The presidential debate is tomorrow, with many Americans eager to watch the performances of their candidates and fact-check the other. Check it out, or check out? When audiences spend extra time with content by Nick Mathews writes up research on how consumers are more likely to verify news that aligns with their beliefs to support arguments rather than fact-check information they find uncertain.
Inflation and the economy is also frequenting the news, with the stock market facing challenges. Check out our ‘There’s Research on That’, Precarious Work in the Gig Economy, by Jean Marie Maier to learn more about one part of the market, the gig economy.
Backstage with TSP
Last Friday TSP welcomed back returning board members and has begun onboarding our new board members. This includes assigning “beats” in the sociology literature to provide broad coverage in the creation for new Discoveries and TROTs, ideation of new projects, and, of course, donuts.
TSP’s John Purnell wrote up a new Discovery, Pharmacist Deputies from research by Elizabeth Chiarello in American Sociological Review. This piece describes how Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) have shifted pharmacists’ roles from healthcare providers to enforcers of legal regulations, prioritizing policing over patient care.
From the Archives
Here are a few pieces for this back-to-school season:
Back to School, Back to Bullying by Mahala Miller some research on bullying, or peer aggression, which remains an issue affecting over 1 in 5 American high schoolers. However, some research suggests rates of bullying are not rising.
First-Generation Students Face More Stress, But Less Depression by Mahala Miller explores research showing that first-generation college students encounter more stressors before and during college than their peers but do not exhibit higher levels of depressive symptoms, possibly due to the resilience they have developed from previous stress exposure.
Who Gets a Special Education? by Amy August on the disproportionate placement of students of color in special education and how it is influenced more by school characteristics than by race or social class, with these students often facing lower expectations and poorer services compared to their white peers.
Backstage with TSP
The Fall Semester officially started today! TSP will be welcoming new and returning board members and making plans for our regular pieces (Discoveries and TROTs) and new special projects.
q&a with dr. amanda cheong and Elena van Stee, discuss Cheong’s award-winning research on the impact of driver’s license access for undocumented immigrants, highlighting the significant barriers they face in daily life without proper identification, and emphasizing the importance of policy changes to improve their integration and contributions to society.
letter from the editors: summer 2024 by Seth Abrutyn and Amin Ghaziani covers the summer issue of Contexts, which explores the interplay between present realities and dreams of a better future, featuring essays on diverse topics like inclusive communities, race, and social mobility, offering insights and inspiration for envisioning a brighter world.
Teaching the Hidden Curriculum by Kylie Smith write on the hidden curriculum—unspoken norms and expectations in higher education—during the first week of class helps level the playing field and equips them with essential tools for success in college.
S Ericson’s latest Discovery, The Making of a #1 Song covers research by Vincent Carter and how the introduction of SoundScan technology reduced Black audiences’ influence on overall music sales, affecting which R&B and hip-hop artists achieved mainstream success.
From the Archives
I recently saw Twitch streams of the Democratic Convention and found this Cyborgology piece on the topic. This live streaming allows for a more “unfiltered” look into the event rather than a quasi-filtered one.
Backstage with TSP
Fall semester is nearing and TSP is hitting the multi-media approach hard this year. We made some inroads this past academic year, but expect more video and social media content this year! Stay tuned…
who’s on top? by Elena van Stee on research by Madeline Toubiana and Trish Ruebottom on how internal stigma within the sex work industry, driven by status hierarchies and demographic factors, undermines occupational solidarity and hampers collective action.
Leo LaBarre’s new Discovery, Blinded by Love: How Online Fraudsters Scam Victims, looks at research by Timothy Dickinson and Fangzhou Wang. They posed as fictitious victims to 87 real online romance fraudsters and then looked at the tactics used to manipulate and coerce. One of the most common tactics was asking for money for something pressing, such as bills or rent. Give it a read to learn about the other 3 tactics.
Nearly 10 years ago, an armed man jumped the perimeter fence and entered the White House, leading to the resignation of Julia Pierson (the first female Director of the Secret Service). Check out this piece from Sociological Images, highlighting the heightened and gendered expectations that women often face.
More from our Partners & Community Pages
ok, boomer in Contexts by Elena G. Van Stee breaks down research by Rob Gruijters, Anette Fasang, and Zachary Van Winkle. They found that Millennials are generally less wealthy than Boomers at age 35, and wealth inequality within the Millennial generation has increased – with the richest Millennials surpassing their Boomer counterparts at the same age.
I came across this piece from 2014 by Evan Stewart, Is Bitcoin a Bust? when a Bitcoin was valued at ~$300, and today one is about 55k. Makes you think.
who’s your safety net? by Elena G. van Stee covers her recent publication on undergraduates’ decisions to move back home during COVID-19 campus closures, being influenced by their housing, financial needs, age, relationship status, and the presence of alternative safety nets like romantic partners or extended family.
wealthy disillusioned with politics, too by Parker Muzzerall summarizes research on Finland’s wealth elite who view liberal democracy as inefficient and support strongmen leaders, echoing political powerlessness similar to populist sentiments.
movies reboot gender divides by Colter J. Uscola writes up research in Social Networks on the scarcity of female leaders in the film due to exclusionary practices and the success of Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie”, suggesting audience demand for cinema crafted by women.
We released our TSP’s Summer of Sociology Reading List with 9 new recommended reads for this summer. The list includes topics ranging from the elite global party circuit to the 2020 election insurrection. Let us know if you have suggestions to add!
law and the looky-loo by Sophie X. Liu covers research by Sarah Brayne, Sarah Lageson, and Karen Levy on the increasing reliance on private-sector technologies like Amazon’s Ring for personal safety and “surveillance deputization,” where civilians use their resources to conduct surveillance on behalf of the state.
The summer is finally here! To celebrate the season, the TSP board has put our heads together to bring you a list of sociology reading recommendations. Whether you’re lounging by the pool, relaxing at the beach, or simply enjoying some downtime at home, we hope these books will provide you with both entertainment and insights. Dive into these selections and have a restful summer. Happy reading!
In 2020: One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed, Eric Klinenberg provides an in-depth, probing, and intimate sociological analysis of a year that none of us who lived through it will likely forget. As one of our most trusted public sociologists, Klinenberg examines the challenges of social solidarity and its unique fragility in the United States. His work not only helps us understand the pandemic but also lays a foundation for reimagining (or not) our politics, culture, and institutions in the future. – Recommended by Doug and Chris
Very Important People by Ashley Mears brings the reader into the exclusive, extravagant, and disturbing world of the elite global party circuit. Mears blends sociological analysis with an engaging narrative to reveal the extreme gender inequalities of these VIP spaces and update Veblen’s theory of conspicuous consumption for the 21st Century. – Recommended by Mallory
In Elusive Jannah, Cawo Abdi explores the varying experiences of members of the Somali diaspora in three countries: the United States, South Africa, and the United Arab Emirates. It’s a fascinating examination of how people’s experiences are uniquely shaped by culture, religion, and government policy. – Recommended by S
Mona Lynch’s Hard Bargainsprovides an engaging examination of how federal prosecutors induce guilty pleas in drug cases tried in federal courts. The book begins by providing readers with a brief history of America’s approach to confronting drug crimes, which sets the stage for the findings of Lynch’s research of how prosecutors in different regions of the U.S. used markedly different tactics when trying to indict drug defendants. – Recommended by John
The Minneapolis Reckoning: Race, Violence, and the Politics of Policing in America by Michelle Phelps analyzes the roots of George Floyd’s murder by Derek Chauvin and the conflicts between Minneapolis’s BIPOC communities and its police department. This book explores why Minneapolis was poised to be the perfect place for political protest by examining its intertwined histories of activism and policing. This book covers the deep complexity of how activism and accountability work to push for policing change. – Recommended by Ellie
In Before the Badge, Samantha J. Simon explores the selection and training of police officers, revealing how it instills a mindset of state violence. After spending a year training with cadets, Simon shows how the process encourages viewing Black and Latino communities as enemies, perpetuating patterns of police violence. Her work calls for a reimagining of policing in the United States. – Recommended by Leo
Examining the shifting lines over gun rights in the United States after the 2020 election fallout, Jennifer Carlson‘s Merchants of the Right covers the surge in liberal gun buyers. Conducting interviews with gun sellers, Carlson discovered that traditional gun supporters faced a new dilemma of either 1) welcoming the new liberal gun owners or 2) doubling down on gun ownership as an exclusively conservative identity. – Recommended by Forrest
Refusing Death: Immigrant Women and the Fight for Environmental Justice in LA written by sociologist Nadia Y. Kim draws on extensive ethnographic research, interviews with Asian American and Latine immigrant activists, and policy analysis to argue how these women activists discuss the nature of environmental pollution and illness and how they use emotions to advance their fight against environmental pollution. – Recommended by Shania
MacArthur Genius Reuben Miller‘s book, Halfway Home: Race, Punishment, and the Afterlife of Mass Incarceration, centers around the conditions and realities in one of the largest and historically recognized American jails, Cook County, Chicago. As a social work and sociology grad student, I connected with the personal stories Dr. Miller shared of incarcerated loved ones and the importance of working as a grounded academic. I highly recommend Halfway Home for anyone interested in the current criminal justice system. – Recommended by Jake
Jessica Calarco, Professor of Sociology at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, in her new book, Holding It Together: How Women Became America’s Safety Net, describes how the lack of an effective social safety net in the U.S. pushes women into undervalued labor, particularly care work. Using data on 4k parents and 400 hours of interviews, broader patterns are combined with stories that paint a picture of the daily realities of un-underpaid work women do. – Recommended by Jake
Mason Jones published a new Discovery, Gender Differences For Medical Student Evaluations, from research by Laura K. Nelson in the American Sociological Review. This study found that women doctors are more likely than men to provide written feedback to medical students, indicating that women do more nurturing work that is crucial yet often unrewarded, contributing to the gender pay gap.
David Arditi discusses in an interview with The Conversation how the DOJ’s antitrust lawsuit against Live Nation Entertainment underscores musicians’ reliance on tour revenues and the impact of monopolization on ticket purchasing.
Benjamin Shestakofsky critiques venture capital models in Zócalo Public Square, advocating for alternative business structures that prioritize local communities and more sustainable impacts.
Heejung Chung comments in The Telegraph on the rise of ‘work from home’ husbands in the UK post-pandemic, noting that remote work remains more accessible in male-dominated sectors while being limited in female-centric fields like healthcare, education, and retail.
From the Archives
President Biden announced new border policies today, impacting federal immigration – but also between states. Read Ghazah Abbasi’s piece, The Border is a Budget, showing how both Democratic and Republican administrations in the U.S. consistently funding immigration enforcement despite differing rhetoric.
Summer is starting for many kids around the United States, adding additional responsibilities to parents. Screen time is a common activity that parents use, but these digital activities often bring judgment against parents who allow generous amounts of screen time. However, some parents have little choice and must rely on digital options – check out this piece by Amy August to learn more: Screen Time in Summer Time.
courting eviction by Parker Muzzerall covers research by Isaiah Fleming-Klink and others on eviction courts in the U.S. systematically disadvantaging tenants due to unclear courtroom procedures, inconsistent application of tenancy laws, reliance on landlord-favoring shadow procedures, and landlords leveraging their familiarity with the legal system.
Forrest Lovette‘s new Discovery, Volunteering or Vacationing? covers research by Netta Kahana on the shifting public opinions about combining travel with volunteering activities–practices, known widely as volunteer tourism or sometimes “voluntourism”. The research found that the participants shared positive self-evaluations of their characters and used them to dispel any perceived judgments from society that might be raised about their participation.
The TSP board held our end-of-the-year gathering, and celebrated our star graduating undergrads – Leo LaBarre, Caroline Garland, Ellie Nickel (coming back as grad student!), John Purnell, and Nicole Schmitgen. See pics above.
TSP Tuesdays, Clippings, and new Discoveries/TROTs will now be biweekly until September.
More from our Partners & Community Pages
Contexts has its Spring 2024 issue live! It includes (but is not limited to) pieces on the stigmatizing labels faced by sexual violence survivors, the racial pressures on mixed-race families, the social needs driving conspiracy beliefs, and the impact of Twitter/X’s data access cut on global research. Check it out!
Our new Discovery by Mallory Harrington, Disease Stigma Through the Media covers research by Rachel Best and Alina Arseniev-Koehler. In this piece, the different levels of stigmatization of diseases are investigated via the media coverage and stereotyping that accompanies them. They find that the level of overall disease stigma has decreased over time, but it remains high for behavioral and infectious diseases.
In case you missed it, we posted some new TikToks on the value and importance of sociology via Nicole Schmitgen. Give them a watch, like, and share!
From the Archives
Trump’s trial continues to capture headlines. Take a look back on contexts’ Winter 2018 issue (trump365) on a time where Trump’s policies impacts on society were taking place real-time.
Wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe continue to leave millions harmed and the impacts will continue far beyond when the bullets stop flying. Read our 2019 Discovery on veteran’s mental health by Allison Nobles to learn more.
the case for grandmothers by Neda Maghbouleh on the critical roles and resilience of elder matriarchs in multigenerational Syrian migrant households in Canada, despite immigration policies that often overlook their value.
from the corner to the digital street by Parker Muzzerall on research by Yuan Hsiao who finds that real-world interactions and proximity among Chicago’s Latino gangs significantly influence their online conflicts, demonstrating the complex interplay between offline realities and online behaviors.
