St. Louis Currents Reaches 30th Year of Publication
The publication St. Louis Currents: The Fifth Edition is now available. The 30-year-old publication started in 1986 as a way to disseminate critical essays from local St. Louis leaders on issues facing the entire region.
Thirty years later, Currents is still shaping the St. Louis region’s thinking. The fifth edition addresses a wide variety of topics.
Currents features strong essays on the region’s historical experience and economic outlook, which are common themes throughout all editions. New topics include historical perspectives on adult entertainment in the Metro East, a demographic study of the region’s immigrant population, plus a scholarly look at “the high school question” that is particular to the St. Louis Metro Region. It is a thought-provoking volume that is a must-read for regional leaders—public, private and non-profit.
Currents is edited by Andrew Theising, PhD, associate professor, senior research fellow and chair of the Department of Political Science at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and E. Terrence Jones, Founders’ professor of political science and public policy administration at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Managing editors are Hugh Pavitt, senior research fellow in the Institute for Urban Research (IUR) at SIUE, and Heather Birdsell, IUR office support associate.
According to Theising and Jones, St. Louis is rather typical of most urban centers across the country and faces the same issues as others. What is unique is St. Louis’ particular mix of leaders and the specific decisions that “we the people” choose to make for ourselves.
“As the region climbs out of the Great Recession and processes the lessons of Ferguson, the decisions made by the people ultimately will define the region’s successes and struggles,” Theising said. “The essays in this volume will help prepare citizens and leaders alike for action on some of those matters, and hopefully start some important discussions that will carry the region forward.”
Currents is available at Amazon.com or at Left Bank Books in St. Louis.
