Category: Sociology of Culture

Political & Economic Sociology / Science & Technology / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication / Sociology of Organizations & Work / Video Resources

Conference Summary Part I: The Internet as Playground and Factory

The New School held a conference last week that may be of interest to many Sociology Lens readers, so I have decided to devote this week’s entry to sharing some notes from the conference. The implosion of work and play was the most recurrent theme in the panels that I attended.  The term “playbor” was frequently used to describe the product of this implosion.  Panelists generally seemed to assume that playbor was a relatively new and increasingly prevalent phenomenon.  However,...

Gender & Sexuality / Social Psychology & Lifecourse / Sociology of Culture

The Clothes Make the (Heterosexual) Man

Dress codes in schools have long been a source of intergenerational conflict, control, and increasingly obvious, a way to police gender norms and sexuality.  In an article that interrogates these instances of specific gender and sexuality “violations” through clothing and accessories, we can see both an increase in apparel as a means of identity formation and exploration but also a trend that has received little attention.  Why is it that anytime a child or teen decides to transgress norms through...

Peace, War & Social Conflict / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance / Sociology of Media & Communication

‘Carnage’ at the War Memorial

by paulabowles Philip Laing, the 19 year old student from Sheffield Hallam University has become the latest focus for the media. Recently photographed urinating upon a poppy wreath at a Second World War Memorial, Laing has attracted an enormous amount of negative attention. Although, Laing claims he was drunk at the time, and remembers nothing of the events of that evening, he did make ‘a full and complete admission’ when confronted by the photographic evidence. Upon appearing in court this...

Gender & Sexuality / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Organizations & Work

Gender discrimination, law and the fight for tenure at DePaul University

By Rachael Liberman Academia has never been immune to charges of elitism, sexism, or racism. From the use of socially questionable theories as “objective truth” to the absorption of meritocracy, academia does not necessarily evoke thoughts of “fairness” or “transparency.” As a doctoral student myself, I have encountered inconsistencies and political posturing within the “ivory tower.” Unfortunately, however, I have to play by the rules of the field, as Bourdieu would say, in order to successfully claim a position in...

Gender & Sexuality / Science & Technology / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance / Video Resources

Augmented Reality: Going the Way of the Dildo

by pj.rey While the term “augmented reality” uttered in a sexual context might immediately conjure the perennial problematic of the boozed, buzzed, and befuddled (commonly referred to as “beer goggles”), more nuanced analysis may prove fruitful.  Fellow Sociology Lens news editor, nathan jurgenson, recently argued in “towards theorizing an augmented reality” that we need to anticipate an ascending paradigm where “digital and material realities dialectically co-construct each other.” To anticipate this new reality, I argue that we ought to turn...

Feminist Theory / Gender & Sexuality / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Living in a "Post-Feminist" World

Discourse surrounding feminism, feminist theory, and even Women and Gender Studies departments has grown increasingly skeptical.  Questioning the need for feminism in this “post-feminist” world and citing the high attendance of women in universities, American society seems fixated on closing the door on calls for social justice based on gender.  Two recent new stories however, highlight the decisive need for a reinvigorated gender-based movement.  Gains in college attendance and females entering into all sectors of employment have overshadowed the continued...

Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Taking Advantage of "Breaking News"

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jUq_HBtydA] by NickieWild Who determines what “news” is? Can we define news as “that which gets talked about,” as Katz and Lazarsfeld wrote about in Personal Influence in 1955? Or are there more strict criteria that are (or should be) observed in the modern media environment? Last year, I wrote about “Martin Eisenstadt,” a fake member of a fake think tank who managed to convince the mainstream media that Sarah Palin did not know that Africa was a continent, and...

Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Science & Technology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture

Fat Taxes and Foucault

by bmckernan In recent months, proposals for “fat taxes” have gained growing popularity amongst certain academic and political circles. Proponents for such measures suggest that such policies would help lower America’s obesity rate and/or help fund a public healthcare plan. A series of articles from Slate.com invoke (in part) a seemingly Foucauldian lens in examining this trend.

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

The BNP meets the BBC

by paulabowles For the past few weeks the British media and public have hotly been debating the rights and wrongs of allowing the controversial British National Party [BNP] leader to appear on the BBC’s ‘flagship’ politics programme Question Time. Despite attempts to halt Nick Griffin’s appearance, the programme finally aired on Thursday 22 October 2009, with record viewing figures of 8 million. Since the broadcast, media analysis has been at fever pitch in an attempt to make sense of the...

Class & Stratification / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Movements / Social Change / Social Psychology & Lifecourse / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

status networking sites

by nathan jurgenson There has been recent news coverage on the relationship between social status and social networking site usage. CNN asked “Does your social class determine your online social network?” “Is there a class divide online? Research suggests yes. A recent study by market research firm Nielsen Claritas found that people in more affluent demographics are 25 percent more likely to be found friending on Facebook, while the less affluent are 37 percent more likely to connect on MySpace.”...

Gender & Sexuality / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture

Gender-neutral housing comes to Princeton University

By Rachael Liberman As a result of the sustained efforts of  Undergraduate Student Government Life Committee members, a pilot program for gender-neutral housing will come to Princeton University this spring. This means that students can apply to the Spelman Hall upperclassman-housing lottery in mixed-gender groups rather than all female or all male. According to a letter written to university members by Student Government President Connor Diemand-Yauman, “Suites in the Spelman Hall housing lottery would be designated as GNH. Unlike in...

Political & Economic Sociology / Science & Technology / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance / Sociology of Organizations & Work

When Prosumption is Law, the Prosumer is King (for Now)

by pj.rey Smokers, if I told you that I could get you high-quality cigarettes for half the usual price, you’d probably smartly ask, “What’s the catch?”  “The catch,” I might respond, “is that I need five minutes of your labor-time per pack.”  This is precisely the bargain customers are making with a Brookline, New Hampshire store called Tobacco Haven – a bargain we social theorists might call prosumption.  The shop houses a roll-your-own cigarette machine into which customers feed piles...

Gender & Sexuality / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture

Are you a Lesbian?: The Reification of Dichotomous Thinking

nmccoy1 For all of the talk about sexual expression and deconstructing gender categories, much of the public discussions regarding sexuality continue to reify the very concepts that tend to constrain us.  Proponents and members of LGBTQ communities must practice what they preach: to end discrimination and challenge heternormative institutions we have to move beyond hard and fast sexual designations.  A recent CNN article (see below) illustrates the pressures faced by bisexual and lesbian women to categorize themselves.  But does advocating...

Class & Stratification / Gender & Sexuality / Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Social Psychology & Lifecourse / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Organizations & Work

Renegotiating the Gender Contract

by ChristinaBlunt According to a recent article in the New York Times, the single mothers of South Korea are beginning to mount a battle to reclaim not only their rights but also their identities. The social stigma surrounding unwed motherhood in South Korea is particularly fierce. According to the report, in 2007, 1.6 percent of babies were born out of wedlock and of those 1.6 percent 70 percent are given up for adoption. However, nearly 96 percent of the single...

Gender & Sexuality / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Religion and Child Custody Cases

by NickieWild What are the limits of free expression in the United States today? Are we still living under what many would consider a theocratic state? Although the “Protestant Ethic” as defined by Weber is often thought of in terms of the realm of work, it includes other moral dimensions. The U.S. has often been mired in controversies about what role religion should play in the formation of law. Abortion, school prayer, displaying religious symbols like the 10 Commandments on...

Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Indie Games and the Need for Gatekeepers

by bmckernan Earlier this year, I posted an article exploring the manner talent agencies serve as cultural gatekeepers. While the post focuses particularly on talent agencies, it also highlights the continuing influence cultural gatekeepers play in both the production and consumption of a significant portion of today’s cultural expression. Recently, Microsoft’s attempt at revitalizing Xbox Live Indie Games and the praise and critiques Microsoft has received for doing so illustrates the continued importance of cultural gatekeepers, even in today’s digital...