Friday Roundup

Still Wise Words

Hopefully, we all have a teacher or two who stirs fond memories. For me, one of the first to spring to mind is Loren J. Samons II, a professor of classical studies at my alma mater, Boston University. Prof. Samons is notable for many reasons (one of his brilliant strokes was to refer to the class, collectively, as “scholars”—a convention that set the tone for each lecture in just one word), but this week, I found an old syllabus. I wondered why I’d kept it—I took several classes from Prof. Samons in my time at BU, but it still seemed an odd document to cling to, some 12 years after graduation. And then I read. Nestled within many wise words for young students learning to learn, write, engage with literature, and find their way through sources both ancient and modern, was this gem: more...

Verdict? What Verdict?

There’s no mistaking it: this week’s talk focused on the acquittal of George Zimmerman, the Floridian who killed teenager Trayvon Martin in February 2012. Below, you can find some of the week’s pieces about Martin, Zimmerman, and privilege here on The Society Pages, as well as a few other topics we hit on.

In the meantime, I’ve gotten two other suggestions of palate cleansing items to bring to your attention: more...

Double Your Fun

Time to play catch-up!

In Case You Missed It:

“Thinking About Trayvon: Privileged Response and Media Discourse,” by Stephen Suh. A roundtable discussion from just months after Trayvon Martin’s death, this piece looks at media framing and public responses.

The Editors’ Desk:

“The Home Stretch (Or: Introducing Our Third Book),” by Doug Hartmann. In which Doug details some of the coming content for Color Lines and Racial Angles, TSP’s third reader from W.W. Norton (the first two volumes are due out by the end of the year). 

Citings & Sightings:

“Economics, Sentimentality, and the Safe Baby,” by Letta Page. An economist walks into a baby expo… and calls on some classic social science.

“The People’s Art,” by Letta Page. If a society is enriched by its art, is it impoverished by keeping that art in museums?

“A Gender Gap and the German Model,” by John Ziegler. An emerging education gap shows women outstripping men in the race for diplomas in the U.S. Does Germany offer a solution?

“‘Spiritual’ Scofflaws,” by Evan Stewart. What happens when there’s neither an angel nor a devil on your shoulder.

“A New South Africa?” by Erin Hoekstra. In post-Apartheid South Africa, Somali refugees are everyone’s target.

A Few from the Community Pages:

• Sociological Images. Imagining “Indians” in Hollywood, Milwaukee’s economy at the family level, the always-present nostalgia for the past (we walked uphill, both ways), and flight attendants are more than sky waiters: they’re stone-cold badasses.
• Girl w/ Pen. What’s thought leadership and how do we go to there? A podcast on women and heart health (or lack thereof) and how Ani DiFranco might help the situation.
• Cyborgology. Taking on the airwaves: Women are getting the worst on Game of Thrones and Dr. Who, while Black Mirror freaks everyone out.

Scholars Strategy Network:

“Why Immigration Reform with a Path to Citizenship Faces an Uphill Climb in Congress,” by Tom K. Wong.

“What Happens if [Now that] the Supreme Court Weakens [Has Weakened] Voting Rights?” by Gary May.

“How Conservative Women’s Organizations Challenge Feminists in U.S. Politics,” by Renee Schreiber.

Summer Bloggin’, Happened So Fast

For real. It’s the end of June. What happened? Here in Minnesota, it’s a blur of downed trees and hot, muggy days. And yet, the hits keep comin’. Here’s what TSP was doing (when the power was on). more...

Don’t Call it a Comeback

You know, come to think of it, I’m sure I’ve used that title before somewhere on the site. But you know what? I haven’t used it enough. So there.

Hrm. After skipping last week, I’ve got a lot to round up, so let’s just go with that. In the meantime, know that we’ve been putting the finishing touches on the second of our TSP readers with W.W. Norton & Co., Crime and the Punished, which is now slated for a fall release. If you look closely in the picture at right, you can see three of our cover images coming into focus (they’re not finalized, but they’re looking sharp).

Until then, feast your eyes on this! more...

Yet Another Airport Post

This is becoming a frequent activity: writing the Friday Roundup from an airport. By my count, it’s at least the fourth I’ve written from a row of pleather seats. The wifi is spotty, the company is unpredictable, and my power cord frequently drops out of the not-so-conveniently-located power source tower. And yet, for this scaredy-cat, writing the Roundup is not only a great way to get my arms around what happens on our website each week—it’s become an excellent distraction from flight fears! Thus, on to the Roundup. No writing tips this week other than to write something today. Getting used to jotting down good phrases or dictating them into your iPhone for future use is a good way not to lose those fleeting treasures. more...

Use Twitter to Refine Your Writing

As a prematurely old person (that is, I’m technically 33, but I make a suspicious number of references to “those damn kids” and know the difference between e.g. and i.e.), I can be wary of social media. Still, I’ve found one way Twitter is really useful for the writers I advise: forced brevity.  more...

Finishing Strong

Here in Minnesota it appears (knock on wood) that the terrible long winter is behind us–which means that finals are upon us, commencement is coming, and grades will soon be due. And even as academic terms wrap up all over the country, the Pages remain vibrant. Highlights from the past week include:

–a public criminology post on the new Minnesota law that makes it illegal for employers to ask about an applicant’s criminal history until an interview is granted or a job is offered;

–the introduction of a brand new TSP blog, Walt Jacobs’s “Dispatches from a New Dean”

–and the two latest “data based” columns from cyborgology–one on health, the other on love;

Digging back in the archive a bit, you might also take a look at Jennifer Lee’s provocative piece on Asian American exceptionalism and what she calls “stereotype promise“–which we are re-releasing now with video!

End the Semester Right: With a Movie

What’s that you say? You’re swamped, your students are swamped, and everyone needs a chance to coast into summer? Final papers, class reflections, formal and informal evaluations—there has to be a better way!

There is, and I believe we all know it as: show a danged movie. And here at TSP, we like to provide inspiration. At the bottom of today’s roundup, there’s a list of 56 documentaries and other films that have been recommended to us as excellent fodder for crim, soc, social movements, gender, media studies, and every other class you might be teaching or taking. To learn more, visit this interview with Jessie Daniels and its extensive comments with suggestions from other profs and students (many with links) or this older post with some more good choices.

Now, here’s what we’ve been doing as the semester winds down: more...

Turn, Turn, Turn

Well, it seems to be winter again in Minnesota. It snowed last week about this time, then we had a day of spring, followed by two 80-degrees-and-sunny days, a rainy couple, and now, we’re back to winter. Two-day seasons, and the leaves couldn’t bud fast enough to change colors. You can imagine how we might get a bit down with this Seasonal ADD.

But then something awesome happened: this week marked the addition of the fine feminist blog Girl w/ Pen to our roster of illustrious “Community Pages”! Please do go visit their new digs and start reading. We got so distracted ourselves that the roundup is quite quick! more...