Category: Topics

News / Opinion / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Health & Illness

Highlights from the American Sociological Association Conference, ‘Feeling Race’, Philadelphia, 11-14 August 2018

This year’s American Sociological Association (ASA) conference was held in Philadelphia, on the theme ‘Feeling Race’. I attended in my role as Research Editor for the journal Sociology of Health & Illness (SHI), to network with Medical Sociologists and encourage awareness of SHI as a place to publish their work. I was excited to visit this city and had been told to do two things (work activities aside!) whilst I was there: run up the ‘Rocky Steps’ and eat a Philly...

Feminist Theory / Gender & Sexuality / Opinion / Research Methodologies / Sociology of Health & Illness

Us too! Why it’s time to give female death by suicide some serious sociological attention!

The #MeToo campaign has had many consequences, one of which is a welcome and long overdue look at the devastating consequences of female sexual assault on the lives of women. One recent study has highlighted the long term consequences of these events on the victims by demonstrating that around 80% of women who are assaulted go on to suffer from mental health problems (see The Guardian). There are many other distressing aspects to the recent revelations but one that I...

Opinion / Rural Sociology / Sociology of Health & Illness

Looking after farmers as well as the land: research with farmers in North Yorkshire’s Cornfield Flowers Project

Do farmers derive any personal benefit and well-being from their Agricultural Environmental Schemes (AES) work? Being a volunteer grower and seed guardian for North Yorkshire’s Cornfield Flowers Project (CFP) made me aware of how this project functioned differently from other, mainstream AES. The CFP capitalises upon farmers’ personal interest in arable flowers [1] Participating farmers are not paid for the work, do not sign contracts, and are not obliged to adhere to prescriptive cultivations methods imposed by an external agency. Unlike...

Class & Stratification / Gender & Sexuality / News / Opinion / Peace, War & Social Conflict / Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Movements / Social Change / Social Theory / Sociology of Culture

Highlights from the ISA World Congress of Sociology, Toronto, 15-21 July 2018

The XIX International Sociological Association World Congress of Sociology is taking place this week, 15-21 July 2018. The Conference theme is Power, Violence and Justice, a topic that could not be more relevant for the global landscape in 2018. With over 5,000 delegates attending from across the globe, the congress opened with a vibrant and rousing performance by the Red Urban Project, Wasauking First Nation dancers and musicians. Professor Myrna Dawson, President-Elect of the Canadian Sociological Association began the addresses...

Gender & Sexuality / News / Peace, War & Social Conflict / Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Movements / Social Change / Social Theory / Sociology of Globalization / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance / Urban Sociology

Celebrating the XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology, Toronto, 15-21 July 2018

The XIX ISA World Congress of Sociology is taking place 15-21 July 2018, in Toronto Canada. The theme of the congress is Power, Violence and Justice: Reflections, Responses and Responsibilities and aims to focus on how scholars, researchers, policy makers, professionals and activists across the disciplines can contribute to our understanding of power, violence and justice. To celebrate this diverse, multidisciplinary Congress, we are pleased to bring together a collection of content from journals across the social sciences, including sociology,...

Feminist Theory / Gender & Sexuality / News / Political & Economic Sociology / Social Theory

Free Content Collection: Feminism and Politics

Explore ideas behind feminist political theory, social policy, and feminist thought in this curated article collection. Drawn from the social sciences, the research will help you discover more about the strive for equality, from the gender pay gap to shaping literacy and education. All articles are freely available for you to read and share until 30 September 2018. Highlights Include  On the problems and possibilities of feminist solidarity: The Women’s March one year on  Bridging the enduring gender gap in...

Opinion / People / Rural Sociology

Interview: Ruth McAreavey on Rural Sociology

Dr Ruth McAreavey is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Newcastle University. Ruth’s research focuses on migration, particularly to regional and rural areas, and inequalities faced by migrants in the labour market and in other parts of everyday life. Ruth has published extensively on rural development, and her most recent book on New Immigration Destinations was published by Routledge in July 2017. Ruth will Chair the Scientific Committee at the next European Society for Rural Sociology (ESRS) Congress in Trondheim, Norway,...

Books and arts / Opinion / Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Health & Illness

THE NHS: TO PROVIDE ALL PEOPLE

This article by Dr Catherine Will is originally published on the Cost of Living, a site is for all people interested in the politics, economics and sociology of health and health care. The ‘Cost of Living’ aims to provide a vibrant mix of topical comment pieces, analytical features, and contemporary reviews, related to health, medicine and health care. I offer a very contemporary comment this week, having come across this recent BBC programme for the 70th anniversary of the NHS, by...

Gender & Sexuality / Opinion / People / Political & Economic Sociology / Social Identity

Interview: Professor Diane Richardson on Sexuality and Citizenship

Diane Richardson is a Professor of Sociology at Newcastle University. Diane is internationally recognised for her work in the area of feminist and sociological study of sexuality and gender, including recent publication, Sexuality and Citizenship (Polity 2018). A central concern of this research is to understand how models of citizenship are constructed and deployed by marginalised groups as new democratic moments emerge. Diane’s research addresses interlinked themes including the relation between cultural and material aspects of recognition, as well as...

News / Sociology of Health & Illness

The Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness

Scholars in the field of medical sociology, and various related disciplines including the sociology of healthcare, mental illness and science and technology studies, will no doubt already be aware of the Foundation for the Sociology of Health and Illness. Founded just under 20 years ago, the Foundation owns the rights to the journal Sociology of Health and Illness, published by Wiley, and uses the royalties from this title to support academic work in this field, including research, teaching and wider...

News / Peace, War & Social Conflict / Political & Economic Sociology / Population & Demography / Social Psychology & Lifecourse / Social Welfare

Refugee Week 2018: Free Content Collection

Refugee week highlights the importance of sanctuary and the resulting benefits for refugees and host countries. UNHCR figures state: An unprecedented 65.6 million people globally are forcibly displaced. 22.5 million of those are refugees. Half of all refugees are children. In support of Refugee Week we have curated a research collection focused on refugee experiences, their integration, impact, protection and contribution. The collection is freely available to download during 2018. Browse the Research Collection In collaboration with a wide range...

Opinion / Population & Demography / Science & Technology / Urban Sociology

The digitalisation of cities and housing: what will the future bring?

There is a lot of talk at the moment about the how digital technologies are or will impact on a variety of aspects of our lives, ranging from the nature of our work relations to urban life and housing. The ramifications of the impacts of digitalisation on our cities and in particular on housing have been the topic of a recent Housing Europe conference in Tallinn, Estonia. This article will draw out some of the broader themes discussed during this...

Opinion / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance / Urban Sociology

A Safer and More Just Society: Policy and Projections of the 1967 President’s Crime Commission Report

The past year marked the 50th anniversary of the report by the U.S. President’s Commission on Law Enforcement and Administration of Justice. The Commission, chaired by Nicholas Katzenbach, included 19 commissioners and featured now-famous criminologists Lloyd Ohlin (who served as an associate director of the Commission’s staff) and Alfred Blumstein, the staff-director of science and technology. The Commission’s goal was seemingly straightforward: to create recommendations for federal, state, and local governments that could lead to “a safer and more just...

Gender & Sexuality / News / Social Identity / Social Psychology & Lifecourse / Sociology of Health & Illness

LGBTQ+ Pride Month: Free Content Collection on Mental Health

To celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride month we are delighted to provide free access to articles on the topic of Mental Health in the LGBTQ+ community. During the month of June you can access 40+ free articles across a range of topics to raise awareness and keep the conversation going. You can access the articles via the links below, or from the virtual issue landing page, here. Experiences and unmet needs of lesbian, gay, and bisexual people with cancer care: A systematic...

Books and arts / Opinion / Political & Economic Sociology / Rural Sociology / Science & Technology / Social Movements / Social Change / Social Theory / Sociology of Culture / Urban Sociology

Interview: Lisa Garforth on Green Utopias: Environmental Hope Before and After Nature

Lisa Garforth is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Newcastle University. Her work explores green future visions, especially in fiction. Her recent book Green Utopias: Environmental Hope Before and After Nature (Polity 2018) examines the changing content and socio-cultural contexts of green utopias from post-war environmentalism to the challenge of the Anthropocene. What lead you to write your book, Green Utopias, and what are the major themes? I wanted to rethink environmental utopianism, not so much from the perspective of practical...

Opinion / Rural Sociology / Science & Technology

True cowmen and commercial farmers: differing opinions on what it means to be a ‘good’ dairy farmer

Farming is both an art and a science. Dairy farming in the UK is poised between being a traditional backbone of the rural economy and a high-tech industry. We need to understand what farmers and other stakeholders value within this sector in order to understand how they make decisions. The idea of the ‘good farmer’ is a useful concept within rural sociology for understanding farmer decision making12. Farmers make decisions that are in line with the ideal of being a...