Category: Sociology of Culture

Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Sudhir Venkatesh on Gang Leader for a Day

By Feistyle In a video speech, Sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh talks about his time spent studying and living with a Chicago gang called the Black Kings in the late 1980s and early 1990s.  His study was made famous in the book Freakonomics and has been documented in more detail in his book Gang Leader for a Day.  He discusses urban poverty and his methods for research and how these changed as his study went on. Read More   Bryan Hogeveen on Youth (and) Violence   James F....

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

Hyperreality and the Cocoon

by theoryforthemasses An international design collective, NAU, is developing an Immersive Cocoon that would allow users to step into 3D virtual worlds. Within the Immersive Cocoon, users would be able to visit virtual cities, museums, and stores, experiencing the environments as if they were actually there, walking, looking, and shopping. French sociologist Jean Baudrillard suggested that postindustrialized societies enter states of hyperreality marked by the dominance of simulacra, wherein simulations of experiences become more meaningful and important than actual experiences....

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

The instrumentalization of sexism

by nmccoy1 Discussions surrounding Sarah Palin and Hilary Clinton have brought sexism to mainstream media attention. (see BBC article below)  Beyond the superficial discussions of who women will vote for and who is a feminist, we are losing site of a fundamental and very dangerous problem.  In the tradition of the Frankfurt School, in particular, Max Horkheimer, we are looking at the instrumentalization of ideas and theories for propaganda.  As a system of oppression, sexism pervades social relations and the...