Latest articles from sociology lens

Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Media & Communication

Smoking: Bad Habit? Or Socially Patterned?

by socanonymous A U.S. Federal Appeals court recently upheld a 2006 landmark ruling that found top tobacco companies guilty of racketeering and fraud. The companies were found to have deceived the public about the dangers of smoking by using misleading labels such as “low tar”, “light”, and “mild”, on cigarette boxes. Manufacturers have since been required to change the way they market their cigarettes. The mass perception of smoking has gradually evolved from social acceptance to socially and morally unacceptable....

Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Globalization, Humyn Trafficking, and The UN

The critical theorists argue that the progress of modernity actually serves as a source of domination and dehumynization.  One can see the validity of this theoretical perspective when thinking about the global issue of humyn trafficking.  The deputy director of International Organization for Migration announced that there is an estimated 600,000 to four million people trafficked annually.   Last week the UN General Assembly met to discuss the possibility of creating a “global plan of action” to end humyn trafficking.   The majority present...

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

Sniffing the City

by kiddingthecity What happens if some people decided to take control, in different ways, of their own images taken in public space by the millions of CCTV, by becoming conscientious actors and protagonists of the never ending film of the city (in London, there are more that half million of CCTV, 1 every 14 citizens)? What if some people started reclaiming, under the Data Protection Act, their own ‘performances’? To the extent, for instance, of making a music video, or...

Class & Stratification / Science & Technology

Health Care Reform: An Uphill Battle Against the Health Insurance Industry?

by smteixeirapoit In the United States, many citizens do not have health insurance. Some people cannot afford health insurance. A recent CNN article explains that other people are unable to obtain health insurance because they have pre-existing medical conditions. People that have group insurance plans are able to receive health care coverage even with pre-existing conditions. However, some people do not have group insurance plans because their employers do not provide health insurance, they are self-employed, or they are unable...

Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Culture

Refugees and the State of the Human

nmccoy1 The status of refugees, as Giorgio Agamben asserts, is predicated on an articulation of what constitutes the human.  What the refugee challenges or makes visible is not only that human rights are not naturally given but also that what is human is not naturally given.  If we are constituted and defined through the sovereign as Agamben argues, whose power is based on the ability to determine inclusion and exclusion, then our humanity is bounded solely  by the authority and...

Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture

Inside the Iron Closet

by christinablunt On Tuesday, May 12, two women attempted, in the face of almost certain failure, to become the first same sex-couple in Russia to legally marry. LGBT rights activists, as well as the gay community in Russia, have been met with antipathy and hostility in the past so, it came as little surprise to the two when their request was denied. Not only have activists been violently attacked, according to the New York Times, state officials have assigned the...

Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Talent Agencies as Cultural Gatekeepers

by bmckernan A few weeks ago, two of the largest talent agencies in America – William Morris and Endeavor – announced plans to merge into one corporate entity. The new mega-agency, entitled William Morris Endeavor (WME) will rival the current industry leader Creative Artists Agency (CAA) in both size and scope, representing some of the wealthiest and most critically acclaimed American entertainment personalities. According to a recent NY Times article, the merger illustrates the current ambiguity and instability in the...

Race & Ethnicity Studies / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance / Sociology of Organizations & Work

Bullet Proof Turbans

by paulabowles Ten years after the publication of Sir William Macpherson’s report into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, and the allegation of ‘institutional racism’ still hangs heavily over British policing. Although, there remains doubt over whether or not this allegation is still relevant – and indeed some confusion, for many, as to what the term ‘institutional racism’ actually means – it would seem that some positive steps have been taken. Most recently, the British Sikh Police Association has been set...

Class & Stratification / Political & Economic Sociology

The Inequality and Irony of Free Trade

by socanonymous Due to increasing fears surrounding the spread of the influenza A (H1N1) or Swine Flu, participating countries in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations are banning pork products and increasing trade restrictions, all in an atempt to contain the virus.  The irony of the situation, as some environmentalists and other critics argue, is that the lax rules and regulations surrounding free trade agreements such as NAFTA are partially to blame for creating the necessary conditions leading to such an...

Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies

Fearmongering, Racism, Border Control, and Swine Flu

  “No contact anywhere with an illegal alien!”    “This disgusting blight is because MEXICANS ARE PIGS!”  “It would be easy to bring an altered virus into Mexico, put it in the general population, and have them march across the border.”  These and many other quotes made by individuals in connection  to the recent outbreak of swine flu are reported by Brian Alexander of MSNBC.Com in an article he wrote which posted on Friday.  Alexander argues that the fearmongering and blame have been ever present from everyday citizens blogging...

Gender & Sexuality / Social Psychology & Lifecourse

Rethinking Sex Education

by theoryforthemasses Public debate about the content of sex education in U.S. schools has been raging for decades.  On one side of the fence are proponents of programs that teach abstinence-only sex education; on the other side are those who advocate for a more comprehensive program that teaches students how to engage in sexual activity more safely.  The educational system has long been the site of this debate.  However, a recent New York Times article explores a program in North...

Class & Stratification / Gender & Sexuality / Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Contentious Data: Hate Crimes and Resistance to the Matthew Sheperd Act

by NickieWild Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the “Local Law Enforcement Hate Crimes Prevention Act,” also known as the Matthew Shepard Act. Named after a college student who was robbed, tortured, and killed in Wyoming in 1998, it is believed that he was targeted because he was gay. The legislation will enhance Justice Department powers to investigate violent crimes where the victim may have been chosen due to actual or perceived race, gender, sexual orientation, disability, religion,...

Opinion

Sociologists, Epidemiologists, Survivors Recall 1918

You may be interested to learn that sociologists frequently work with epidemiologists to share their expertise in understanding human behavior and culture in an effort to reduce the spread and transmission of a whole host of infectious disease such as HIV/AIDS, SARS, or even “Swine Flu.” The recent H1N1 “Swine Flu” epidemic has drawn attention to the last major influenza pandemic which occurred in 1918 – 1920 when an estimated 20-40 million people died worldwide.  In the below articles, a...

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

The Mask is the Meaning

by kiddingthecity (on bank holiday weekend) Lately, I performed a browser’s search for “surgical mask”, and I came up with many (more than I expected) interesting fictions. For instance, I learned that in parts of Asia, especially in Japan, it is quite a common thing, and it makes you a good citizen, the preoccupation not to infect your neighbour if you ever feel poor. Or that surgical mask happens to be a designer’s stuff, a fashionable item, with a lot...

Class & Stratification / Gender & Sexuality / Sociology of Organizations & Work

Gender Wage Gap

by smteixeirapoit A recent news article discusses the findings of three surveys used by the Office for National Statistics in the United Kingdom. The results suggest that the gender wage gap does not necessarily exist when examining comparable occupations. The findings state that, if the gender wage gap does exist, it is because of motherhood rather than womanhood. The news article concludes that females would like to be employed because of their merits instead of being patronized by “quota feminists”....

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

The Marketing of Democracy

The Republican National Party is having what some may call an identity crisis.  Since the 2008 Presidential election campaigns, RNC strategists have been concerned with the direction, message, image, and marketing of their positions.  CNN reported on efforts at ‘re-branding’ the Republican image (see article below) through conferences and meetings among current and former Republican leaders.  Though is by no means a right-of-center-only phenomena, these attempts at marketing a political position are extremely worrying and mark the widening distance between...