Its not just a fantasy anymore, someone is actually teaching a ‘Sociology of the Simpsons’ course…Professor Darren Blakeborough of University College of the Fraser Valley as reported by the local news in Victoria, British Colombia. This new course, offered to advanced undergraduates, in a class of 30, links the popularity of the show to the issues it addresses. Read more…
The Houston Chronicle picked up a story on the recent violence in Mexico against ’emo’ youth in the city of Queretaro.
The Story from the Chronicle:
“The dramatic dress style of urban music followers known as ’emos’ has struck a nerve in Mexico’s macho society. The result is a wave of violent attacks in recent weeks against the scene’s mostly teenage followers. The attack getting the most publicity occurred last month in the central city of Queretaro. Hundreds of youths shouting ‘kill the emos’ pounced on a handful of long-haired teenagers in a plaza. As the victims lay bleeding on the concrete, their assailants filmed the scene on cell phones. Within hours, the footage was posted on YouTube, fueling attacks in other cities and the Mexican capital.”
Sociological Commentary:
Hector Castillo, a sociologist in Mexico, specializing in youth culture suggests that the cause of this violence is homophobia and intolerance. In addition, Castillo suggests that the 2006 presidential elections, which were highly contested, created a climate of polarization which pitted the ‘far right’ groups against the left.
The Courier Post recently covered a recent lecture by Nikki Jones, an associate professor of sociology at the University of California at Santa Barbara about the rising problem of violence among teenage girls. Jones asserted that the justice system and social services provide nearly ten times more support to programs for males than those for females.
This lecture in Camden, NJ covered the subject of Jones’ upcoming book on her field work in Philadelphia with female students at Martin Luther King High School, primarily African-American girls.
“Those girls, from middle through high school, she said, can primarily be separated into two categories, but many navigate between both camps. One group of girls, she said, ‘want to be known as able fighters’ and confrontations with them often lead to cuts, especially when the targets are considered pretty.”
“It is not uncommon, she said, for a pretty teen to suffer permanent scarring from a bladed weapon for no reason other than her looks. ‘It’s the code of the street. It’s about reputation and respect,’ Jones said.”
“The other group of girls avoids being in confrontations. As violence increases in a community, Jones said, these girls avoid social relationships, spending more and more time at home and restricting movement in public places.”
“‘Many avoid going to school altogether. They isolate themselves from close relationships, so they have no need to defend anyone because it generally is expected that you will fight for a friend,’ said Jones.”
The Independent Lens is currently collecting photographs that illustrate what it means to be an American through the website Flickr.com to integrate into an upcoming PBS documentary called ‘A Dream in Doubt.’ This documentary, based on the premise that the American Dream is becoming increasingly elusive, highlights the racial stereotypes in the U.S. including the wave of hate crimes following September 11th. The documentary is set to air on PBS Tuesday, May 20, 2008.
A recent article from OutlookIndia.com focuses on the recent shift in foreign research taking place in India. Current projects are concerned with contemporary issues rather than the more historic Orientalist-focused research programs.
Sugata Srinivasaraju reports:
“Wesley Longhofer, a PhD scholar from the department of sociology at the University of Minnesota, personifies the new kind of research scholar in Bangalore. He is studying how high-profile philanthropic foundations set up by the IT community in the areas of water, education and governance are aiming to transform Bangalore into a world-class city. His research even takes him to places like the city’s ISKCON temple, so that he can understand how corporates like Infosys are supporting the mid-day meal programme run by the temple.”
“Bangalore has many attractions from a social science perspective. From the archetypal sleepy town, it has undergone huge changes in a relatively short period. It is a laboratory in which the globalisation experiment is alive and under way, allowing scholars to examine many trends and their effects on society. Cities like Shanghai may offer similar insights, but the language barrier there puts off many Western scholars.”
In a new editorial from the Freakonomics bloggers at the New York Times asks, “Do Hamburgers Cause Crime?” A new paper from Jennifer Dillard of the Georgetown Law School investigates the effects of lengthy employment on the ‘kill floor’ of slaughterhouses to a dramatic increase in the risk of psychological problems, like post traumatic stress disorder. Dillard argues that from a legal standpoint, these workers should be compensated under O.S.H.A.
In their discussion of Dillard’s new work, the Freakonomics blog authors also highlight sociologist Amy Fitzgerald’s paper which concludes that communities with slaughterhouses experience a ‘spill-over’ effect from this type of work, resulting in much higher rates of violent crime than other communities with similar demographic characteristics.
CBS news recently reprinted a quotation from Hillary Clinton’s discussion with reporters after jokingly challenging Barack Obama to a ‘bowl off.’ Clinton references Robert Putnam’s work on ‘bowling alone’ as a way of expressing our highly isolated social interactions.
“Bowling alone you know, this is a big sociological phenomenon, bowling alone is a sign of our times, we could bring it back we could like transform the entire society. People would start joining leagues again they would feel a sense of community a sense of togetherness, exactly, bowling alleys everywhere on every corner, people setting pins again. End the automation, get the pin boy, there is no telling what could happen!”
Sports journalist Dave Zirin has a weekly radio show on XM Channel 167 every Saturday at noon (Eastern time). Zirin has started a regular segment called “Ask A Sports Sociologist.” So far he’s had two sociologists as guests:
You can hear Zirin’s show online here.
Note for Non-Windows users: the files are in WMA format. If you’re on a Mac, just download and install either Perian or Flip4Mac (both are free) and you’ll be able to use QuickTime to hear them. If you’re on Linux, you’ll have to install your distribution’s restricted format packages. For example, instructions for Ubuntu users.
via Brayden King at orgtheory:
It turns out Tom Wolfe, the realist American novelist most famous for his Bonfire of the Vanities, is a bit of an amateur sociologist. Check out this interview with the New York Times’s Sam Tanenhaus in which Tom admits to falling in love with sociology. (You can begin listening about 1/4 of the way into the interview.) During graduate school Tom became attracted to Weber’s theorizing of status, a concept that later figured prominently in many of Wolfe’s novels, especially in Bonfire. In the last half of the interview Wolfe describes how he carefully builds status markers into his novels.
Follow this link to a fascinating interview by National Public Radio with Columbia sociologist Dana Fisher about the effectiveness of street protests in America.