Category: Article types

Class & Stratification / News / Population & Demography / Social Welfare

International Day for the Eradication of Poverty

Despite progress, millions are still living in absolute poverty. With recent weather shocks causing global devastation, low-income communities are facing the hardest challenges in overcoming, and surviving, poverty.  The Hunger Project estimates about 896 million people in developing countries live on $1.90 a day or less, and 22,000 children die each day due to conditions of poverty. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the declaration by the General Assembly, in its resolution 47/196 of 22 December 1992, of 17 October as the...

Opinion / Population & Demography / Urban Sociology

The rise of single households in the European Union and the impact on housing

In 2015,for the first time, there were significantly more single-households in the European Union than any other household type. As such, living alone has become the most common way of living across the EU. But why is this important? The rise of single living has important implications, not only on the number and the type of homes needed but also on the provision of housing-related services, including health or social care. The rise of single-households also creates new or different...

People / Population & Demography

Canada’s approach to Immigration: Interview with the Honourable Ahmed D. Hussen, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Canada

Ahmed D. Hussen is the Canadian Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, the Member of Parliament for the riding of York South-Weston, a lawyer and social activist with a proven track record of leadership and community empowerment. Speaking with Howard Duncan, editor-in-chief of policy oriented journal, International Migration, he discusses the way Canada deals with immigration. This is a condensed version of a longer interview, which can be accessed here. Why does Canada want to attract immigrants when so many...

Opinion / Peace, War & Social Conflict / Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies

What Responses to Charlottesville Revealed About America

On the night of August 11th, white nationalists held a torch-lit pride parade through the University of Virginia in Charlottesville. They were met with counter-protests, and the demonstrations descended into a melee. The next morning, these same organizers held a “Unite the Right” rally in Emancipation Park, centered on a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee that had been scheduled for removal. Once again, battle lines were drawn, and a fight ensued. This time, the white nationalists were driven...

Opinion / Research Methodologies

Undisciplined Methods for Research and Engagement

A two-day intensive research methods workshop on ‘Undisciplined Methods for research and engagement’ took place on 31st May and 1st June at the University of Brighton, UK. The aim was to explore approaches to research that might challenge established or ‘disciplinary’ methods used in the social sciences and humanities, providing a space for deep reflection on ways of generating and representing knowledge through practical experiences. We did this through listening and sharing, drawing on walls, doing physical theatre exercises, nonsense...

Opinion / Sociology of Health & Illness

An enduring genetic imaginary?

  In a speech celebrating the completion of the Human Genome Project, Bill Clinton, then president of the US, gave voice to the great expectations for genomic science, claiming it would ‘revolutionise the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of most, if not all, human diseases’ (see https://www.genome.gov/10001356/). Yet emerging work on the sociology of the new genetics was already starting to raise questions about the desirability and implications of these developments.  One influential commentator, Abby Lippman, 1991, 1992) coined the term...

Opinion / People / Science & Technology / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

“Digital Sociology: The Reinvention of Social Research”. Noortje Marres on how digital technology contributes to sociology.

Noortje Marres is the author of 2017 book, Digital Sociology: The Reinvention of Social Research, a critical new overview and assessment of the key concepts, methods and understandings that currently inform the development of specifically digital forms of social enquiry. In conversation with Francesca Halstead, Noortje discusses the key arguments in her book, how she came to write it, and how digital technology contributes to sociology research and practice. What is Digital Sociology? Digital Sociology came into usage as a...

Class & Stratification / Opinion / Social Identity / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Health & Illness

The company you keep: Is socialising with higher-status people bad for mental health?

Is socializing with higher-status people good or bad for mental health? A recent study of the same title starts with this question. People often believe that socializing with higher-status alters is beneficial by leading to access valuable resources. It seems true that individuals are able to obtain useful information and resources if they know people in higher positions, by providing useful resources that the individuals could have not accessed without such relationships. However, it is also probable that socializing with higher-status alters...

Class & Stratification / Gender & Sexuality / News / Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Welfare / Sociology of Culture

Collection on Populism: Free Content Collection

With the rise of populism across the globe in recent decades comprising distinct political styles, we invite you to read a collection of recent articles and chapters across the social sciences including sociological and social, political, geographical and cultural perspectives focusing on: Support for the concerns of ordinary people Relations between state, society, and citizens Power relationships within and between social groups How social inequality between groups (class, race, gender, etc.) influences politics All content is free until 31st December 2017!...

Opinion / Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Sociology of Globalization

Decolonizing ‘Financial Literacy’

Does the discipline of sociology need to decolonise? When the editors of The Sociological Review put this question to their twitter followers earlier this year, the response was largely affirmative. Across the social sciences and humanities, there are growing concerns about the Eurocentricity of even the most putatively radical theoretical debates. Campaigns to decolonize higher education are not, however, limited to curricular matters. Sarah Cummings and Paul Hoebink have recently published research showing that only 14% of the authors (and...

Opinion / Population & Demography / Urban Sociology

Visualising the social space of housing in England

How can we represent sociological relations in a meaningful and visually appealing way whilst at the same time capturing the complexities of social and economic life? At this year’s British Sociological Association conference in Manchester, my poster aimed to address this question by bringing together elements of the work of the two sociologists Pierre Bourdieu and Otto Neurath. In brief, my poster depicts how their thinking can help to visualise and thereby help to better understand the social space of...

Applied Sociology / Opinion / Urban Sociology

What About the People? Unlocking the Key to Socially Sustainable and Resilient Communities

The World Resources Institute has published an article by Cathy Baldwin, and Robin King, entitled, What About the People? Unlocking the Key to Socially Sustainable and Resilient Communities. The article is about an applied social science report that argues for the use of social science theories of social capital and social cohesion as key determinants of community resilience in urban communities affected by climate change-related adverse weather events. It looks at this in the context of creating city built environments that...

Opinion / People / Social Identity / Social Psychology & Lifecourse / Social Welfare

Promoting better understanding of social work: Interview with Guy Shennan

Guy Shennan is a social worker of over 25 yrs, Chair of the British Association of Social Workers (‘BASW’) and an independent consultant and trainer in solution-focused practice. He spoke to Sociology Lens about promoting a better public understanding of social work, of the need for collaboration between social work organisations and with service users, and on the benefits of social media as a means of achieving this.   What are the aims and visions of the British Association of Social...

News / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Movements / Social Change

Why W.E.B. Du Bois is the founder of American scientific sociology: Interview between Nigel Dodd and Aldon Morris

Professor Nigel Dodd, Editor-in-Chief of the British Journal of Sociology (BJS), interviews Professor Aldon Morris of Northwestern University on the 2016 BJS Annual Public Lecture. In his lecture Aldon Morris discussed evidence from his book, The Scholar Denied, showing W.E.B Du Bois, an influential 20th century black scholar, was the founding father of modern scientific sociology. Watch the interview Watch the full Lecture You can also read and download Aldon Morris’ paper, W. E. B. Du Bois at the center: from science, civil rights movement, to...

Opinion / Peace, War & Social Conflict / Political & Economic Sociology / Population & Demography / Rural Sociology / Sociology of Globalization

Rethinking Agrarian Transitions and Left Politics in India: 50 years since Naxalbari

It is now half a century since the small uprising in the village of Naxalbari in West Bengal led to the spread of a Maoist inspired revolutionary armed struggle in India, that is still ongoing. But with the Indian state now bent on crushing these Naxalites, and with the more general challenges faced by parliamentary communist parties across India, the question of how to analyse the agrarian economy – the basis of left strategy for a communist society in many...