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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Welcome back! This week, we round up research on beliefs about safety and danger and on family meals as sites of struggle. We also bring you new research on how neighborhood racial segregation affects black and white residents’ risk of being a victim of violent crime.

There’s Research on That!:

“Safety is Social” by Jillian LaBranche. We bring together sociological research showing that beliefs about safety and danger are learned and differ by race, class, and gender.

“Family Meal Conflict” by Mahala Miller. We round up social science research illustrating why family meals are so often sources of conflict.

Discoveries:

“Violence in Black-and-White: Segregation, and Mortality” by Neeraj Rajasekar. New research in American Sociological Review examines the connection between racial segregation and racial differences in violence and victimization.

From Our Partners:

Sociological Images:

“What’s Trending? Towns Getting “Tanked”” by Ryan Larson.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“heard around ccf: Work that Works for Low-Wage Workers” by Maureen Perry-Jenkins.

Contexts

“Sexual Behavior and Attitudes among White, Black, Latinx, and Asian College Students” by Emma Patton, Paula England, and Andrew Levine.

And from the Community Pages:

Cyborgology reflects on Twitter campaigns spreading disinformation about Bolivian politics.

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Welcome back! This week, we round up research on trust in the media and Black women’s experiences with the police, along with new studies on how social characteristics affect individual experiences of gaslighting within domestic abuse.

There’s Research on That!:

“Media Literacy and Trust in the Media,” by Allison J. Steinke. We rounded up social science research on the relationship between media literacy and how likely people are to trust what they read in the news or on social media.

“#SayHerName and Black Women’s Experiences with Police,” by Amber Joy Powell. Powell brings together sociological works that have highlighted Black women’s experiences with police and the racialized and gendered challenges that lie ahead in developing police-community trust.

Discoveries:

“The Social Basis of Psychological Abuse,” by Jordan Boudreaux. New 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.

Teaching TSP:

“Teaching White Privilege,” by Erika Sanborne. New research in Teaching Sociology finds that students’ awareness of white privilege and understanding of racial inequality increased when they were taught in a mixed-race, cooperative learning setting. However, the benefits came at a cost to students of color.

From Our Partners:

Sociological Images:

“Do Flyers have a Social Life?,” by Daniel Gascón.

“Hacking Barbie,” by Martha McCaughey and Beth Davison.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Why No One Can “Have It All” and What to Do About It,” by Kathleen Gerson.

Contexts

“Call for Papers: Ethnographies of the Global South,” by Victoria Reyes and Marco Garrido

And from the Community Pages:

The Center for Holocaust & Genocide Studies reflects on Ilhan Omar’s disheartening response to the problem of genocide.

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Welcome back! This week, we round up research on fake news and its role in political polarization, and we feature new studies on the effects of school suspensions and a form of managerial household work known as cognitive labor. 

There’s Research on That!:

“Fake News: Definitions, Facts, and Implications,” by Allison J. Steinke. We rounded up social science research on what fake news is and why it matters.

Discoveries:

“How School Suspension Impacts Friendships,” by Amber Joy Powell. New research in Criminology finds that disciplinary practices like suspension, which are disproportionately targeted towards racial and ethnic minority youth, weaken friendships with fellow classmates.

“Household Management is Double the Toil and Trouble for Women,” by Amy August. New research in American Sociological Review finds that women do most of the cognitive labor in a household, like anticipating needs of family members.

Teaching TSP:

“Teaching Students to Think Sociologically about Climate Change,” by Amy August. New research in Teaching Sociology finds that environmental concerns are usually overlooked in introductory sociology classes. The authors suggest ways to interweave climate change into all areas of curriculum.

From Our Partners:

Sociological Images:

“Fragile Families in Lilo and Stitch,” by Lena Denbroeder.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Fears of Violence: Concerns of Middle-Class Latinx Parents,” by Lorena Garcia.

And from the Community Pages:

• Cyborgology reflects on third party fact-checking on Facebook and the potential benefits of modeling.

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Welcome back! This week, we explain how colleges use sports to jockey with peer institutions for prestige and status, and we feature new research on police militarization and why women say no to leadership opportunities. 

There’s Research on That!:

“Why Elite Colleges Keep Sports” by Jean Marie Maier. US colleges continue to invest in costly sports programs for many reasons that have little to do with making money. We gathered social science research to better understand the motivations underlying colleges’ huge investment in athletics.

Discoveries:

“Is Your Town Getting Tanked?” by Ryan Larson. New research in Criminology investigates what factors make community law enforcement agencies more likely to participate in a Department of Defense program that provides military equipment to police and sheriff’s departments. 

“Gendered Risk and Leadership Ambitions” by Jean Marie Maier. New experimental research in Social Psychology Quarterly shows that anticipating harsh consequences for failure may be one reason women turn down leadership opportunities. 

From Our Partners:

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Mothering While Black” by Dawn Marie Dow.

Sociological Images:

“Political Ads, No Filter” by Evan Stewart.

“The Design Divide: Tools vs. Appliances” by Evan Stewart.

And from the Community Pages:

• The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies discusses Franco’s legacy and Spain’s struggle to confront its difficult past, and penetrates Cambodia’s veneer of economic and infrastructural progress to reveal the lingering effects of mass violence.

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Welcome back! Submissions are open for this year’s Teach with TSP contest – if you use TSP in your classroom, tell us how! This week we’ve got research on sociological storytelling to explain why fans hated the last season of Game of Thrones. We also bring back content on Indigenous People’s Day and for-profit prisons.

There’s Research on That!:

“What Makes a Good Story?” by Amy August. Earlier this year the Scientific American suggested fans despised the last season of Game of Thrones because the storytelling changed from sociological to psychological. This made us think about what makes a good story and we rounded up social science research on storytelling.

“Why We Honor Indigenous Peoples’ Day,” by Allison Nobles. For Indigenous Peoples’ Day earlier this week, we gathered social science research to help us understand the underlying gender and racial components of colonial settlement in the United States.

“For Profit Prisons and the Immigrant Industrial Complex,” by Caity Curry. In light of California’s recent decision to not renew contracts with for-profit prisons, we brought back a post from the archive on how for-profit prisons enable mass incarceration of immigrant populations.

From Our Partners:

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Raising a Village: Identifying Social Supports for All Kinds of Families,” by Caitlyn Collins.”

And from the Community Pages:

• Engaging Sports discusses outdoor recreation and the wilderness ideal.
• Cyborgology ponders the digitization of justice.

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Welcome back! Submissions are open for this year’s Teach with TSP contest – if you use TSP in your classroom, tell us how! Details below. In new content, we’ve got social science research on the social construction of victimhood in cases of child soldiers, as well as new research on what makes a “good death.”

The Editors’ Desk:

“2019 ‘Teach with TSP’ Contest,” by Allison Nobles. Do you use TSP content in your classroom? Tell us how! We’ll publish our favorites and send the winners TSP swag!

There’s Research on That!:

“Innocence, Victimhood, and Child Soldiers,” by Jillian LaBranche and Brooke Chambers. Child soldiers are simultaneously victims and perpetrators. To help understand this tension, we rounded up social science research on the social construction of victimhood and childhood.

“Progress and Uncertainty for LGBTQ Communities,” by Allison Nobles and Caity Curry. For National Coming Out Day, we reached into the archives for social science research on attitudes towards same-sex relationships.

Discoveries:

“Defining Dignity in Death,” by Allison Nobles. New research in Sociology of Health and Illness shows that cultural conceptions of what a “good death” entails shape how people make sense of new options for end-of-life care.

From Our Partners:

Sociological Images:

“Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger,” by Evan Stewart.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Children Are Now Back at School, Time to Focus on What Their Parents Need,” by Barbara Risman.

And from the Community Pages:

• Engaging Sports discusses race and social class in college football positions.

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