Latest articles from sociology lens

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

The Push and Pull of Multiculturalism in Western States

Saturday, February 5th, British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke at a security conference in Munich. In light of the growing evidence that the United Kingdom has become a “safe haven” for Islamic militants, Mr. Cameron’s remarks strongly criticized Britain’s multicultural approach to the nation’s immigrants. The policy, initiated in the 1960s, recognizes the right of all people in Britain to live by their own traditional values. Many argue that this strategy is responsible for the fractured sense of British identity and lack...

Political & Economic Sociology / Social Psychology & Lifecourse

Old=conservative, young=liberal? Age, Generation, and Voting Patterns

We now find ourselves in a unique media period: after the midterm election digestion, and before every news outlet begins twenty-four hour coverage of the 2012 election. So, this seems like a good time to talk about age-related voting patterns. One of the most striking observations about the composition of voters in the midterm election was how few young people turned out, relative to their numbers in 2008. In 2008, about 18% of the voters were under thirty; about 16%...

Class & Stratification / Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Media & Communication

New issue of Sociology Compass out now! (Vol 5, Issue 2)

Sociology Compass © Blackwell Publishing Ltd Volume 5, Issue 2 Page 134 – 178 The latest issue of Sociology Compass is available on Wiley Online Library Communication & Media New Media, Web 2.0 and Surveillance (pages 134–147) Christian Fuchs Article first published online: 1 FEB 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2010.00354.x Political Sociology Positivism and ‘Functional Theory’ in the Thought of Karl Polanyi, 1907–1922 (pages 148–164) Gareth Dale Article first published online: 1 FEB 2011 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2010.00348.x Social Stratification The Role...

Gender & Sexuality / Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance / Sociology of Media & Communication

Professor gives away course…for free

Nathan Palmer, creator and author of SociologySource.com, has recently launched the Soc101 Class Pack, an entire set of introductory sociology course material including syllabus, PowerPoint presentations, class activities, and assignments in an easily customizable, freely downloadable file. Why would anyone give away something like this for free? What does he hope his site accomplishes? And where did he get all these great ideas for the classroom?  I had Nathan sit down for an interview to get some answers. “I believe...

Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Al Jazeera English and the United States: The beginning of a beautiful friendship?

In the midst of escalating events in Egypt – including the recent announcement from President Hosni Mubarak that he will not run for another term, yet will remain in office until fall elections – an interest in bringing Al Jazeera English (launched in 2006) to American television sets has begun in reaction to data that nearly half of the 2,500% increase in online traffic (since 28 January) – which includes video of its television feed –  has been due to...

Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Censorship or “focusing on strengths”: the ant-covered Jesus debate at the Smithsonian

On October 30th, the National Portrait Gallery at the Smithsonian opened an exhibit featuring the art of gay and lesbian artists entitled “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture.” Among the works featured was a video short by the late artist David Wojnarowicz, whose work commented on the suffering of AIDS patients. Embedded in the video was an 11-second segment showing a small crucifix covered with ants. In late November, incoming House Speaker John Boehner and the Catholic League President...

Race & Ethnicity Studies

Wake Up and See the Carolina Blue: Color Blindness in Wake County, NC

“We have an achievement gap,” a Wake County, North Carolina School board member expounded during his Fall 2009 campaign. “One that is significant. 50% of our African American boys are dropping out. This drives up crime and societal costs. This is a skewed system that fails to adjust for the needs of children of poverty and in doing so we fail to challenge our most gifted or raise our most vulnerable. Too many of our children are falling behind.” The...

Class & Stratification / Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Culture

The Global Development Race: Why parts of East Asia are lagging behind

Tuesday evening President Barak Obama delivered his annual State of the Union address to the United States Congress and the American people. The theme of the President’s speech, ‘win the future,’ focused on a bipartisan effort to rise to the challenge of emerging Asian powers such as China and India. However, on the heels of Chinese President Hu’s visit, Mr. Obama noted that the challenge is not limited to BRIC countries. South Korea’s emphasis on infrastructure and education did not...

Opinion

The Decline Effect, the Structure of Science, and ESP? How should sociologists think about replicability?

An intriguing article in the December 13th issue of The New Yorker by Jonah Lehrer explained the “decline effect” and presented some hypotheses for its existence; here I provide a summary of the article and discuss its relevance for the issue of scientific replicability in sociology. The article set the blog world abuzz; Google returns 947 cases of “decline effect” from November 30th to December 16th this year, while the same range last year yields 158 cases. The “decline effect”...

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

Identifying "play" as normalizing practice: Connecting LEGO's Prison Transport Vehicle to the prison-industrial complex

By Rachael Liberman In a recent critique posted on The Huffington Post (18 January), Bestselling Author and Speaker Rebecca Walker (note that this “title” introduction comes from The Huffington Post and fails to include her work as a prolific feminist) poses the following question, which also serves as the title of her article; “Does This Lego Toy Send the Wrong Message to Children?” Stemming from her concern over the possible normalization of the prison-industrial complex,” Walker points out that one...

Science & Technology

Patient autonomy and the biomedical model

Recently, there have been many suggestions that a backlash against the unilateralism of the biological approach in medicine is on the brink. Perhaps, some suggest, patients have garnered some say in their treatment, even though many researchers suggest that modern medical practice strips patients’ rights to make their own decisions. But where ought the boundary between patient autonomy and doctor totalitarianism be? On the one hand, purely diagnostic, biomedical medicine that does not allow for patients’ own insight into their...

Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Sputnik Point of View: Deficit Language in U.S. Education

It was a Sputnik moment, President Obama said, when the OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) standardized test scores were published late last year. The US ranked somewhere in the mid-20s for most subjects. “America is in danger of falling behind,” Obama warned. We’re being “out-educated,” Education Secretary Arne Duncan cried. Panicked pundits followed suit: “Wake up!” “Catch up!” Fill up that “gap!” There’s no doubt that our everyday uses of language matter. The language we use can shape how we...

Science & Technology / Social Psychology & Lifecourse

Blinded by narcissism?

In the Freudian Era, Narcissism was a central psychiatric concept and diagnosis. In the last several months, the likelihood that the American Psychiatric Association will drop this diagnosis from it’s new, 5th edition of The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) has been the subject of a string of articles in prominent newspapers and other news outlets including the New York Times and NPR. Though the debate is one about professional discourse and diagnosis, it extends well beyond...

Class & Stratification / Gender & Sexuality / Science & Technology / Social Psychology & Lifecourse / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

New issue of Sociology Compass out now! (Vol 4, Issue 12)

Sociology Compass © Blackwell Publishing Ltd Volume 4, Issue 12 Page 999 – 1078 The latest issue of Sociology Compass is available on Wiley Online Library Crime & Deviance Parole Revocation in the Era of Mass Incarceration (pages 999–1010) Jeffrey Lin Article first published online: 1 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2010.00335.x Gender Men and Erotic Oases (pages 1011–1019) Richard Tewksbury Article first published online: 1 DEC 2010 | DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-9020.2010.00343.x Science & Medicine Fat Studies: Mapping the Field (pages 1020–1034)...

Science & Technology

Genes cannot be bought, but their testing certainly can be…

The recent uptick in genetic testing for a range of illnesses has prompted great debate in the medical community about how reliable and useful the testing is, as well as discussion among social scientists about the social and ethical consequences of the testing. One line of inquiry that has been around a bit longer is about biological thinking, specifically as it is related to stigma and inequality. In particular, there is a fascinating and timely discussion of the geneticization of...

Opinion

The influence of science on morality

Recently, I’ve come across several mentions of the role of science in influencing morality. Most of these discussions allude to the following question: to what extent do scientific findings influence people’s concepts of right and wrong or even good and evil? The discussion is generally about the role the natural sciences play in these determinations, but I often wonder what sociologists’ role is in shaping concepts of morality. I do not have an answer to the above question and will...