Happy Valentines Day! This week, we bring you research on diamonds and their often exploitative extraction, as well as research that evaluates the promises of longhand notetaking. We also feature a new Discovery about American parenting.

There’s Research on That:

“Updating the Debate on Longhand Notetaking” by Jean Marie Maier. We introduce new research that extends and complicates what we know about the benefits of taking notes by hand.

“Mining Love” by Jillian LaBranche. As Valentine’s Day engagements cause diamond sales to rise, this roundup of research reminds us that diamonds have many symbolic meanings, and not all of them are positive.

Discoveries:

“American Parents Emphasize Hard Work” by Mahala Miller. New research sheds light on which traits parents most want to pass on to their children and how it’s changed over the past three decades.

From Our Partners:

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Highlights from the 2020 CCF Conference” by Arielle Kuperberg.

From Our Community Pages:

• The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies interviews an expert about how cultural perceptions of the body affect torture.
• Engaging Sports reports research findings about the nature of the feedback women receive in the eSports community.

TSP Classics:

Just in time for the Oscars, we bring you, “The Sociology of Oscar-Winning,” a TSP Classic from Clippings and an exposé on what it takes to win big at the Academy Awards.

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Happy Friday! This week, we bring you research on the sexual socialization of boys and racial inequalities among newly hired coaches in college athletics. We also feature a new teaching resource for assessing students’ critical thinking about racial narratives.

There’s Research on That:

“Boys, Masculinity, and Sexual Expectations” by Allison Nobles. We round up research on how boys and young men understand the relationship between beliefs about “being a man,” peer pressure, and sex.

Discoveries:

“Race and Organizational Pathways in College Coaching” by Jean Marie Maier. To shed light on racial inequalities in the NCAA, new research examines who is likely to fill vacant coaching positions in Division I basketball.

Teaching TSP:

“Assessing Popular Narratives on Race: A Final Project for ‘Race and Racism in the U.S.’” by Monica Jarvi. Check out this great resource for implementing a final project focused on racial narratives in your Race and Racism course!

From Our Partners:

Contexts:

“Will a NFL Player Take a Knee at the Super Bowl?” by Simón E. Weffer, Rodrigo Dominguez-Martinez, and Raymond Jenkins.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“National Spouses Day Was Last Week…. Feeling Any Pressure? A Fact Sheet on Prospects for Marriage in Contemporary America” by Daniel L. Carlson and Stephanie Coontz.

Sociological Images:

“The “New” Gender-Neutral Doll” by Martha McCaughey.

From Our Community Pages:

• The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies ponders the role of pronunciation in marking nationality and creating symbolic borders between people.

TSP Classics:

Just in time for the Iowa primary debacle, we bring you The (Retrospective) Charm of an Iowa Caucus,” a TSP Classic from Cyborgology and a now-ironic homage to the past simplicity of its technology.

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Welcome back! As the first month of the year draws to a close, we bring you a roundup of scholarly work on blood donation, and new research on how parents choose new homes and how courts handle crisis.

There’s Research on That:

“Individuals, Institutions, and Blood Donation” by Jillian LaBranche. In light of critical blood shortages across the US, we bring you research illuminating factors that prompt more people to donate. Surprisingly, altruism is only part of the story.

Discoveries:

“Make Yourself at Home, unless You’re Renting” by Amy August. New research in Social Forces explores how the goals of searching for a new home differ depending on families’ income level.

“Courts in the Context of Crisis” by Jillian LaBranche. New research compares U.S. citizens and non-citizens’ likelihood of receiving prison sentences in the aftermath of 9/11.

From Our Partners:

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Giving Up Marriage for the Baby Carriage?” by Jennifer Randles.

From Our Community Pages:

• The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies investigates participation in public observances of Holocaust Remembrance Day.
• Cyborgology ponders the complexity of disaster tourism as Australians come to bear witness, bolster awareness, seek validation, and more generally, cope with the surreal fires ravaging their nation.
• Engaging Sports explores how Canadian surf culture thinks about concussions.

TSP Classics:

As the Corona virus spreads worldwide, we bring you Evan Stewart‘s TSP Classic, “Ebola and the Epidemic Mindset,” which rounds up research on how media and governments shape the way citizens respond to outbreaks.

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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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