasters, like floods and wildfires. Her academic, pedagogical, and creative work focuses on everyday struggles for collective governance, centering economic democracy and racial justice. In addition to research on political participation, Su’s writing includes a book of poetry, Landia, two poetry chapbooks, and pieces in New York Times Magazine, Harper’s, n+1, and elsewhere. On October 20, the Ethyle R. Wolfe Institute for the Humanities will host an online event with Professor Su and writer and podcaster Gabe Dunn for its “New Books by BC Faculty” series. More information about this event will be coming soon.
