This week we talk about the sociology and economics of academic journal publishing, the Elsevier boycott, and whether the journal system as we know it is necessary anymore. Our decision: everybody can just podcast everything from now on. Starting with….
academics
After a quick ASA recap from Jesse and Arturo, we talk about the challenges of writing—and academic writing in particular—and whether diversity on television can make a difference.
Two topics this week:
First, Arturo jumps off from a recent New Books in Sociology episode to ask whether or not sociology is too set in making repetitive and uncreative arguments.
Second, Chris takes us on a tour through the Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 200, with a stop at the Grammy Album of the Year, partially in response to this article on Hysteria and pop music.
Note: Jon accidentally posted the link to last episode when initially creating this post. If you got the wrong file, please redownload now. Sorry!
Because Arturo is obsessed with Glenn Beck, conversation begins there, but quickly moves to government shutdowns, the way economists approach social problems, and we return to last episode’s discussion about education.
Links from this episode:
- Freakonomics, the movie (Netflix)
- Planet Money
- Office Hours: with Doug Downey, with Maria Kefalas
- Leon Botstein on education
Remember that big stink over anthropology and science in December? We invited anthropologist Eric Plemons back on the show to talk about science, anthropology, and sociology. We had a fun, lively, & at times heated discussion about the topic. Unfortunately, we were a bit slow with the editing and some time has now passed since this was exactly front page news, but we say science is always in season on the Sociology Improv.
On October 27, Jeremy Freese taped a laptop to his face and Skyped into the Soc Improv for a discussion of the NRC rankings. After Jeremy left, we solved the culture of poverty. Or something like that.
Unfortunately, due to a freak editing accident, this episode is just now being posted. Sorry, Jeremy. (And sorry, Christopher Newport.)
Links discussed in this episode:
This week, Eric Plemons joins the conversation and Jose Marichal makes a return visit as well. After introducing the Improv Hotline at 612.242.AGIL, we have a discussion about teaching social theory, the value of reading original texts, and the challenges of tuning out distractions for sustained reading and writing. Our final segment is a lengthy discussion of the impact of the 2010 midterm elections.
By the way, be sure to watch the feed because we’ve got another new episode we recorded last week coming your way in just a few days. Editing is hard.
This week we talk about two articles:
This episode we talk about ourselves.
First, Jon and Arturo gaze at our podcasting navels. We discuss The Society Pages, our plans for Office Hours, and discuss what we’ve learned about producing podcasts and conducting interviews.
Second, at about 42 minutes in, Jesse and Chris join the mix and we navel-gaze as sociologists and academics about e-books, academic publishing, and the state of sociology.
So go grab a fuzzy navel, and listen to improv #9.
After a quick ASA recap from Jesse and Arturo, we talk about the challenges of writing—and academic writing in particular—and whether diversity on television can make a difference.
Two topics this week:
First, Arturo jumps off from a recent New Books in Sociology episode to ask whether or not sociology is too set in making repetitive and uncreative arguments.
Second, Chris takes us on a tour through the Billboard Hot 100 and the Top 200, with a stop at the Grammy Album of the Year, partially in response to this article on Hysteria and pop music.
Note: Jon accidentally posted the link to last episode when initially creating this post. If you got the wrong file, please redownload now. Sorry!
Because Arturo is obsessed with Glenn Beck, conversation begins there, but quickly moves to government shutdowns, the way economists approach social problems, and we return to last episode’s discussion about education.
Links from this episode:
- Freakonomics, the movie (Netflix)
- Planet Money
- Office Hours: with Doug Downey, with Maria Kefalas
- Leon Botstein on education
Remember that big stink over anthropology and science in December? We invited anthropologist Eric Plemons back on the show to talk about science, anthropology, and sociology. We had a fun, lively, & at times heated discussion about the topic. Unfortunately, we were a bit slow with the editing and some time has now passed since this was exactly front page news, but we say science is always in season on the Sociology Improv.
On October 27, Jeremy Freese taped a laptop to his face and Skyped into the Soc Improv for a discussion of the NRC rankings. After Jeremy left, we solved the culture of poverty. Or something like that.
Unfortunately, due to a freak editing accident, this episode is just now being posted. Sorry, Jeremy. (And sorry, Christopher Newport.)
Links discussed in this episode:
This week, Eric Plemons joins the conversation and Jose Marichal makes a return visit as well. After introducing the Improv Hotline at 612.242.AGIL, we have a discussion about teaching social theory, the value of reading original texts, and the challenges of tuning out distractions for sustained reading and writing. Our final segment is a lengthy discussion of the impact of the 2010 midterm elections.
By the way, be sure to watch the feed because we’ve got another new episode we recorded last week coming your way in just a few days. Editing is hard.
This week we talk about two articles:
This episode we talk about ourselves.
First, Jon and Arturo gaze at our podcasting navels. We discuss The Society Pages, our plans for Office Hours, and discuss what we’ve learned about producing podcasts and conducting interviews.
Second, at about 42 minutes in, Jesse and Chris join the mix and we navel-gaze as sociologists and academics about e-books, academic publishing, and the state of sociology.
So go grab a fuzzy navel, and listen to improv #9.