Latest articles from sociology lens

Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Media & Communication / Sociology of Organizations & Work

Wikipedia’s ‘increasing focus on quality and referencing’

Many lecturers and teachers will recognise the feeling of disheartenment when confronted by an undergraduate essay containing multiple references to Wikipedia. Despite regular exhortations for students to resist its charms, its appeal seems almost overwhelming. Although the site is loved by many, its major selling point of completely open access (i.e. ‘anyone can contribute to or edit’ its entries) is precisely why academics shake their heads in frustration. However, in a recent interview with Emma Barnett of The Telegraph, Jimmy...

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

Portable pornography in the public sphere: Convenient, offensive or hazardous?

By Rachael Liberman It’s one thing to experience the pornification of culture through public advertising (billboards, subway adverts), among other mediated formats. But what if someone sitting next to you on the subway is watching pornography on their iPod? In a recent Washington Post article, Staff Writer Monica Hesse questions the acceptability of portable porn, also known as “secondhand porn” to those experiencing forced exposure. Due to technological (portable) advancements, the consumption of digital pornography has moved from the domestic...

Social Psychology & Lifecourse

Consequences of terror trials in NY: Re-traumatization and Revenge

The announcement that several terror suspects, including Khalid Saikh Mohammed, implicated in the 9/11 attacks, will have their day in New York City courts was released last week. This news sparked fervent debate both between and within political parties for a range of reasons. Why civilian courts? Why in New York City? And what will the ramifications be? One of the possible consequences that has been relatively overlooked is how the incessant coverage of these trials will affect New Yorkers...

Opinion

conference summary part 2: the internet as playground and factory

Following PJ Rey’s excellent summary of the Internet as Playground and Factory yesterday, I offer a few additional observations from the conference this past weekend, focusing on Web 2.0 capitalism, and Google as the primary target. The roughly 100 presenters were not joined by Google, as the company said that the conference content seemed “slightly anti-capitalist.” Much of the content, indeed, took the corporate ownership of our productive labor online to task. A common theme was how to discuss Marx’s...

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...

Class & Stratification / Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Organizations & Work

Smuggling Tunnels in Gaza Strip

by smteixeirapoit Palestinians have created hundreds of tunnels under the Gaza Strip-Egypt border to circumvent the Israeli blockade. In the border town of Rafah, Palestinians secure employment in these tunnels, smuggling goods such as food, livestock, appliances, and electronics. The work in the tunnels is not only dirty, but also dangerous. Sometimes, Israel bombs the tunnels or the tunnels collapse. Oftentimes, workers are buried alive. One might question: Why would Palestinians choose to work in these conditions? In the Gaza...

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...

Political & Economic Sociology / Social Psychology & Lifecourse

election day and attributing blame

By Dena T. Smith In elections, we determine who to vote for via a number of factors: party affiliation, the economy, the character of the candidate, advertising, etc. It’s a complicated process. One key force in determining the outcome of elections is who is attributed responsibility for both the pitfalls and promise of a given state of the nation, state, city or even district.   The process of attribution, generally explored by social psychologists, and usually used to describe blame...

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...

Opinion

The Conference Ends without Closing…

Now that we’ve come to the end, the Compass team would like to say a heartfelt ‘thank you’ to everyone who has participated and made our first virtual conference an overwhelming success. The authors and presenters have been, without exception, engaging and professional to the last. We’d also like to extend a special note of thanks to our virtual attendees, who have kept the discussions alive with insightful commentary, and their openness to explore issues across disciplines. There will be...

Opinion

Virtual Conference Report: Day Nine (29 Oct, 2009)

Today marked the penultimate day of Wiley-Blackwell’s first Virtual Conference. As I am sure you will all agree, thus far, each day has contained many gems, and today has been no different. Eileen Joy’s (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville) keynote lecture: ‘Reading Beowulf in the Ruins of Grozny: Pre/modern, Post/human, and the Question of Being‐Together’ looks at the aftermath of the Russian bombing of Chechnya through the lens of Beowulf. The two final papers of the conference were provided by P....

Opinion

Virtual Conference Report: Day Eight (28 Oct, 2009)

By Paula Bowles Day eight of the conference was once again marked by some excellent contributions. The first paper ‘Cultural Sociology and Other Disciplines: Interdisciplinarity in the Cultural Sciences’ by Diane Crane (University of Pennsylvania) suggests that for many scholars ‘disciplinary isolation is the norm.’ However, Crane proposes that by utilising what she describes as ‘free‐floating paradigms’ such barriers can be removed. The second paper of the day by Christine Mallinson, (University of Maryland) entitled ‘Sociolinguistics and Sociology: Current Directions, Future...

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...