~the-society-pages | Bookmarks (107)

New & Noteworthy This week’s Clippings via Mallory Harrington highlights recent sociological insights, including Arlie Russell Hochschild’s exploration of political divides in Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right, Gi-Wook Shin’s analysis of South Korea’s political instability following President Yoon’s martial law declaration in All Things Considered, Allison Pugh’s examination of AI’s impact […]

Since ChatGPT launched in 2022, AI has become inescapable. Sociologists warn an “algorithmic society” risks deepening inequalities in finance, healthcare, and science, yet others see potential for imaginative uses that benefit society. Are data streams and chatbots the new iron cage? Can sociologists, especially qualitative researchers, make these tools work for social insight? Lessons from […]

Arlie Russell Hochschild (Professor Emerita of Sociology at the University of California, Berkeley) appeared on Next Question with Katie Couric, discussing her book Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right. The book describes how residents of Pikeville, KY, a small city where 80% of 2016 voters supported...

This one-page piece by Ridgeway (2024) from Contexts Magazine is a great introduction to status and status processes for students!

Thompson (2024) examines parental preferences in school selection, highlighting how individual choices influence school communities. The study finds that parents prioritize overall school achievement and learning opportunities over schools with higher equity ratings.

New & Noteworthy Wealth Gaps at the Extremes for Baby Boomers and Millennials by Shania Kuo covers research in the American Journal of Sociology. It examines how Millennials and Baby Boomers compare in wealth trajectories. Using US Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the study reveals that while Boomers had higher homeownership and less debt in […]

Rob J. Gruijters, Zachary Van Winkle, and Anette E. Fasang, “Life Course Trajectories and Wealth Accumulation in the United States: Comparing Late Baby Boomers and Early Millennials,” American Journal of Sociology, 2023 An older man helping a young girl play pool. “Girl Playing Pool” by Rene Terp is licensed under is licensed under CC BY […]

Are you teaching a Family Sociology class or a Sociology of Film course next semester? This Teaching Sociology piece recommends the new film Kelce (2023) as a helpful movie for examining themes like work-life balance and raising a family with a high-profile job.

Elite sport, especially on display at large-scale televised events, can provide a site for social and political messaging, including in the form of support, dissent, or opposition. One of the most iconic examples of dissent occurred at the 1968 Mexico City Olympics when successful US athletes John Carlos and Tommie Smith, supported by Australian silver […]

Are you planning to update your teaching approach for the upcoming semester? This Teaching Sociology article highlights new resources now available in TRAILS, including updated assignments, class activities, and even sample syllabi.

New & Noteworthy Instagram Activism and Black-Asian Solidarity by S Ericson covers research by Rachel Kuo and Sarah J. Jackson and how Black and Asian activists in 2020-2021 used Instagram to draw on historical cross-racial solidarity, challenging media stereotypes and fostering shared memory to advocate for change. This week’s Clippings by Mallory Harrington covers recent […]

TSP Board members Emma Goldstein and Mallory Harrington discuss Tressie McMillan Cottom recent opinion piece in The New York Times on the connection between tradwives, podcast bros, and wellness influencers and Donald Trump’s recent election win. This episode is produced by Forrest Lovette. Listen on Spotify: https://bit.ly/4eNZDlJ

Benika Dixon (Assistant Professor of Public Health at Texas A&M University), J. Carlee Purdum (Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of Houston) and Tara Goddard (Assistant Professor of Landscape Architecture & Urban Planning at Texas A&M University) wrote an article for The Conversation on how jails an...

We are thrilled to welcome Roman Williams to the Contexts blog to celebrate the publication of his new book, Sacred Snaps: Photovoice for Interfaith Engagement. In this post, blog editor Elena van Stee chats with Roman about his photography-driven approach to participatory action research—what Roman calls “sociology with the public.” They discuss how Roman is using the […]

Looking to incorporate Du Bois into your teaching pedagogy? This article provides an overview of Du Bois’s teaching philosophy. The author points out that a Du Boisian pedagogy would be reflexive, caring, focused on decolonial ways of knowing, and place-based.

On Thursday, the International Criminal Court issued warrants for senior Israeli officials, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and leaders of Hamas for Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes. The decision came six months after the ICC announced its intent to investigate the ongoing war in Gaza and ten months after the International Court of Justice […]

Rachel Kuo and Sarah J. Jackson, “The political uses of memory: Instagram and Black-Asian solidarities,” Media, Culture & Society, 2023 A crowd of protestors hold various signs, including “Black Lives Matter” and “Yellow Peril Supports Black Power.” “Racism is th Deadliest Virus” by Backbone Campaign is licensed under CC BY 2.0. Social media is an […]

This Chronicle piece offers five ways professors can incorporate AI into their classrooms, even if they are initially skeptical. It also provides guidance on educating students about the limitations of AI to help prevent its misuse.

New & Noteworthy TSP’s Jordyn Wald has a new StoryMap on Law Enforcement and Body-Cams. It covers research on body-cams and its increasing use by police, improved accountability and reduced complaints, but their impact on excessive force and arrests varies depending on activation policies and usage. Our latest Clippings by Mallory Harrington covers recent sociology […]

TSP Board members Emma Goldstein, Mason Jones, and Leo LaBarre discuss Deborah Carr and Susan Brown’s recent contributions in The New York Times on the increasing trend of unmarried cohabitation among older adults. This episode is produced by Forrest Lovette.

Let’s have fun! Autumn in North America is magical for many reasons. First, there’s the spectacle of color that surrounds so many of us (sorry California friends). Second, the cool weather invites the cozies, like sweaters, fires, and our favorite hot drinks—cocoa, coffee, and yes, even a pumpkin spice latte. And then there’s all the […]

Marianne Cooper (Senior Research Scholar at Stanford University’s VMware Women’s Leadership Innovation Lab) and Priya Fielding-Singh (Senior Manager of Research and Education at LeanIn.org) wrote an article for the Harvard Business Review on how gender equality in the workplace has stalled and is not inevitable. Dat...

from the editors in brief: “Parenting Gender, From Left to Right,” by Elena G. Van Stee. “Crossing the Cultural Line,” by Parker Muzzerall. “Rural Rainbows,” by Sophie X. Liu. “Shedding the Wealth,” by Colter J. Uscola. “A Woman Walks into a Brothel,” by Parker Muzzerall. “Whose Parents Are Paying,” by Elena G. Van Stee. “Status […]

In 2024, the Rubik’s Cube, the puzzle invented by the Hungarian professor of architecture Ernő Rubik, celebrates its 50th anniversary. We would like to take this opportunity to discuss how important Rubik’s invention has been to humanity. It is estimated that approximately one in seven people in the world have at least attempted to solve […]