Uncommon Ground Contributor Scott Davies

Scott Davies is a freelance writer from Adelaide, Australia, with an interest in politics, history and culture. He holds a BA (Honours) in History and is currently studying a Master of Teaching (Secondary).

Articles by Scott Davies:

Why Teaching Canonical Texts Still Matters

Though the literary canon has fallen out of favour with many teachers, introducing it to students is still a valuable and worthwhile exercise. In one of the first tutorials for my Secondary English class at university, back when I was beginning a Master of Teaching degree a year and a half ago, the topic of […] Read more

Book Review: ‘Give People Money’ by Annie Lowrey

‘Give People Money’ by Annie Lowrey deftly explores Universal Basic Income, one of the 21st century’s most ambitious and contentious social policy ideas. The debate around Universal Basic Income (UBI) has intensified in recent years. Once an idea consigned to the fringes of political debate, UBI has become a far more mainstream idea in recent […] Read more

Are the Democrats Running on Economics or Identity?

The 2018 midterm elections are mere weeks away. What is the economic message the Democrats are pushing in their attempt to win back the House and Senate? In the leadup to the midterm elections, the economy, as always, is front and centre in the minds of US voters. The US economy is relatively strong at […] Read more

Confronting The World’s Water Crises

The shortage of water around the world increasingly presents a geopolitical and security issue as well as an environmental one. Across the world, record heatwaves, dry seasons and unseasonable warmth are wreaking havoc on water supplies. Many areas of the world find themselves in drought conditions the likes of which they have not seen in […] Read more

Andrés Manuel López Obrador: A Mexican Donald Trump?

Mexico is set to vote in left-wing populist Andrés Manuel López Obrador in its election on Sunday, who has been likened to Donald Trump by some observers. Mexico’s federal elections, scheduled for July 1, comes at an important moment for the nation. The incumbent Industrial Revolution Party (PRI) are struggling in the polls and are […] Read more

China’s Escalating Repression of the Uyghurs

In recent months, China’s crackdown on the Uyghurs of northwest China’s Xinjiang province has ramped up, with Uyghur people being detained en masse. China’s heavy-handed rule over the Muslim minority Uyghurs of the Xinjiang Province in northwest China has taken a further authoritarian turn of late. In recent months, thousands of Uyghurs in the region […] Read more

The Missed Opportunity of Gonski 2.0

The Gonski 2.0 report is a missed opportunity which doubles down on what has caused declining achievement standards in Australian education. On Monday morning in Australia, the much-anticipated Review to Achieve Educational Excellence in Australian Schools was released to the public. More commonly referred to as Gonski 2.0, the second iteration of the report on education […] Read more

When Bad Regulation Stops You From Earning

Many occupational licensing laws, though made with the best intentions, place unnecessary barriers to entering the workforce and need a rethink. Occupational licensing is a hot topic among economists, policy researchers and wonks at present. Though it has not received the same level of attention of other economic issues in recent times, such as those […] Read more

A Critical Examination of Calls for a ’21st-Century Education’

Education reformers often argue the need for ’21st-century education.’ Do their calls for an education revolution stand up to scrutiny? The issue of education reform is ever-present when the topic of education is mentioned. It is often argued that the current school system, and by extension school curricula, are outdated and not fit for the […] Read more