This week saw outrage over personal loans offered to Nevada teachers just to buy classroom supplies (for their public school rooms!), a flurry of suggested “great books in sociology” reading lists, 40 years of the War on Poverty, another fight in the toy aisle, and, of course, Canada’s gift to the U.S., the Polar Vortex (we’re particularly sorry for the South… at least we Minnesota types have some snowpants we can dig out of the basement). Enjoy!

The Editors’ Desk:

“Bute’s Big Ten,” by Monte Bute. Doug Hartmann shares a comprehensive list of “great books” chosen by a fellow sociologist, the author of TSP’s Community Page A Backstage Sociologist.

There’s Research on That!

“‘Nature Does Not Negotiate’ at the UN Climate Summit,” by Rahsaan Mahadeo. Research on the organization of environmental advocacy groups and effectiveness, as well as which countries’ evidence and arguments are taken seriously.

“Polar Vortex Leaving Some Out In The Cold?” by Evan Stewart. In natural disasters, people are affected differently, and the patterns mimic larger-scale social disadvantage. Oh, and when it’s really cold? Homelessness has a whole new dimension of precarity.

Reading List:

“Concerted Cultivation Can’t Undo Institutional Barriers in Education,” by Amy August. Cultivate all you want, but low parental education levels, race, and class continue to shape kids’ school experiences. Disadvantage: so sticky!

A Few from the Community Pages:

• Girl w/ Pen! A kerfuffle! A brouhaha! Might it be a donnybrook? Thoughtful work on why we should abandon the war on pink, as well as why we should take it to a two-front toy aisle assault, setting our sights on pink and camo. And speaking of wars, how’s that War on Poverty going? A 40-year retrospective from Virginia Rutter.
• Sociological Images. Ladies, enjoy your debt! Parents, you’re teaching the bullies to bully! Americans, you really have no grasp on racial diversity! And, oh good lord, Nevada. Teachers, you TOO can go into debt!
• Sociology Lens. Goffman on the Internet and male-identified instructors skillfully teaching feminism and gender.
• Cyborgology. On death and happiness (no word on taxes) in the quantified life and the proliferation of eyes, welcoming drone viewpoints to the accumulation of individual perspectives. Finally, what’s up with the outdated tech in storytelling? Good question.

Scholars Strategy Network:

“Why Grassroots Protestors Fight to Cut Taxes for the Rich,” by Isaac William Martin.