Good Fortune, the recently released directorial debut of comedian Aziz Ansari, was heavily inspired by Alexandrea J. Ravenelle’s (Associate Professor in Sociology at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill) work on the gig economy. Ravenelle studies gig workers, low-wage W2 earners, and creative freelancers. Her most recent work “tells the story of how these vulnerable workers get trapped in gig work, how this short-term solution is actually becoming a long-term problem.” Ravenelle stated that Ansari’s film is “validating and really shines a light on how hard it is for many of these workers.” This story was covered by UNC News.

Alexandrea J. Ravenelle

Canton Winer (Assistant Professor of Sociology at Northern Illinois University) wrote an article for The Conversation on people who feel that gender is “irrelevant, unimportant, pointless and, overall, not a helpful framework for understanding and defining themselves.” While the assumption that everyone has a gender identity is widespread, Winer describes how many individuals experience gender detachment. “Gender detachment isn’t just about not identifying as a man or a woman; it’s about not identifying with gender at all,” Winer explains.

Canton Winer

Orlando Patterson (Professor of Sociology at Harvard University) appeared on the Economics Matters podcast to discuss the concept of freedom. He describes freedom as a concept originating in the ancient West and deeply connected to systems of slavery. Patterson discussed how the concept of freedom is related to three forms of power: 1) power to control your circumstances (including to control your own life and power over others); 2) power to liberate yourself from the control of others; and 3) power to participate in governance.

Orlando Patterson

In an article for The Conversation, Tony Silva (Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia) and Emily Huddart (Professor of Sociology at the University of British Columbia) describes their recent research on Canadian attitudes toward the paranormal (referring to “phenomena that science cannot explain and are not part of a major religion”). Although Canada is one of the most secular nations, Canadians have broadly embraced the paranormal. Approximately 44% of Canadians believe in at least one paranormal phenomenon and about a quarter of Canadians claim to have experienced a ghost or spirit (often connected to the death of a loved one).

Tony Silva and Emily Huddart