Elizabeth Chiarello (Associate Professor of Sociology at Washington University in St. Louis) wrote an article for The Conversation discussing cases in which pharmacists have not dispensed medications that go against their personal beliefs (such as Plan B, opioids, or certain treatments for COVID-19) and the various state responses to this conflict. Chiarello notes that self-regulation in the medical field “has legally given pharmacists the right to act as “medical gatekeepers” – to use their professional expertise to keep patients safe. This role is critical, as patients whose lives have been saved by pharmacists catching errors can attest. It has not, however, given them the right to be “moral gatekeepers” who put their personal beliefs above the patient’s. Pharmacists control medications because of professional commitments, not personal beliefs.”

Elizabeth Chiarello

BU’s Arts X Sciences Magazine highlighted Patrick Sheehan’s (Assistant Professor of Sociology at Boston University) work on start-up companies. Sheehan describes how ‘hype’ – a “collective emotional energy within companies that’s oriented towards this imagined future” – motivates workers to invest effort into companies that are likely to fail. He notes that Silicon Valley start-ups workers are primarily young men from elite schools: “They come to these start-ups, and they’re promised this grand vision of ‘We could become millionaires, change the world, make friends, and have a great time. And they work themselves to the bone, to the point of burnout, until physical and mental breakdown. This promise, this imagined future somehow enrolls these elite young men who have all the options in the world to grind themselves towards something that’s almost certainly not going to work out.”

Patrick Sheehan

Charles Derber (Professor of Sociology at Boston College) appeared on American Prestige – a podcast hosted by The Nation – to discuss his new book Bonfire: American Sociocide, Broken Relations, and the Quest for Democracy. Derber discusses the concept of ‘sociocide’ – when societies tear themselves apart and create conditions for the breakdown of social ties and relationships. Derber argues that the abandonment of systems of social support and a focus on individual interests in the market have pushed us toward sociocide.

Charles Derber

The Atlantic ran an article on the practice of lowering the flag. The article describes that this practice was once a relatively rare practice of public mourning, but has become common in recent years. Nancy Berns (Professor of Sociology at Drake University) was quoted, describing flag lowering as a public ritual. She notes that the power of ritual does not lie in “the ritual itself, but in the meaning that people attach to it.” However, when the flag is lowered frequently, the public may not even realize the reason, generating a sense of unease instead of a sense of unity.

Nancy Berns

The Washington Post ran an article discussing how some U.S. lawmakers are concerned that China is gaining a technological advantage over the United States; a recent report from the Department of Homeland Security highlighted concerns that China is seeking to illicitly acquire U.S. technology. However, the U.S. and China have longstanding collaborative research ties. Abigail Coplin (Assistant Professor of Sociology and Science, Technology and Society at Vassar College) commented that open research benefits the U.S. and that there are already guardrails to protect any classified or sensitive research. “American national security interests and economic competitiveness would be better served by continuing — if not increasing — research funding than they are by implementing costly research restrictions,” Coplin said.

Abigail Coplin