Tagged: politics

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

Rehabilitation: The Cheaper Option?

by paulabowles A recent discussion between Erwin James and Jonathon Aitken draws attention once more to the apparent incompatibility between prison and rehabilitation. As both James and Aitken are former prisoners, it is perhaps understandable that they have strong feelings about imprisonment. During their discussion James and Aitken touch on issues of honesty, recidivism, education as well as the cost of imprisonment. At the heart of their discussion is the realisation that even in the twenty first century it would...

Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

“I Missed the Joke”: Race, Rupert Murdoch, and the NAACP

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E4mBRYueMss] by NickieWild Last week, a very racially charged cartoon appeared in the New York Post, featuring a couple of police officers having killed a chimpanzee, with the caption, “They’ll have to find someone else to write the next stimulus bill.” The cartoon was supposedly a somewhat weak joke about an animal that attacked a woman, and was shot by police in Connecticut, linked tenuously with commentary of a sort about President Obama’s economic plan. Civil rights leaders weren’t laughing....

Gender & Sexuality / Political & Economic Sociology / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Organizations & Work

What Role Do Men Play in Feminist Leadership Goals?

by NickieWild After Hillary Clinton’s loss in the race to be the Democratic nominee and Sarah Palin’s loss as vice presidential candidate, the role of women in leadership positions is more salient than ever.  However, one question that does not always get asked is, what (if any) is the role of men in furthering feminist goals? Clearly, one such goal is the attainment of more powerful leadership positions in the United States. One way that men in leadership positions can...

Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Just Where Do Trusted News Sources Get Their Information?

by NickieWild [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mu-PF3O0ZpY] Remember all the reports immediately following the conclusion of the presidential campaign that an unnamed McCain-Palin campaign policy advisor leaked to the media that Sarah Palin didn’t know that Africa was actually a continent, and not a country? Remember all the interviews Palin did denying the reports, and calling the unnamed sources cowards and liars? Soon afterwards, reports swirled on cable news that the source of the leak had identified himself as Martin Eisenstadt, a member of...

Race & Ethnicity Studies

When Political and Racist Views Intersect

by PlantingSeedsFromUA Recently, a seventh grade teacher in Jackson County school district in Florida received a 10-day suspension without pay and was ordered to write a letter of apology to his students for writing a racially charged interpretation of the word “change” during a social studies class. The teacher explained to his students, that the Obama’s campaign slogan stood for “Come Help A (N-word) Get Elected.”  Though the teacher was reassigned to teach in the district’s Adult Education Program, the...

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

Internet (Community) Organizer?

by socanonymous Popular media and pundits alike are praising President-Elect, Barack Obama and his campaigners for taking his message to the internet. Much of Obama’s skills and experience in community organizing have been taken online. This election has definitely been history in the making, in more than one way. The successful linkage of technology, namely the internet, and politics has been proven effective in this election. There are countless benefits to the use of the internet for political gains including...

Political & Economic Sociology

Politics and the Professor

by theoryforthemasses In his 2004 American Sociological Association Presidential Address, sociologist Michael Burawoy suggested that the discipline of sociology moved politically leftward in recent years, whereas the United States generally moved to the right. This perpetuated the perception of sociology as a left-leaning, liberal discipline. Moreover, it has long been a contention of the politically conservative (and many general sociology students) that the liberal bent of academic professors, particularly in the humanities, is both too obvious and influential in the...

Gender & Sexuality / Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Culture

"Pretty" enough to run for office?

A recent psychology study (see below) at Northwestern University reveals that one reason that we look for female political candidates to be “attractive” is due to human instincts for “mate selection.”  The authors of the study assert that these judgements about the attractiveness of a female candidate occur unconsciously, therefore insinuating that a) mate selection is transhistorical and is based on modern standards of attraction, b) mate selection is heteronormatively essentialized and c) male preferences and instincts are human instincts,...

Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Sociology of Media & Communication

The So-Called "Silent Minority" Speaks

  by theoryforthemasses In the months leading up to the national election, the American news media has explored several demographic groups whose votes are up for grabs. The focus has largely been on African Americans, Latinos, and white female Clinton supporters; meanwhile, the Asian American vote (as though “Asians” can be qualitatively lumped together) has been largely overlooked. In her exploration of whether Asian Americans are considered “forever foreigners” or “honorary whites,” sociologist Mia Tuan paints a compelling picture of...

Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Media & Communication

Social Media and Politics

No one can deny that the technology available today is changing the face of politics.  With the explosion of the internet, candidates are conducting much of their fundraising efforts and the promotion of their campaigns on a virtual campaign trail.  Information concerning nominees of both parties can be found on social networking websites such as Facebook and Myspace, an infinite amount of blog sites, and video sites such as Google video and YouTube.  In the video clip below from Newsworld, the use of...

Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Culture

'But what do they eat for breakfast?' On choosing a president.

by dsantore Another American presidential election brings with it familiar debates – arguments about idealism vs. pragmatism, the liberal media bias vs. the conservative media bias, values vs. issues, style vs. substance. It calls to mind a line of discussion carried over the past several months by a couple of the thinkers-that-be at the New York Times. Judith Warner and Stanley Fish, each of whom write regular opinion pieces for the Times’ website, have been pursuing the question of whether...

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...