New & Noteworthy

This week’s Clippings by Mallory Harrington includes:

• Musa al-Gharbi (Stony Brook University): Argued that the Trump administration’s crackdown on higher education backfired—universities that complied, like Columbia, were punished, prompting others like Harvard to resist instead.

• Madonna Harrington Meyer (Syracuse University): Described how grandparents are increasingly parenting their grandchildren, often sacrificing retirement or taking on debt, despite attempts to set boundaries like “fun days” or fixed schedules.

• Aarushi Bhandari and Parul Bhandari (Davidson College & University of Cambridge): Discussed the Hermès Birkin bag as a symbol of elite status, and how Walmart’s “Wirkin” sparked conversations around wealth, accessibility, and anti-elitist sentiment.

• Rebecca Sandefur (Arizona State University): Highlighted that most civil court users lack legal representation; the system is built for legal professionals, making it inaccessible to the general public despite its importance.

• Michelle Janning (Whitman College): Explained that dishwashing arguments reflect deeper meanings—our home rituals symbolize control, identity, and resistance to automation in increasingly tech-driven domestic spaces.

Our latest Discovery by Anastasia Dulle covers research by Ken Kamoche and Kuok Kei Law on bamboo scaffolders in Hong Kong, and how they navigate dangerous work and social stigma by embracing a macho identity that emphasizes toughness, risk-taking, and informal expertise in a declining and highly scrutinized industry.

From the Archives

Coinciding with holidays like Passover and Easter, spring cleaning used to have a religious significance. Today, spring cleaning is more about practicality. In this article, Sarah Catherine Billups discusses the gendered division of housework and the sociological significance of dust.

Peter Dutton, the leader of Australia’s conservative Liberal Party, has said that he believes in climate change. He was accused of minimizing the issue during a recent political debate. In 2015, Erik Kojola wrote about social science research into climate denial.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Council on Contemporary Families

• 3Q with Brigid Schulte and Haley Swenson authors of A Glimpse of Stability: The Impact of Pandemic Aid on Families in Poverty with Alicia M. Walker discuss how pandemic-era aid showed that direct, sustained government support can dramatically improve stability and well-being for low-income families, challenging long-held narratives about poverty and personal responsibility.

First Publics

• Apathy to Engagement: Sociology’s Problem-Solving Potential by Johnnie Lotesta, on how teaching public sociology can empower students to counter political apathy by helping them explore social problems, imagine alternatives, and develop real-world solutions grounded in their own experiences.