Hello hello! We’ve had another big week here at TSP, and have lots of great things to share with you. To start, we welcomed another blog to our community pages, Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. Check out their blog for an extensive archive of engaging commentary and research related to genocide studies. And our amazing grad board is back for the semester, which means we are back in full force on the site. We’ve got great new pieces on Trump’s cabinet, women’s movements, environmental policy, and more. So let’s get to it!

The Editor’s Desk:

In case you missed it, we celebrated the 5th anniversary of TSP last Friday. Woot! On the Eds’ Desk this week, Doug and Chris celebrate and reflect on the past five years and preview what’s to come.

There’s Research on That!:

“Divesting Diversity on the Presidential Cabinet,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. While social science shows that diversity is beneficial for business and organizations, the definition of “diversity” is often warped to avoid any real discussion of inequality.

“When Women Mobilize,” by Jacqui Frost. A look at research on past women’s movements sheds light on the ways that gender shapes when and how women protest, and the important roles they have played in social movement history.

“Barriers Keeping Women from STEM Careers,” by Amber Joy Powell. Research on race, gender, and education reveals why women remain hidden figures in STEM.

Discoveries:

“To Enforce or Encourage Green Behavior?,” by Erik Kojola. New research in Sociological Spectrum finds that environmental regulations alone will not reduce public health and environmental hazards from chemical pollution.

Clippings:

“How College Became Synonymous with Sex,” by Brooke Chambers. Soc Images’ Lisa Wade writes for Time Magazine and explains how colleges went from being rigid institutions to hubs for parties and casual sex.

“Okay Google, Give Me the Facts,” by Edgar Campos. The Conversation talks to Thomas Maher about how to keep “fake news” from manipulating Google’s search algorithms.

From Our Partners:

Contexts:

“The Women’s March Was Only the Beginning,” by Dana R. Fisher.

“The Day After: Women’s March on Washington,” by Philip N. Cohen.

“Trump’s America Comes to Washington,” by Philip N. Cohen.

Scholars Strategy Network:

“What Trump Means for the Affordable Care Act,” by Colleen Grogan and Sherry Glied.

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Engaging Sports talks politics and sports media and how sports create unity.
• Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies explains the futility of “Never Again” and remembers Wannsee.
• Girl w/Pen! discusses advocacy and activism for girls.
• ThickCulture explores the democratic function of the Women’s March.

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Hello friends of TSP,

This past Friday marked The Society Pages’ 5th anniversary, and we celebrated by eating cake with our awesome grad board. As we start a new semester and a new year, we wanted to give you, our friends, followers, and contributors, some highlights from the past year and some updates on what’s to come in the year ahead.

Looking back, 2016 was a big year for us here in Minnesota at TSP “world headquarters.” We produced 34 Discoveries (accessible summaries of new and notable research from sociology journals), 56 There’s Research on That! pieces (synthetic reviews of new and classic literature on a given topic), 8 Office Hours podcasts and 6 Give Methods a Chance podcasts, 67 Clippings (nods to sociology and sociologists in the news), and 5 original features. We also published Assigned: Life with Gender, a compendium of 29 essays guest edited by Lisa Wade, and now have a new volume, Give Methods a Chance, by TSP alums Sarah Lageson and Kyle Green, in production with W.W. Norton & Company. And this isn’t even to mention our partner organizations and dedicated community of bloggers – including many of you! – all of whom have been more productive and engaging than ever.

TSP will continue to evolve and grow in 2017. For one thing, in the next few weeks we are going to launch a new partner page called Social Studies MN. Focused on the work of our fabulous colleagues here at Minnesota, this will be an experiment in interdisciplinarity for us, in drawing from all across the social sciences more intentionally and systematically. We are also hoping to begin working with another sociological association or two in developing sites that highlight state and regional issues and experts. These new initiatives will take the place of our partnerships with W.W. Norton and Scholars Strategy Network, which both draw to a close after five wonderful and rewarding years. We thank those folks for all of their support in building TSP, and we will continue to pursue collaborations with them, albeit in more occasional and targeted ways, in coming years.

With these changes also come some transitions on our editorial team. Letta Page, our longtime associate editor, will move into more of a special projects mode for TSP proper, with graduate student editors Jacqui Frost and Evan Stewart taking up her day-to-day duties. (Yes, it takes two to replace Letta, who will also continue as Senior Managing Editor at Contexts and thus will be working with us on Contexts.org). Please use our new TSP specific email address for all site and submission inquiries going forward – tsp@thesocietypages.org.

We are also considering a little fund raising campaign so that we can continue to support and grow the graduate, editorial, and technical staff who write, edit, illustrate, and wrangle on our behalf. We are in the early stages of planning the campaign, but stay tuned in the coming months for details on how you can help. If you have any ideas, please do pass those along – again, at tsp@thesocietypages.org.

In conclusion, let us once again express our sincerest appreciation for your readership and particularly to those of you who have used The Society Pages’ freely accessible content in your classrooms, to those who write on our community page blogs, and to those who have championed us through our first five years and first seven books. We cannot thank you enough, and hope that we continue to enjoy your contributions and support in the months and years to come.

In Five Years, David Bowie sings of social connection and sensory overload in the face of impending apocalypse. The crisis seems to recalibrate the narrator’s appreciation of social life while sharpening his powers to observe it. Five years somehow seems just long enough for wistful reflection but just short enough to force the issue with some urgency.

Whether one views this Inauguration Day as the beginning of the end or an altogether new beginning is, of course, a matter of perspective. At TSP, today marks our five-year anniversary, which we view as an opportunity to eat cake for breakfast. And, one might say, the end of our beginning. So we did a little recalibrating in our first graduate board meeting of 2017, talking through our appreciation of social research and ways to sharpen our vision and perspective in sharing it on TSP.

In some ways, we’re lucky to be alive. About 50 percent of small businesses survive five years and we certainly wouldn’t have made it this far without the tremendous support of our staff, students, contributors, and partners. But we want to do more and do it better — for the next five years and the five years after that. Thanks for reading and for supporting us. If we knew you were comin’ we’d have baked a bigger cake.

Today marks the 5th anniversary of The Society Pages! We’ve been bringing you the latest in social science research for five years now, and we have learned a lot along the way. We hope you have too, and we want to thank you for your continued readership and support. We also welcomed a new community page to the fold this week, Engaging Sports, so be sure to check them out for all things sport and society.

It’s a new year, a new semester, and, later today, we will have a new president. So stay tuned in to TSP for when you need a fresh dose of sociology to keep you going.

Office Hours:

“Stephen Ellingson on Religious Environmentalism,” with Caty Taborda-Whitt. In this episode, we talk with Ellingson about how activists overcome the barriers that have typically prevented religious organizations from investing in environmental causes.

Discoveries:

“How Women Confront Sexism in Fantasy Sports,” by Amber Joy Powell. New research in Gender & Society finds that women who play fantasy sports often simultaneously resist and reproduce the gendered dynamics of the sporting world.

Clippings:

“Lawyering Up for Low-Cost Daycare,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Germany’s push to universalize day care contrasts with the costly U.S. system.

From Our Partners:

Contexts:

“Trump and the Neglect of the Working Class,” by Reeve Vanneman.

Scholars Strategy Network:

“How U.S. Higher Education Promotes Inequality—And What Can Be Done To Broaden Access and Graduation,” by Suzanne Mettler.

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Sociology Toolbox reflects on MLK’s address to social scientists.
• Sociological Images talks Super Mario and cultural globalization and shifts in the U.S. LGBT population.
• ThickCulture asks if Trump’s tweeting is an addiction or a strategy.
• Engaging Sports looks at gender equity in women’s tennis.

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Hello and happy Friday! We are enjoying our last few days of winter break here in Minnesota, but we are excited to be back in full force for the spring semester next week. In this roundup, we have our last round of Best Of and Most Popular 2016 posts, and we highlight some new pieces on charitable giving, medical school, and repertoires of contention.

There’s Research on That!:

“The Social Determinants of Charitable Giving,” by Caity Curry. The holidays are an annual “giving season” for many, but research shows that social factors often determine who gives and for what.

*~!MOST POPULAR 2016!~*
“Millennials Misunderstood,” by Evan Stewart. In the most viewed TROT of 2016, social research helps explain why Millennials are at once fiercely independent, but also missing key markers of adulthood.

Clippings:

“Teaching Medical Students To Rethink Race,” by Caty Taborda-Whitt. Dorothy Roberts talks to Stat News about the need for medical students to learn about the social construction of race.

Discoveries:

*~!BEST OF 2016!~*
“Fifty Shades of Pay,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Voted Best Title of 2016, this Discovery details a study from Sociology of Race and Ethnicity that finds wage inequalities between dark and light skinned immigrants.

*~!MOST POPULAR 2016!~*
“On Noisy Neighbors,” by Evan Stewart. The most viewed Discovery of 2016 summarizes research from AJS that shows how class and culture determine what we find “noisy.”

From Our Partners:

Contexts:

“Revisiting the Rationing of Medical Degrees in the United States,” by Tania M. Jenkins and Shalini Reddy.

“The Contemporary American University, In Seven Emails,” by Rebecca Schuman.

Scholars Strategy Network:

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

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Sociological Images talks income inequality and mass murder as a repertoire of contention.
• Cyborgology remembers Zygmunt Bauman and trolls #notallmen in India.

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Hello and Happy New Year from TSP! We were out last week, so we have a lot of great stuff to share. We have some new pieces from around the site to highlight, and we continue recognizing our Best Of and Most Popular posts from 2016. Also, in case you missed it, the latest issue of Contexts is available for free online until Jan. 20! So grab a warm beverage and start your year off right with some sweet sociology.

Discoveries:

“Fatalistic Suicide in a Tight-Knit Community,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. Durkheim thought fatalistic suicide was the least common type, but new research in ASR finds it to be quite common in small communities.

“Sex and Cardiovascular Risk in Old Age,” by Edgar Campos. A new study in JHSB explores the varied health risks and benefits of sexual activity and the ways they affect men and women differently.

TSP Specials:

*~!BEST OF 2016!~*
“The Whitelash Against Diversity,” by Jennifer Lee. Voted best Special Feature by the TSP grad board, in this piece Jennifer Lee highlights research that helps explain the significant “whitelash” among white Americans that resulted in a Trump presidency.

There’s Research on That!:

*~!BEST OF 2016!~*
“When ‘Nice Guys’ Rape,” by Amber Joy Powell. Feminist scholarship highlights the pervasiveness of rape culture and helps pinpoint how it reproduces notions that only “bad guys” commit “real rape.”

Clippings:

“How Post-Election Questions Burden People of Color,” by Caty Taborda-Whitt. In a candid conversation with Slate, Tressie McMillan Cottom describes the emotional labor that these post-election interactions demand from people of color.

“Life Expectancy and Inequality,” by Edgar Campos. The Huffington Post talks to Jarron Saint Onge about reports that life expectancy dropped in the United States for the first time in two decades.

*~!BEST OF 2016!~*
“Crossing an “Empathy Bridge” to Understand Trump Supporters,” by Elizabeth Tremmel. Arlie Russell Hochschild talks with Wisconsin Public Radio about her research with conservatives in Louisiana.

*~!MOST POPULAR 2016!~*
“The Noble Poverty in Kids’ Movies,” by Allison Nobles. In the most viewed Clipping of 2016, New York Magazine features research helmed by sociologist Jessi Streib on how Disney downplays social class.

Office Hours:

*~!BEST OF 2016!~*
“Jooyoung Lee on Blowin’ Up: Rap Dreams in South Central,” with Matthew Aguilar-Champeau. Our Best Of 2016 podcast episode features a conversation with professor Jooyoung Lee about his research and his many skills – from ethnography to dance.

From Our Partners:

Scholars Strategy Network:

“How Passers-by and Policymakers View Beggars in American Communities,” by Shai Dromi.

“Why Does Immigration Arouse Deep Feelings and Conflicts?” by John D. Skrentny.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“The Evidence is in: Progressive Policies Strengthen Families,” by Molly McNulty.

Contexts:

Fall 2016 Table of Contents

“Darker Skin, Harsher Sentence,” by Lucia Lykke.

“Viewpoints on Financial Foreclosures.”

1.  “Too Small to Help, Too Poor To Trust,” by Frederick F. Wherry, Kristin S. Seefeldt, and Anthony S. Alvarez.
2. “Can Ethnography Improve the Culture of Finance?” by Daniel Beunza.
3. “Financial Entertainment and the Public Sphere,” by Alex Preda.
4. “The End of the American Dream,” by Kevin Leicht.

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Girl w/Pen explains how better journalism is good for women.
• Sociology Toolbox rounds up sociologists’ reflections on Trump’s election.
• Cyborgology reflects on the culture of work.
• Families As They Really Are talks marriage education and progressive family policies.

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Even though such things are socially constructed and culturally specific … Happy Holidays from TSP! We are officially done with the fall semester here in Minneapolis, but we still have some great new pieces for you this week. We are also kicking off our annual round of *Best of 2016* posts, and this week we highlight our Best Discovery of 2016. See below and stay tuned for more!

There’s Research on That!:

“Oh By Golly, What is Poly?,” by Allison Nobles. The holidays are all the more difficult to navigate if you have more than one partner to consider, and we’ve rounded up some recent research that sheds light on the hows and whys of polyamory.

Discoveries:

“The ‘Facebook Effect’ on Religiosity,” by Jacqui Frost. New research in Sociological Perspectives finds that young adults who use social media are more likely to be “syncretists” who pick and choose various beliefs and practices from multiple religions, rather than adhering strictly to one traditional doctrine.

*~!BEST OF 2016!~*
“Extending the “Crime Scene” into the Community, by Ryan Larson. Voted the Best Discovery of 2016 by the TSP Grad Board, this piece summarizes recent research in Sociological Science that finds communities of color are more likely to experience stop and frisk activity after a violent crime.

Clippings:

“The Persistence of Sexual Double Standards,” by Allison Nobles. Broadly draws on research from Rachel Allison and Barbara Risman to explain how women are still more likely than men to be judged negatively for past sexual decisions.

From Our Partners:

Scholars Strategy Network:

“Why Politically Active Billionaires Threaten the Health of Democracy,” by Darrell M. West.

Council on Contemporary Families:

3 Questions with Pallavi Banerjee: Immigration/Politics/Talk, by Eunice Owusu.

Contexts:

“Rule Without Referees,” by Philip Vlahakis.

“Sociology Teach-in on Trump at UC-Merced,” by Zulema Valdez.

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Sociological Images asks if a cat can make a community.
• Girl w/Pen talks black women in TV.
• Cyborgology lists the things they did like about 2016.

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Happy Friday everyone! We hope you are staying warm and getting close to wrapping up your fall semesters. We have some great new pieces this week, including a new podcast episode with Vanesa Ribas and a new special feature by Penny Edgell. As we head into the break, in addition to posting new pieces every week as usual, we will be highlighting our “Best Of 2016” nominees from around the site, so keep an eye out for great stuff you may have missed throughout the year.

TSP Special Features:

“Seeing the White in Christian America,” by Penny Edgell. In this new special feature, Edgell explains how race, over and above religion, drove white evangelicals to vote for Trump. She argues that blanket statements about “evangelicals” that ignore differences between white and non-white Christians can work to perpetuate a culture of white privilege that systematically denies that whites, too, have racial identities and interests.

Office Hours:

“Vanesa Ribas on Immigration to the New South,” with Erik Kojola. In our most recent podcast, we talk with Ribas about her new book that examines race and labor dynamics in a meat packing plant in rural North Carolina.

There’s Research on That!:

“Who (Dis)Trusts Science?,” by Caty Taborda-Whitt. Research shows that trust in science is much more closely linked to political and religious commitments than educational attainment.

Discoveries:

“Stigma by Association: Adult Children and Parental Incarceration,” by Amber Joy Powell. Are adult children able to create a prosocial identity outside of their parents’ felony status? New research in Deviant Behavior says yes.

Clippings:

“Supermarkets and Stratification,” by Caity Curry. The Rivard Report highlights research from Heather O’Connell, Jenifer Bratter, and Lester King that finds a “tri-racial system of social stratification” in terms of access to supermarkets in Houston, TX.

From Our Partners:

Scholars Strategy Network:

“The Harm Done by Media Coverage of Political Disputes about Public Health Measures,” Erika Fowler and Sarah Gollust.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Revisit: Remember the Ladies Men,” by Virginia Rutter.

Contexts:

“Faculty Unions, Don’t Fold Your Winning Hand!” by Syed Ali.

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Sociological Images talks class v.s. education among Trump supporters.
• Cyborgology warns against the dangers of an ahistorical view of science.

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The fall semester is winding down, but we here at TSP are still working hard to bring you the latest in sociological research and writing. See below for this week’s new content, including pieces on the pitfalls of polling, the prevalence of academic gossip, and the decline of diners.

There’s Research on That!:

“Polling, Sampling, and Social Conditioning,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Social scientists are all too aware of the problems and pitfalls that are inherent in polling and survey research. We highlight some common issues that may help explain why predictions for the 2016 election were so different from the results.

“Religion, Politics, and Media in Africa and America,” by j. Siguru Wahutu and Evan Stewart. Comparisons between the two countries reveal similarities in the role of religion and politics in the media across the globe.

Discoveries:

“Academic Gossip and its Unintended Consequences,” by Caty Taborda. New research finds that scientists use gossip to informally police one another and warn newcomers about untrustworthy colleagues.

Clippings:

“The Diner Decline,” by Elizabeth Tremmel. The New York Times uses research by Ray Oldenburg to explain how we lose more than comfort food when we phase out diners in our neighborhoods.

“Trump, the NRA, and the Mobilization of Fear,” by Chelsea Carlson. Scott Melzer talks to The Trace about how Trump and the NRA use the social movement strategy of fear mobilization to garner support.

“Motherhood Penalty Costs More for High Earning Women,” by Allison Nobles. Bloomberg talks to Paula England about new research that shows how the motherhood penalty may be worse for women who make more money.

From Our Partners:

Scholars Strategy Network:

“How the Reproductive Justice Movement Benefits Latinas,” by Rocio Garcia.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“From the Folks Who Brought You the Weekend – What Unions Do for Women,” by Ruth Milkman.

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Feminist Reflections reflects on straight men’s marriageability across the class divide.
• Sociological Images talks hate crimes after the election and feminist edits to princess stories.
• Girl w/Pen critiques calls to embrace meaningless changes in representations of female beauty.

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Hello and happy Friday all! Since we did not do a regular Roundup last week, we have a lot to catch you up on, so we’ll get right to it –

There’s Research on That!:

“Who Are Fair Trade Deals Good For?,” by Erik Kojola. NAFTA and its merits have been a major topic in this year’s election. But who benefits from these kinds of trade deals and who doesn’t? We have research on that.

“Sick Days and Toughing it Out,” by Elizabeth Tremmel. Wondering whether or not you should call into work because of your cold? Your decision is likely influenced by your social surroundings.

“Juries and Racial Bias,” by Caity Curry.  The recent Peña-Rodriguez v. Colorado case got us thinking about the racial make-up of juries and its implications for sentencing.

“Minorities in Television,” by Amber Joy Powell and Neeraj Rajasekar. While the increase in minority characters has been a major stride for equal on-air representation, sociological research suggests other problems and pitfalls remain.

Office Hours:

“Douglas Hartmann on Midnight Basketball,” with Matthew Aguilar-Champeau. In our latest podcast episode, co-host Matthew chats with Doug about his new book and the 1990s crime initiative that still influences sports, race, and social policy today.

Discoveries:

“Fighting Sports Arena Funding,” by Edgar Campos. New research in the Sociology of Sport Journal investigates why opposition to the public funding of large sports arenas often fails.

Clippings:

“Escaping Reality with Virtual Love,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Masahiro Yamada talks to The Guardian about the constraints of dating and relationships in Japan and why Japanese youth are turning to virtual love as a result.

“The Resiliency of the Death Penalty in the United States,” by Caity Curry. Public Radio International asks Susan Sharp about the continued support for the death penalty in the U.S.

“NFL Suspensions: From Fines to the Sidelines,” by Edgar Campos. TSP’s Doug Hartmann is featured in a recent New York Times article about effective punishments in the NFL.

From Our Partners:

Scholars Strategy Network:

“How Rights Movements Can Deal with Backlashes against Supreme Court Decisions,” by Alexander Lovell.

“Why Laws Targeting Non-Citizen Immigrants Affect Citizen Family Members and Associates, Too,” by Jane Lilly López.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Revisit: Sexual Assault on Campus,” by Elizabeth Armstrong and Jamie Budnick.

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

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Girl w/Pen talks the normalization of sexual assault.
• Cyborgology explores the normalization of dissent and the rise of fake news stories.
• Families As They Really Are attempts secular listening at a prayer meeting.
• Sociological Images weighs the symbolic values of the safety pen and asks what would happen if America defined itself as a nation of renters.

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