Getting rural America online

Reaching rural America with broadband internet service [Click here to view this message in your web-browser](. Edition: US 17 January 2018 [[The Conversation]Academic rigor, journalistic flair]( Editor's note Internet access is a key to fully participating in the 21st century – economically, politically and culturally. But vast areas of the U.S., and the tens of millions of people who live in those regions, are left out, stuck with expensive, slow internet service. Communications scholar Sharon Strover explains the importance and challenges of [bringing high-speed internet service to rural America](. As the Trump administration and Capitol Hill seek a deal on funding the government, many high-priority issues await attention including a farm bill, a massive measure that affects far more than just rural Americans. The bill sets policy in areas from crop insurance and rural development to supplemental nutrition assistance, once known as food stamps. Colorado State University special adviser Tom Vilsack, who served as Secretary of Agriculture from 2009 to 2017, outlines [the farm bill’s sweeping impacts](. And USC Dornsife’s Lisa Bitel recounts a famous affair between a philosophy professor and his teenage student that became the subject of ballads in the streets of Paris in the 12th century, to [show similarities with today’s sexual harassment]( and how women down the ages have found it hard to “voice resistance.” Jeff Inglis Science + Technology Editor Top stories Telecommunications wires stretch along a rural Kansas road. Technology & Information Policy Institute, University of Texas [Reaching rural America with broadband internet service]( Sharon Strover, University of Texas at Austin Many people in rural America don't have access to fast, affordable internet access. How might those communities connect to the global exchange of goods, services and ideas? Soybean crop on a family farm near Humboldt, Iowa, 2017. USDA/Preston Keres [What the 2018 farm bill means for urban, suburban and rural America]( Tom Vilsack, Colorado State University Congress is drafting the 2018 farm bill, which will guide agriculture, nutrition, trade and rural development policy. A former agriculture secretary explains how this bill reaches far beyond farms. The tomb of Abelard and Héloise. Alexandre Lenoir, via Wikimedia Commons [What a medieval love saga says about modern-day sexual harassment]( Lisa Bitel, University of Southern California – Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences An affair between a philosophy professor and his teenage student became the subject of ballads in the streets of Paris in the 12th century. A scholar asks: Why wasn't it called sexual harassment? 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They’re facing it down with a decidedly Indigenous solution. Today’s quote [Given the Bank's emphasis on climate action, supporting oil, gas and coal production – the main cause of climate change – makes little institutional sense.]( [Signaling more independence from the US, the World Bank phases out its support for fossil fuels]( Jason Kirk Elon University [Jason Kirk] [Follow us on Twitter.]( [Join us on Facebook.]( You’re receiving this newsletter from [The Conversation](. Not interested anymore? [Unsubscribe instantly](. We’ll miss you. 89 South Street - Suite 202 Boston, MA 02111