Category: Social Movements / Social Change

Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Rhetorical Presidency

by ChristinaBlunt The Washington Post announced on Tuesday that between 2,000 and 4,000 military trainers would be required for the growth of the Afghan army in the coming years. This estimate comes from Admiral Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. According to the report, Mullen also suggested that additional troops would be needed in the short term to provide security while Afghan forces are being developed. This testimony was given before the Senate Armed Services Committee; a...

Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Is Jay Leno the future of television?

by bmckernan A recent article in Time magazine entitled “Jay Leno is the Future of TV. Seriously” utilizes NBC’s “gamble” on Jay Leno’s primetime talk show as a backdrop to explore the recent history and current state of American television. The article touches upon many of the issues currently being discussed in the academic literature on mass media and is a must read for media sociologists.

Political & Economic Sociology / Science & Technology / Social Movements / Social Change / Social Psychology & Lifecourse / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance / Sociology of Organizations & Work

Comparing the role of government in self-control problems from behavioural and neoclassical economic perspectives

This post has moved to http://williampaulbell.wordpress.com/2009/09/12/comparing-the-role-of-government-in-self-control-problems-from-behavioural-and-neoclassical-economic-perspectives/ <About>  <Portfolio>  <Academia>  <LinkedIn>  <Twitter>  <Blog> Member of the World Economics Association – promoting ethics, openness, diversity of thought and democracy within the economics profession

Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Media & Communication

The Prescription for Change

Flawed policy networks and health care reform by christinablunt The Washington Post announced President Obama will address a joint session of Congress on September 9 regarding the current heath care system and the administration’s push for reform. The August recess has given an already complex conversation the opportunity to unleash chaos and fear in many parts of the country. Assembly, President Obama will be using this opportunity to reel in the debate. According to the Washington Post it is unlikely...

Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Fake-Booking, Astroturfing, and Other Social Movement Hazards

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dpM5e6lFzkY ] by NickieWild What makes social movement activity “authentic”? Recently in American politics, there has been a lot of discussion about “astroturfing”: protests at and disruptions of town hall meetings held by members of Congress that appear to be grassroots activity, but which are sponsored and organized by corporations and PACs (Political Action Committees). Two of the recent major players in this controversy are FreedomWorks, conservative anti-taxation PAC chaired by former U.S. Republican House Majority Leader Dick Armey, and...

Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication / Sociology of Organizations & Work

Light capitalism, prize economics, and the prosumer

by bmckernan A few months ago, Sociology Lens news editor Nathan Jurgenson posted an intriguing article entitled “Facebook, the transumer, and liquid capitalism.” Among the interesting concepts that Jurgenson addresses and illuminates include Bauman’s notion of “light” or “weightless” capitalism as well as “prosumers.” Some recent events in American mass media and popular culture further illustrate these significant insights.

Class & Stratification / Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Organizations & Work

The G8 protests and the logically inconsistent foundations of neoclassical economics

This post has moved to http://williampaulbell.wordpress.com/2009/08/29/the-g8-protests-and-the-logically-inconsistent-foundations-of-neoclassical-economics/ <About>  <Portfolio>  <Academia>  <LinkedIn>  <Twitter>  <Blog> Member of the World Economics Association – promoting ethics, openness, diversity of thought and democracy within the economics profession

Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Movements / Social Change

Racism, the Holy Ghost and 12-stepping

by enteringthewhirlpool 1.) There is a conjecture that the decline of organized religion in Western societies has not led to more rational modes of thought, but rather to a disaggregation of magical thinking as people find other ways to express the innately human religious impulse. This may manifest itself, for example, through belief in horoscopes. In fact, according to a recent survey in the UK, belief in ghosts is now much higher than it was in the immediate aftermath of...

Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Disecting Terror

by christinablunt On Monday, 9 a.m. local time, just as the citizens of Nazran were arriving at their offices a suicide bomber drove a truck full of explosives into the police quarters of Ingushetia’s capital city. This act of terrorism is an example of the violence that has become all too familiar in the north caucus region of Russia. The New York Times presents such acts of terror as a nearly daily occurrence. Depending on the account, between 60 and...

Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Meaning in the Eye of the Beholder

by bmckernan A recent Op-Ed in the NY Times by conservative columnist Ross Douthat on Judd Apatow’s comedy Funny People serves as a unique illustration of one of Stuart Hall’s key insights – the heterogeneity of a cultural text. In explaining the negative critical reception to the film in some circles, Douthat suggests that the movie embraces social conservative values during a time when such beliefs are no longer popular.

Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Imaginary Worlds

by ChristinaBlunt In an effort to reinvigorate the Fatah movement, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas launched the party’s first congress in 20 years. In what was described as a lively two-hour speech, Abbas maintained the right of the Palestinian people to resist occupation and praised non-violent opposition. He proclaimed the need to find, “a new organization, a new party, and a new political language.” Notably, Israel permitted delegates from throughout the Arab world to attend the Congress, including Lebanon and...

Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

The new "old" music industry

by bmckernan A recent article in the NY Times highlights a potential major shift currently ensuing within the music industry. As the article reports, while in the past most musicians depended on the support of a major record label if they ever hoped of gaining access to a large audience and becoming financially successful, today many artists have the potential to achieve the same goals independently courtesy of digitalization and online distribution. If this trend continues, it may be possible...

Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance / Sociology of Organizations & Work

Uncivil Society

by ChristinaBlunt On Saturday July 18, the Washington Post reported that respected human rights group Memorial will suspend its activities in Chechnya following the murder of one of its activists, Natalya Estemirova. Reports state that Estemirova was kidnapped outside her home last Wednesday and found with a bullet in her head hours later outside the Chechen capital. Estemirova’s work involved documenting crimes committed by representatives of the authorities. The Post reports that Estemirova was killed the same day a report...

Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change

Honduras' De Facto Dilemma

by christinablunt Last week’s news was peppered with the conferral and withdrawal of political support around the world. Argentina’s President Cristina Fernandez lost her majority in Congress, Iran’s Guardian Council declared that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had been re-elected despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, Albania’s election was too close to call, and Minnesota’s Supreme Court finally declared a winner in the state’s Senate election by a mere 312 votes. But perhaps most notably, a military coup occurred in Honduras after President...

Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Pop Icons as a Text

by bmckernan While most of us have most likely had our fill of news stories related to the tragic death of pop icon Michael Jackson courtesy of the media’s seemingly daily obsession with the story, a recent blog post by games journalist Jeremy Parish at 1up.com provides some rather unique cultural insight into Michael Jackson reminiscent of Raymond William’s notion of a society or social group’s “structure of feeling.”

Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

High Court Decriminalizes Homosexual Acts

by smteixeirapoit In India, Section 377 of the colonial penal code described homosexual acts as “carnal intercourse against the order of nature”. Additionally, the penal code decreed that homosexual acts were punishable by a ten year prison sentence. Recently, the Delhi High Court overturned this 148-year-old law, thereby decriminalizing homosexuality. When learning about inequality in sociology courses, many undergraduate students challenge whether inequality exists. Some argue that once a country’s legal system promotes equality, inequality becomes eradicated. The decriminalization of...