Welcome back! This week, we reflect on Martin Luther King, Jr.’s words about order and justice, tension and peace, and the vast chasm between colorblind ideals and persistent racial inequalities. We also feature the TROT that traveled the furthest on social media in 2019, and the Discovery with the best title, as voted by TSP’s graduate board.

There’s Research on That:

“Best of 2019: Race, Gender, and Surviving Student Loan Debt” by Amber Joy Powell. In light of recent conversations and debates about student loan debt, we rounded up social science research on the conditions driving student loan debt and its disparate impacts by race and gender.

Discoveries:

“Best of 2019: Masculinity, Medium Rare,” by Allison Nobles. New research in Socius finds that men who experience a threat to their masculinity are more likely to express attachment to meat.

From Our Partners:

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Marital Strain Increases Psychological Distress for Couples in Both Same-Sex and Different-Sex Marriages, but Women in Different-Sex Marriages Suffer More” by Michael A. Garcia and Debra Umberson.

Contexts:

“Twenty Years in a Culture of Fear” by Daniel Harrison.

TSP Classics:

In “MLK: Sinking Shots, Sparking Thoughts,” Doug Hartmann reflects on the legacy of one of the most famous sociology majors.

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Welcome back! This week, we feature two articles voted best of 2019 by the TSP team. The first celebrates the (often forgotten) Black women who continue to inspire sociological studies across a range of subfields. The second introduces a novel way sociology instructors can provide feedback to students modeled after the Great British Baking Show.

There’s Research on That:

“Best of 2019: Unearthing Black Women’s Early Contributions to Sociology” by Amber Joy Powell and Caity Curry. We reflect on the contributions of three influential Black women: Ida B. Wells, Anna Julia Cooper, and Jacquelyn Mary Johnson Jackson.

Teaching TSP:

“Best of 2019: The Great British Baking Show and Improving Student Feedback” by Andrea Krieg. Krieg reflects on how judges from The Great British Baking Show can help teachers and mentors provide effective feedback.

TSP Classics:

“Who Are Fair Trade Deals Good For?” by Erik Kojola. Just in time for the Senate vote on a new trade deal between the US, Mexico, and Canada, we round up research on who benefits from these kinds of trade deals and who doesn’t.

Cyborgology‘s Nathan Jurgenson brings us “Photos of Snow,” a reflection on why we take and post and like snow photos.

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Welcome back! This week, we feature two articles voted best of 2019 by the TSP team. The first talks about the transformative potential of violence, and the second interrogates gaslighting from a sociological perspective. Finally, a new piece from our community pages calls attention to the crisis in Kashmir.

There’s Research on That:

“Best of 2019: Violence and Revolution” by Brooke Chambers. In honor of U.S. Independence Day celebrations, we rounded up social science research on how violence can remake identities, redraw state boundaries, and bring power to marginalized groups.

Discoveries:

“Best of 2019: The Social Basis of Psychological Abuse” by Jordan Boudreaux. Research in American Sociological Review reveals how people who commit domestic abuse mobilize gender stereotypes, racial stereotypes, and victims’ institutional settings in order to manipulate their victims’ sense of reality.

From Our Community Pages:

• Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies calls attention to the territorial dispute between India and Pakistan over Kashmir and how the crisis affects the Kashmiri people.

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Welcome back! To kick off the new year, we bring together research on NCAA football and the social construction of scandals. We also reveal our 2019 Best Newcomer — a roundup of research on how beliefs about safety and danger are learned and contextual.

There’s Research on That:

Engaging Sports NCAA Football Roundup by Jean Marie Maier. We round up features from Engaging Sports that help us better understand how race and class factor into football participation, how fans react to college recruitment online, and how football has navigated the concussion crisis.

The Sociological Skinny on Scandals by Neeraj Rajasekar. Why do some incidents and individuals who seem scandalous have major impacts and lasting legacies, while others seem to make no mark whatsoever? We collect theory and research to weigh in.

Best of 2019: Safety is Social by Jillian LaBranche. This winner for the best article written by a TSP newcomer in 2019 brings together sociological research showing that beliefs about safety and danger differ by race, class, and gender.

From Our Partners:

Council on Contemporary Families:

“New Work: Making Friends with Stepchildren” by Lawrence Ganong and Marilyn Coleman.

Contexts:

“Does Masturbation Teach Women to Orgasm in Partnered Sex? (Maybe, but It’s Not Clear)” by Paula England, Sophie Saydah, and Andrew Levine.

From Our Community Pages:

• Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies explores the importance of recognizing genocide.
• Cyborgology examines the social costs of systematically monitoring university students.
• Engaging Sports discusses social bonds among combat sports competitors.

TSP Classics:

The Social Side of the Solo Cup by Isabel Arriagada. Research in Social Psychology Quarterly finds that social occasions have the power to be transformative in positive and negative ways.

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Over the next month we’ll be sharing some of our board’s favorite posts from 2019. One of our favorite discoveries is already up.

Happy Holidays!

Welcome back! This week, we highlight new research on “third places,” those which are neither work nor home, and we reveal our best Discovery of 2019 — an insightful piece revealing the links between efforts to control women’s sexual behavior and their mental health.

Discoveries:

“There’s No Place Like Third Place” by Anna Bokun. We bring you research analyzing business trends in “third places”–like grocery stores, diners, and barbershops–which are important for promoting health and well-being.

“Best of 2019: Gender, Mental Illness, and Reproductive Decision Making” by Caity Curry. Research demonstrates one more way women’s mental health remains inextricably tied to concerns about women’s bodies and their sexual behavior. This Discovery was voted the best of 2019 by TSP Board Members!

From Our Partners:

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Heard around CCF: Parents Can’t Go It Alone—They Never Have: What to Do for Parents to Help our Next Generation” by Barbara Risman.

Sociological Images:

“Venti Voting?” by Evan Stewart.

From Our Community Pages:

• Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies introduces a sixth-grade Minnesota Studies curriculum for discussing news coverage of the U.S.-Dakota War.
• Engaging Sports discusses representations of racial diversity among the outdoor recreation community.

TSP Classics:

Council on Contemporary Families:

“The Stuff of Holidays: How Holiday Objects Tell a Sociological Story about Today’s Families” by Michelle Janning.

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Welcome back! This week, we highlight new research on family planning campaigns that have unintended consequences, and we unveil the greatly anticipated winner of our Teaching with TSP contest.

Discoveries:

Quotas, Coercion, and Contraception by Allison Nobles. New research investigates how global family planning initiatives incentivize health clinics to convince–or coerce–women to use contraception.

Teaching TSP

Teach with TSP 2019 Winner: Introduction to Sociology TROT Project by Dr. Clare Forstie. This prize-winning assignment invites students to familiarize themselves with sociological research on a topic or question they find important, then summarize it in a compelling way for a public audience.

From Our Partners:

Council on Contemporary Families:

Definitive Evidence that Anti-Ageism Interventions Work by Ashton Applewhite.

Contexts:

Bad Boys or Exceptional Interrupters? by Rodrigo Martinez.

Building Broader Social Movements by Emily Campbell.

Love of Money Can’t Buy Happiness by Robyn Moore.

Gaming on Romance by Christine Tomlinson.

Whose Time Is It? Whites’ Time by Simone N. Durham.

All the Single Oldies? by Robyn Moore.

Love Me Tinder, Love Me Sweet by Jennifer Hickes Lundquist and Celeste Vaughan Curington.

TSP Classics:

There’s Research on That:

Vexed by Vaccination Refusals by Caty Taborda. Research on distrust of science and vaccinations, as well as network ties that spread medical knowledge—and sometimes skew it along the way.

Discoveries:

How Policy Promotes Parental Happiness by Brooke Chambers. Parents in the U.S. are some of the unhappiest in the world, and new research in the American Journal of Sociology argues that it likely has something to do with the lack of national parental support policies.

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Welcome back! This week, we highlight new research on how countries differ in the education they provide to refugee children, and we round up scholarship on the gig economy. We also feature the work of Tressie McMillam Cottom, in honor of the National Book Award Finalist nomination she received for her essay collection, Thick. 

There’s Research on That!:

Precarious Work in the Gig Economy by Jean Marie Maier. We bring together the latest research exploring the precarity of gig labor and worker resistance, the tyrannical apps that often replace human supervisors, and the variety of gig worker experiences.

A #Thick Year for Tressie McMillan Cottom by Amy August and Mi’Chael Wright. To celebrate the nomination of her essay collection Thick as a National Book Award Finalist, we round up examples of McMillan Cottom’s trailblazing work on education, digital sociology, and more.

Discoveries:

No Refuge in Education by Jillian LaBranche. If the purpose of education is to create a better future for students and the nation, then what does this look like in the context of refugee education? New research comparing refugee education programs across 14 countries weighs in.

From Our Partners:

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Dads Count Too: Family-Friendly Policies Must Include Fathers” by Stephanie Coontz.

From The Community Pages:

• Cyborgology discusses the ambivalent reception of astrology in LGBTQ+ circles.

And From Our Archives:

There’s Research on That!:

“Revictimization after Sexual Assault” by Amber Joy Powell.

Sociological Images:

“Caloric Intake Across the Globe and in an American Elementary School” by Lisa Wade.

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Welcome back! This week, we round up research on different understandings of virginity and the high costs imposed on the poor. We also bring back two classics from the archives: one features research on ways to engage in constructive conversations about political issues, and the other, a discussion of how who is allowed to claim an American Indian identity has changed over time.

There’s Research on That!:

“Virginity as a Social Construction” by Allison Nobles and Amber Joy Powell. We round up research on the different meanings of virginity and its loss and how many of these beliefs can have negative consequences for women and girls.

“Poverty is Expensive” by Allison Nobles. We gather research showing that, relative to their income, the poor pay far more for necessities like food and housing. Compounded by the burden of debt, these expenses adversely affect the lives of the poor in many ways.

From Our Partners:

Sociological Images:

“Cut the Turkey and Run” by Evan Stewart.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Why we won’t call 911: Too often, police officers’ response to mental illness is deadly” by Stacy Torres.

From Our Archives:

There’s Research on That!:

“Table Talk for Thanksgiving” by the Grad Board. We provide research-backed suggestions for engaging with family members across the political aisle during holiday dinners.

Clippings:

“Measuring American Indian Identities” by Lucas Lynch. We recap an NPR conversation among social scientists about the changing criteria for establishing an American Indian identity.

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Welcome back! This week, we round up research on news avoidance, its relationship to news fatigue, and how avoiding the news differs by gender. We also bring you new research on the beliefs held by people who opt-out of religion and on widespread understandings about “good” parenting. Finally, we share research-backed suggestions for instructors interested in making service-learning beneficial for students of all social class backgrounds.

There’s Research on That!:

“The Rise of News Avoidance” by Nick Matthews. We bring together research on the causes and effects of avoiding the news and highlights scholarship suggesting ways to make news consumption more appealing.

Discoveries:

“Is Uncertainty Unsettling?” by Mahala Miller. New research in American Sociological Review examines how nonreligious people understand certainty, meaning, and social connection.

“Intensive Mothering and Fathering are the New Norm” by Amy August. A recent study published in Social Forces shows that parents–regardless of their social class or gender–are expected to engage in child-centered, time-intensive parenting.

Teaching TSP:

“How Less-Advantaged Students Experience Service-Learning” by Amy August. New research in Teaching Sociology demonstrates that lower-SES students experience and benefit from service-learning in different ways than their peers with more privilege.

From Our Partners:

Sociological Images:

“Visualizing Emotions” by Marci Cottingham.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“New Work: If I [Take] Leave, Will You Stay? Paternity Leave and Relationship Stability” by Richard J. Petts and Daniel L. Carlson.

Contexts

“Letter from the Editors, Fall 2019” by Rashawn Ray and Fabio Rojas.

“Role, Status or Cooperation?” by Sydney Yarbrough.

And from the Community Pages:

The Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies reflects on the spread of far-right populism in Spain.

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