Renowned Sociologist Herbert J. Gans recently passed away at the age of 97. Gans was known for his sociological work on urban and suburban life, social policy, and the news media, including the influential books The Urban Villagers, The Levittowners, The War Against the Poor, and Deciding What’s News. Gans was also a liberal activist–opposing the VIetnam war and supporting freedom of the press–and a proponent for participant observation and publicly-accessible writing. This story was covered by the New York Times, the Washington Post, and ABC News.

In an interview with Ms. Magazine, Laurie Essig (Professor of Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies at Middlebury College) drew parallels between the dissolving democracies in the U.S. and Russia. Essig noted how masculinity and concerns about gender play into authoritarianism: “[E]very dictator we look at, had anxiety about masculinity. That’s true for Mussolini and Stalin, as well as contemporary leaders. Today, they’ve created this monstrous figure, “gender,” to explain the failure of masculinity. For Donald Trump it’s “gender ideology,” this idea that we’re trying to corrupt the children.” In the podcast project, Feminism, Fascism, and the Future, Essig and colleagues explore these themes across multiple national case studies. Essig also advised that “[p]eople need to get together and create a parallel society in a way where we take care of one another, where we engage in protecting our communities.”

In her recent book, Sin Padres, Ni Papeles: Unaccompanied Migrant Youth Coming of Age in the United States, Stephanie L. Canizales (Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California- Berkeley) explores legal policies and cultural landscape that shape the lives of undocumented young people in California. She describes how these young people are often exploited in low-paying jobs and vilified for political gain. “If not leverageable for the sake of agenda-setting or even tone-setting to the public, the population is completely forgotten,” Canizales said. “And that really haunts me.” This story was covered by UC Berkeley News.

Craig Considine (Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Rice University) commented: “Pope Francis was the first South American pope in history, and this really shook up the church in a good way. During his papacy, the church became more representative of its actual members as Pope Francis made a sincere effort to reach out to Africa and to Asia and to Latin America, which are three of the epicenters of the Catholic Church.” This was covered by Rice University News and Media Relations.

Landon Schnabel (Associate Professor of Sociology at Cornell University) described how Pope Francis balanced tradition and social transformation: “Pope Francis’ leadership reveals how ancient institutions bend without breaking. His calculated reforms — allowing priests to bless same-sex couples while maintaining traditional marriage doctrine — create breathing room within doctrinal boundaries rather than dismantling them. […] Official doctrine and lived practice now stand in stark contrast. Roughly two-thirds of American Catholics support same-sex marriage despite the Vatican’s continued opposition. In many countries, Catholics regularly use birth control despite official teaching against it. The Church operates at two levels: what Rome proclaims and what the people practice.” This was covered by Cornell News.