SSN LogoOur partner organization, the Harvard-based Scholars Strategy Network, is a natural go-to for those looking for cross-disciplinary academic findings in what’s been a turbulent and confusing political season. Here are a few that have piqued our editorial interest recently:

  1. How Do People Make Political Decisions when Compelling Identities Pull Them in Different Directions?” by Samara Klar.
  2. “Why Does Immigration Arouse Deep Feelings and Conflicts?” by John D. Skrentny.
  3. NoJargon Podcast: “Does Your Vote Count?” Episode 20, with political scientist David Schultz.
  4. The Roots and Impact of Outrage-Mongering in U.S. Political Media,” by Sarah Sobieraj and Jeffrey M. Berry.

Trust us, there’s plenty more where that came from—be sure to check out the SSN’s page here on TSP, as well as their full site, for topic-specific questions and policy recommendations.

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As we head into tomorrow’s Super Tuesday contests, statistics, analytics, and minutia of all sorts are being bandied about, examined for their possible predictions and the clues they can give us about how those who turn out to caucus will make their choices for the presidential candidates who want to represent them. In a classic piece, Skidmore College’s Andrew Lindner looks at how such numbers and stats remain a form of elite knowledge in “The Sociology of Silver,” published online and in our first TSP volume with W.W. Norton & Company, The Social Side of Politics.

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Click for companion content.

It wasn’t long ago that America’s talking heads worried whether John F. Kennedy, Jr.—a Catholic—could really be elected president. Today, some candidates tailor their rhetoric to reach out to large swaths of Evangelical voters, some voters refuse to believe the president when he declares his own religious affiliation, some wonder if Bernie Sanders’ campaign will be hampered because he is Jewish, and still others wring their hands over how to court the “nones.” The ties between religion and political power remain as knotty as ever, and we look to the University of Minnesota’s Joe Gerteis for insight with “The Social Functions of Religion in American Political Culture,” published online and in our first TSP volume with W.W. Norton & Company, The Social Side of Politics.

 

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In our first TSP volume with W.W. Norton & Company, The Social Side of Politics, Stanford sociologist Corey Fields‘ essay “The Paradoxes of Black Republicans” explored the idea that minorities and the GOP were simply incompatible. This takes on new meaning and significance today, as we watch candidates Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz grapple over their Hispanic identities and commitments and their Spanish speaking abilities, while also adhering to the Republican line on limits to immigration and expanded deportations. As Ben Carson’s star seems to fade on the Republican stage, revisiting this article reveals how a sociologists’ perspective on conflicting identities helps all of us understand political jockeying.

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Hellllllooooo, Chicago! Here’s what TSP’s been up to this week—some excellent reads as sociology converges on the Windy City. Be sure to say hi to our grad board members and editors as we make the rounds, and watch our Twitter for some live-tweeted-panels courtesy @EvanStewart23 (with Jacqui Frost, our graduate editor).

There’s Research on That!

We All Live with the Effects of School Segregation,” Evan Stewart with research by Gary Orfield, Susan E. EatonGrace KaoDaniel T. Lichter, Domenico Parisi, and more.

Discoveries:

Freshman 15 or Family-First 50? College and Family Sequencing Affect Obesity.” Sarah Catherine Billups sums up Journal of Health and Social Behavior research from Miech, Shanahan, Boardman, and Bauldry.

Clippings:

“‘Moving to Opportunity’ After Katrina.” Billups shares some sociological highlights from a New Yorker article on mobility and displacement in New Orleans. Featuring David KirkPatrick SharkeyStefanie DeLuca, and Corina Graif.

Contexts Magazine:

Bathroom Battlegrounds and Penis Panics,” Kristen Schilt and Laurel Westbrook. How transgender rights legislation got framed as “bathroom bills,” with seemingly everyone trying to mark their territory.

Scholars Strategy Network:

The Downside of Separating ‘Good’ Undocumented Immigrants from ‘Bad’ Criminals,” by Abigail Andrews. “As long as protection seems conditional on quiet and deferential personal conduct, any approach that divides undocumented migrants into good versus bad categories reinforces secondary status for all.”

Council on Contemporary Families:

Getting Current on Cohabitation,” by Virginia Rutter. “Fifteen years ago, the going wisdom on cohabitation was that marriages preceded by living together were more likely to fall apart—that news is out of date.”

A Few From the Community Pages:

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Check out Getting Culture (just $15!)

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Since last we met… Our new book arrived! Check out Getting Culture (just $15!), then read on for the rest of this week’s fresh sociology.

The Editors’ Desk:

Back to School Research,” by Doug Hartmann and Chris Uggen. Some of the fresh sociology research on education and learning as featured on TSP, its partner sites, and its Community Page blogs.

Discoveries:

Policy Changes that Help Reduce Murder Rates,” by Ryan Larson. Patricia L. McCall and Jonathan R. Brauer‘s new research shows that welfare might not stop homicide, but increased social support certainly wouldn’t hurt.

Clippings:

More than 9 to 5,” by Caty Taborda. Randolph Cantrell on trends in juggling multiple jobs.

Are Behavioral Issues Black and White?” by Caty Taborda. David Ramey on finding that race affects how schoolkids are punished.

Cougars: Literal Mountain Lions,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. Milaine Alarie and Jason Carmichael on the myth of the wealthy older woman making prey out of 20-somethings.

Scholars Strategy Network:

U.S. Latinos Care About Many Issues Beyond Immigration,” by Stella M. Rouse. When it comes to voter priorities, for Latinos, immigration only makes the top three.

Council on Contemporary Families:

Overwork May Explain 10% of Men’s Wage Advantage Over Women,” by Youngjoo Cha. Some of the wage gap owes to men’s taking on extra hours.

The Community Pages:

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Photo by Hawks and Doves (Flickr)
Photo by Hawks and Doves (Flickr)

That collective sigh you hear isn’t just kids and college students bemoaning the start of a new school year. The chorus is rounded out by professors and researchers tanned from fieldwork (or, more likely, pale and blinking after emerging from weeks in libraries). Luckily, all their hard work means we have lots of new research on education to share as we, collectively, head back to our campuses and classrooms. Here’s a taste of what our prolific friends at the TSP Community Page Education & Society have published recently:

They also provide links to the following articles about education and school:

Elsewhere on TSP, don’t miss our topics page for “Teaching” and our blog, Teaching TSP. You might also enjoy Sociological Images for Instructors, including course guides and collections alongside recommended class readings; Contexts pieces including “How Students Experience Desegregation Efforts” and “Academic Doping?“‘; and our Discoveries—summaries of recent research published in sociology and social science journals—on education and collegiate life, including “Not So Different: Color-Blindness and Diversity,” “The Social Costs of Punishment, From Prisoners to Pupils,” “Active Learning and STEM Success,” and “Second-Generation Schooling: Good News for Girls.”

 

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Since last we met…

Features:

Commemorating 50 Years Since the Voting Rights Act… By Restricting Voting Rights,” Ryan D. King and Vincent Roscigno. How landmark legislation is being eroded, to the detriment of participatory democracy.

There’s Research on That!

A Hate Crime By Any Other Name,” Ryan Larson. Whether we call a domestic attack a hate crime or terrorism has implications for and is shaped by public perception.

Social Boundaries and Music Streaming,” Evan Stewart. By TROT-ifying Spotify data, we see how musical preferences are reinforced and reshaped.

Discoveries:

Why Do Liberals Drink Lattes?” by Jack Delehanty. In the American Journal of Sociology, Daniel Dellaposta, Yongren Shi, and Michael Macy work to detangle cultural and political preferences.

Suicide as Socially Contagious,” by Jacqui Frost. New Journal of Health and Social Behavior research shows how suicide may seem to “spread” among adolescents.

Office Hours Podcast:

Erik Schneiderhan on The Size of Others’ Burdens,” with Matt Gunther. University of Toronto sociologist Schneiderhan discusses his new book, paralleling the work, lives, and politics of Barack Obama and Jane Addams.

Clippings:

3 in 5 Americans Have Earned Poverty-Level Incomes,” by Caty Taborda. Thomas Hirschl and Mark Rank’s recent research predicts a spike in Top Ramen sales.

It’s Good, But Is It ‘Bestseller’ Good?” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Brandeis sociologist Laura Miller on one very important sticker.

Loves Me Not: Allison Pugh on New Relationships… with the Job Market,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. In a precarious economy, workers expect less from their employers.

Scholars’ Strategy Network:

The Challenge of Measuring ‘Working Poverty’ in America,” by Brian C. Thiede, Daniel T. Lichter, and Scott R. Sanders.

Disabled American Workers Need Ongoing Social Support As Well As Jobs and Fair Wages,” by Gwendolyn Barnhart.

How the Americans with Disabilities Act Has Affected Employment and Earnings for People with Disabilities,” by David Pettinicchio.

Council on Contemporary Families:

The Complexities of Interpreting Changing Household Patterns,” by Liana C. Sayer.

Overwork May Explain 10% of Men’s Wage Advantage Over Women,” by Youngjoo Cha.

Contexts:

Women’s Sexual Orientation and Sexual Behavior: How Well Do They Match?” by Mónica L. Caudillo and Paula England.

Quicklit: Whiteness in the U.S.,” by Melissa Brown.

Contexts Symposium: After Marriage Equality,” with Andrew Cherlin, Suzanna Danuta Waters, Joshua Gamson, and more.

A Few from The Community Pages:

Last Week’s Roundup

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Since last we met…

There’s Research on That!

Caitlyn Jenner: Public Opinion, Celebrity Status, and Identity,” by Sarah Catherine Billups and Caty Taborda.

Marriage, Inequality, and Bureaucracy: The Devil’s in the DMV?” by Evan Stewart.

The Editors’ Desk

SSN on SCOTUS Health Care Decision,” by Doug Hartmann.

Discoveries

Not So Different: Color-Blindness and Diversity,” by Stephen Suh.

Clippings

More Glass Cliffs,” by Caty Taborda.

Tweeting Down the Confederate Flag,” by Jack Delehanty.

Choosing a Major: Dollars and Sense?” by Sarah Catherine Billups and Neeraj Rajasekar.

An Incremental Fight for $15,” by Neeraj Rajasekar.

Office Hours Podcast

Lisa Cacho on Social Death and the Racialized Construction of Criminals,” with Stephen Suh.

Give Methods a Chance Podcast

Douglas Hartmann on Ethnography in Light of Goffman,” with Kyle Green.

Daniel Winchester on Ethnography and Religious Conversion,” with Kyle Green.

Contexts Magazine

Contexts’ Symposium: After Marriage Equality,” by Phil Cohen, Syed Ali, Andrew J. Cherlin, Suzanna Danuta Walters, Steven W. Thrasher, Wendy Manning, Joshua Gamson, Georgiann Davis, Gary J. Gates, Megan Carroll, Melanie Heath, Tina Fetner, Michael Yarborough, and David S. Meyer.

Scholars’ Strategy Network

What Do Americans Think about Climate Change at the State and Local Level?” by Peter D. Howe, Matto Mildenberger, and Jennifer R. Marlon.

The Challenge of Achieving Environmental Protection for All,” by David Konisky.

Council on Contemporary Families

First Comes Love, Then Comes… Housework?” by Arielle Kuperberg.

Dating Partners Don’t Always Prefer “Their Own Kind”: Some Multiracial Daters Get Bonus Points in the Dating Game,” Celeste Curington, Ken-Hou Lin, and Jennifer Lundquist.

A Few from the Community Pages

Last Week’s Roundup

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Since last we met…

In Case You Missed It:

Same-Sex, Different Attitudes,” by Kathy Hull. A historical look at the push for marriage equality and the shifts in Americans’ attitudes toward civil rights for gays and lesbians.

The Return of the Confederate Flag,” by C.N. Le. A 2008 piece examines the resurgence of the Confederate Flag and considers its changing meanings in changing macro-level contexts.

There’s Research on That!

How Misdemeanors Maintain Inequality,” by Evan Stewart. Research shows that “misdemeanor justice” has a lot of unintended consequences.

Office Hours Podcast:

Greta Krippner on the Politics of Financial Crisis,” with Erik Kojola. Discussing how the American economy became dangerously dependent on credit and speculation.

Discoveries:

Political Power and Protest Can Undermine Crime,” by Evan Stewart. New Social Problems research shows that when protest leads to accrued political power, crime goes down in previously underserved communities.

Clippings:

Ladies Love Serious Men with Animals,” by Caty Taborda. In their New York Times op-ed, comedian Aziz Ansari and sociologist Eric Klinenberg share some of what they found in focus groups with today’s daters.

Working Moms Face Extra ‘Performance Reviews’,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. Moms on the job are judged as much for putting in less “extra time” as for doing as much as their male colleagues.

Every Fathers’ Day, More Kids Boast Two Dads,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. Gay, two-parent families are on the rise in the U.S., challenging gender stereotypes about caregivers.

Prisons’ Dangerous Liaisons,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Relationships like that between Clinton Correctional staffer Tillie Mitchell and inmate Richard Matt in New York state aren’t all that unusual, a scholar tells Slate.

Give Methods a Chance Podcast:

Elizabeth Cherry on Consumption, Identity, and Ethnography,” with Sarah Esther Lageson. “It’s interesting to see the ways in which our identities might shape what we find,” Liz Cherry says.

Contexts:

Same Income, Different Neighborhood,” by Lindsay Fox.

Egalitarian Preferences, Gendered Realities,” by Lucia Lykke.

Fifty Years of ‘New’ Immigration,” by Shehzad Nadeem, John D. Skrentny, Jennifer Lee, Zulema Valdez, and Donna R. Gabaccia.

Sense of Control,” by Lucia Lykke.

Flash-Mob Movements,” by Melissa Brown.

How Students Experience Desegregation Efforts,” by Megan Wilhelm.

Sometimes the Social Becomes Personal: Response to Reznik,” by Paula England.

Council on Contemporary Families:

Remarriage in the United States,” by Wendy Manning.

Gender Inequalities in Dual-Earner, College Educated Couples and the Transition to Parenthood,” by Jill Yavorsky, Claire Kamp Dush, and Sarah Schoppe-Sullivan.

The Continuing ‘Gender Revolution’ in Housework and Care,” by Oriel Sullivan, Jonathan Gershuny, and John Robinson.

Interpersonal Violence and the Great Crime Drop,” by Samuel Walker.

A Review of National Crime Victimization Findings on Rape and Sexual Assault,” by Jessica L. Wheeler.

Scholars Strategy Network:

Varieties of Civic Engagement in Contemporary America,” by Paul Lichterman.

How Barriers to Citizenship Status Increase Inequality in the United States,” by Sofya Aptekar.

What Children Experience When Mothers, Fathers, or Both Parents Are Sent to Jail or Prison,” by Allison Dwyer Emory.

A Few from The Community Pages:

Last Week’s Roundup

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