Hello hello! We’ve got a great roundup for you this week, with numerous pieces offering sociological strategies and advice – from reducing gun violence, to freeing innocent prisoners, to getting a date on Tinder. See below for all that and more.

TSP Special Features:

“Can Prosecutors Help Free Innocent Prisoners?,” by Elizabeth Webster. Our new special feature explores how Conviction Review Units can help keep law enforcement accountable and work to reduce wrongful convictions.

There’s Research on That!:

“Strategies for Reducing Gun Violence,” by Ryan Larson. Social science sheds light on the rates and distribution of gun violence, as well as the most effective strategies to reduce it.

“Not so Natural Disasters,” by Erik Kojola. Hurricanes – so called natural disasters –  are not simply the result of the weather but become “disasters” because of how society shapes people’s risks and how people prepare, adapt, and respond.

“Women in Male-Dominated Fields,” by Allison Nobles. Research on the ways women’s work is devalued highlights the hurdles that Hillary Clinton is up against as she attempts to enter a male-dominated field.

Discoveries:

“Atheists Still ‘Other’?” by Amber Joy Powell. Despite an increased awareness of atheists and other non-religious people over the last decade, Americans still distance themselves from the non-religious.

Clippings:

 “Why We Love Autumn,” by Edgar Campos. Kathryn Lively talks to the Huffington Post about the popularity of autumn.

“How to Get that Right Swipe,” by Caity Curry. A little sociological online dating advice from Tinder sociologist Jessica Carbino.

Scholars Strategy Network:

“Why Marijuana Legalization Is Inevitable—And Wise,” by Raymond Hogler.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“As American as Divorce,” by Braxton Jones.

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Sociological Images talks interracial rape and colorism in India.
• Families As They Really Are revisits the beliefs of men in traditional marriages.
• Cyborgology explores meme droughts and the war on science.

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Hey everyone! We’ve got tons of great research and writing across the site this week. Enjoy!

TSP Special Feature:

“The Untold Asian American Success Story,” by Jennifer Lee, Jess Lee, and Oshin Khachikian. A new special feature reveals three “untold stories” of Asian American mobility and success.

Office Hours:

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

There’s Research on That!:

“The Illusion of Media Objectivity,” by j. Siguru Wahutu. Despite ideals of media objectivity, social scientists find that political reporting is far from unbiased.

“Indigenous Health,” by Allison Nobles. Social science researchers point to a number of social and historical factors that help explain why Native Americans and Alaskan Natives have lower life expectancies than any other U.S. racial group.

Discoveries:

“From Glass Ceilings to Class Ceilings,” by Jacqui Frost. New research on Britain in the American Sociological Review finds that even when people who are from working-class backgrounds are successful in entering a high-status occupation, they earn an average of 17% less than individuals from privileged backgrounds in that same occupation.

Clippings:

“Police Brutality Leads to Fewer 911 calls,” by Chelsea Carlson. Matt Desmond, Andrew Papachristos, and David Kirk talked to The Atlantic about the consequences of police violence.

“More Fun For Dads Means More Stress For Moms,” by Allison Nobles. The Huffington Post recently featured sociologist Ann Meier and her research on the division of parenting labor.

“The Shawshank Restriction? Penal Laws and Felon Disenfranchisement,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Our very own Chris Uggen, Ryan Larson, and Sarah Shannon were featured in The New York Times and elsewhere for their research on felon disenfranchisement. See the full report here.

“Students of All Backgrounds Prefer Teachers of Color,” by Caty Taborda-Whitt. Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng and Peter Halpin discuss their research on students’ perceptions of their teachers with NPR.

From Our Partners:

Scholars Strategy Network:

“Forward or Back on Voting Rights? A Research Compendium.” A collection of SSN posts on voting rights and regulations.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Is TANF Working for Struggling Millennial Parents?” by Shawn Fremstad.

Contexts:

“Maybe Government Could Actually Work,” by Joey Brown.

“Torture and Scientism,” by Steven Ward.

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Girl w/Pen! has some thoughts on “locker room talk”
• Cyborgology traces the history of bathrooms and trans rights
• Sociological Images interrogates Trump’s science of group conflict
• Families As They Really Are finds that millennials may have found a new secret to sexual happiness.

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Hello and happy Friday everyone! We’ve got some great new pieces for your perusal below, and be sure to stop by throughout the week for the latest.

There’s Research on That!:

“Hillary, Interrupted,” by Caty Taborda-Whitt. Research reveals the impetus behind Trump’s many interruptions during the first presidential debate and the gender inequality it perpetuates.

“When Public School Is No Longer Public,” by Elizabeth Tremmel. Are charter schools as “public” as they are defined to be? Sociologists find that they operate in legal gray areas, making their distinctions from public schools complicated.

“You Can’t Sit with Us,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. In the spirit of National Bullying Prevention Month, we round up research on who gets bullied and why.

Discoveries:

“Gender-based Violence Against Men in Darfur,” by j. Siguru Wahutu. “Although this violence is in some ways about physical domination, it is primarily meant to symbolically dominate and denigrate both the victims and surviving community members.”

Clippings:

“The Patterns of Police Force,” by Ryan Larson. Sociologist Joscha Legewie talks about the ways police are more likely to use force against black suspects after the shooting of a police officer.

“The Influence of Naturalized Voters, by Edgar Campos. Writing for the LA Times, sociologist Manuel Pastor discusses the potential impact of newly naturalized citizens if they show up at the polls in November.

From Our Partners:

Contexts:

“Hamilton’s Immigrant America,” by Philip Kasinitz.

“Gender Politics and Taming the Alpha Male Harem Master,” by Mimi Schippers.

“The Problem of Urban Sprawl,” by Thomas Laidley.

Scholars Strategy Network:

“Strict Voter Identification Laws Advantage Whites—And Skew American Democracy to the Right,” by Zoltan Hajnal, Nazita Lajevardi, and Lindsay Nielson.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Is TANF Working for Struggling Millennial Parents?” by Shawn Fremstad.

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Girl w/Pen! talks manhood and violence against women.
• Feminist Reflections asks what women have to do with men’s salons.
• Families As They Really Are investigates why the “ethnic” aisle is merging with the “beauty” aisle.
• Sociological Images explores how “pink ribbon culture” harms breast cancer patients and survivors.

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The days are getting shorter and the weather is getting colder – so grab a warm beverage and curl up with some great social science!

The Editors’ Desk:

“The Return of Revolt – Tommie Smith and John Carlos Go to Washington.” Editor Doug Hartmann reflects on his first book about athlete protests and how things have and have not changed since.

There’s Research on That!:

“Problem-Oriented Policing in an Age of Protest,” by Amber Joy Powell. Research is mixed on whether or not problem-oriented policing strategies are effective.

“Whose Nation, Whose Parks?” by Erik Kojola and Jacqui Frost. In conjunction with the recent centennial celebration of the National Park Service, we look to research on who actually gets the most out of national parks and the racial and ethnic inequalities their creation often stems from.

“Protesting Prison Conditions,” by Caity Curry. The recent prison protests highlight not only unpaid labor but also issues of dismal healthcare and high rates of suicide in prisons, as well as the overuse of solitary confinement.

Discoveries:

“Are Warming Temperatures a Scientific Consensus or Hoax? It Depends on Your Political Party,” by Erik Kojola. New research maps the significant divergence in opinions about climate change causes and consequences among Democrats and Republicans over the past decade.

Clippings:

“Crossing an ‘Empathy Bridge’ to Understand Trump Supporters,” by Elizabeth Tremmel. Sociologist Arlie Russell Hochschild talks with Wisconsin Public Radio about her research with conservatives in Louisiana.

“What Makes a ‘Successful’ Immigrant?” by Neeraj Rajasekar. “Unlike other immigrant groups whose parents are more likely to have college degrees, Mexican second-gen immigrants have experienced the most ‘success,’ overcoming the odds of often being the first person in their family to attend college.”

From Our Partners:

Scholars Strategy Network:

“Are Gender Stereotypes A Problem For Female Candidates?,” by Nichole Bauer.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“TANF Policy to Address Low, Volatile Income among Disadvantaged Families,” by Bradley Hardy. 

Contexts:

“Bonfires of Belfast,” by David Schalliol.

“Middle-class Moms Managing Black Sons’ Vulnerability,” by Brittany Dernberger.

“Expressing Depression,” by  Lucia Lykke.

“Career Plans Aren’t Family Plans,” by Moriah Willow.

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Sociological Images looks at selfies in high schools and media coverage of domestic violence.
• Girl w/Pen! discusses when sexy media matters.
• Families As They Really Are revisits family income versus family structure and affordable childcare.

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So Tommie Smith and John Carlos get to go to Washington, D.C. next week, to the White House, to be received by President Obama with the 2016 United States Olympic team. Who are they and why is this such a big deal?

Smith and Carlos are the American Olympians who raised their fists during the playing of the national anthem during the victory ceremony–their victory ceremony–at the Mexico City Games in 1968. The gesture remains one of the most iconic images in all of sport history, and it has been referenced frequently in recent months with the emergence of a whole new era of African American athletic activism.

My first book was on Smith and Carlos and their demonstration, and over the course of the past few months I’ve been working on a project to situate the current era of athletic awareness in the context of the activism of 1968. Too often in sports, if not society more generally, we have a tendency to confine history–especially the history of racism and injustice as well as conflict and struggle–to the past. Without getting lost in the details, here’s a few facts about the history that I think are still relevant today.

1. Smith and Carlos’ 1968 demonstration was not the spontaneous gesture of two isolated, discontented individuals; rather, it was the culmination of a year-long effort of activism and advocacy (famously titled “The Revolt of the Black Athlete”).
2. The athletic activism of 1968 was not directed against prejudice and discrimination in the world of sport; rather, it grew out of the desire of socially-conscious, politically-committed African American athletes to use the publicity and platform of sport to contribute to larger, societal struggles against racism and injustice.
3. Smith and Carlos were not celebrated by most Americans back in 1968, much less received at the White House for their demonstration. They were kicked off the team in Mexico City and treated as outlaws, villains, and traitors back home.

Boy, do we have a ton of great new stuff to share with you this week. We’ve got a number of pieces on diversity, activism, and community in the sporting world, some excellent tips and ideas for teaching and writing in sociology, and a new podcast with Aldon Morris, just to name a few. See below for all that and more!

The Editors’ Desk:

“First Person Ethnography.” Editor Doug Hartmann reflects on the different narrative devices used in ethnographic writing and argues that each has it’s own strengths and weaknesses.

Office Hours:

“Aldon Morris on The Scholar Denied,” with Enid Logan. In this special hour-long episode, University of Minnesota sociologist Enid Logan talks with Morris about his new book and the ways W.E.B. Dubois shaped the field of sociology.

Teaching TSP:

This semester we are rolling out a series of posts from grad instructor Jack Delehanty on teaching writing in sociology classes. Check out his first post, “Teaching Writing with 5-Minute Workshops,” and stay tuned for more.

There’s Research on That!:

“Pipeline Protests a Pipedream?,” by Erik Kojola. The protests over the Dakota Access Pipeline are the most recent battle between Native American rights and industrial development, and research shows that these battles often result in social dislocation, environmental problems, and a loss of livelihoods for native communities. For even more research on that, check out Erik’s recently published article on the ways that news media coverage of the Keystone XL pipeline worked to legitimate extraction and disrupt potential coalition between unions and environmentalists.

“Punters and Protesters,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Research shows that Colin Kaepernick’s choice to kneel during the national anthem is part of a larger resurgence of athlete activism surrounding racial inequality in America today.

“Millennials Misunderstood,” by Evan Stewart. Millennials get a lot of flack these days, but social scientists argue that they are not as shallow or selfish as popular memes make them out to be—they are responding directly to unique social pressures.

Discoveries:

“Extending the “Crime Scene” into the Community,” by Ryan Larson. New research in Sociological Science finds that not only are communities of color more likely to experience violence, they are also more likely to see an increase in stop and frisk activity after a violent crime is committed.

Clippings:

“The History of the Republican Party Divide,” by Chelsea Carlson. Josh Pacewicz explains to the Washington Post that Trump is not the origin of the conflicts we are seeing in the Republican Party today but that these divisions stem from a much longer history.

“‘Muggles’ and Stigma: Using Harry Potter to Teach Sociology,” by Caity Curry. Bertena Varney at Southern Kentucky Community and Technological College has been using Harry Potter to teach students about inequality and disabilities.

From Our Partners:

Contexts:

“Making Sports More Sporting” – Five Viewpoints:

• “Addressing Racial Injustice In Big-Time College Sports,” by Marvin P. Dawkins.
• “Change Doesn’t Necessarily Mean a Paycheck,” by Lucia Trimbur.
• “LGBT Inclusion,” by Pat Griffin.
• “‘This Has to Change!’,” by Cheryl Cooky.
• “Racism and the Rooney Rule,” by Kevin Hylton.

“The Shifting Landscape of Sports Media with Dave Zirin,” by Ben Carrington and Dave Zirin.

“How the Young Weigh Weight,” by Rose Malinowski Weingartner.

Scholars Strategy Network:

“The Roots and Impact of Outrage-Mongering in U.S. Political Opinion Media,” by Sarah Sobieraj and Jeffrey M. Berry.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“TANF Didn’t Fight Poverty. Full Employment Did,” by Alan Barber and Virginia Rutter.

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Sociological Images talks burkini bans and the lack of balanced coverage on the elections.
• Families As They Really Are revisits research on hooking up.
• Sociology Toolbox explores how superstition in sports helps build community.

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There’s been a lot of talk among sociologists lately about the status of ethnographic research and knowledge, and writing has been at the center of it. Does well-written, powerfully argued fieldwork enhance our sociological understanding of others and the world around us, or is a powerful narrative something ethnographers use to draw readers in and convince them of the veracity of claims that may lack strong supporting data or careful engagement with existing literature and social theory?

I think this larger debate is important context for Matthew Desmond’s argument–offered in the conclusion of Evicted, and highlighted recently at the Sociological Imagination blog–against first person narrative in the presentation of ethnographically driven social science. In Desmond’s view, this approach fails to “capture the essence of a social world” because “the ‘I’ filters all.” He explains:  I wanted my readers to know and thus be able to assess my research and its various findings, interpretations, and claims. 

“With first-person narration, the subjects and the author are each always held in view, resulting in every observation being trailed by a reaction to the observer. No matter how much care the author takes, the first-person ethnography becomes just as much about the fieldworker as about anything she or he saw.”

“At a time of rampant inequality and widespread hardship, when hunger and homelessness are found throughout America, I am interested in a different, more urgent conversation. ‘I’ don’t matter.”

I really respect Desmond and his book (not to mention his writing chops, of which I am embarrassingly jealous–I mean, I really love that “I filters all” line). And I completely agree that sociological research should not be about the researcher, if only because we sociologists tend to insist that no one is really that special or unique in the modern world. (For years I’ve joked about writing a memoir entitled “It’s Not About Me.”)

However–there it is, you knew it was coming–I am not entirely comfortable with eliminating first-person perspective from all sociological writing, ethnographic or otherwise. In fact, sometimes I believe it is appropriate and even necessary for social scientists to write this way. At least, that’s what I argued in the conclusion of my new book on Midnight Basketball–a book that has a good bit of fieldwork in it and that I decided, against many of my other impulses and principles, to write in the first person.  Given the complexity of the social worlds we live in, as well as the wide array of sociological approaches to analyzing and understanding these worlds, I think having a diversity of narrative devices is something worth preserving. 

I did this partly to construct something of a narrative thread–the thread of my discoveries and idiosyncratic insights–for a potentially dry historical narrative/case study. More importantly, though, I took this approach because I wanted to “openly acknowledge, if not highlight, the constructed nature of the narrative and research process.” I wanted my readers to know and thus be able to assess my research and its various findings, interpretations, and claims. In other words, as I put it in the end,

“I think the more we know about the research process–what data is collected and how it is collected, the manner in which it is analyzed and interpreted–the more I am able to understand and assess the relative strength and power of the claims and findings that are offered.”

That doesn’t mean Desmond is completely wrong, or that I would write every book or article the way I did my midnight basketball book. But it is to say that there are many different reasons for writing in the voices and rhetorical styles that we social scientists do, and that, given the complexity of the social worlds we live in, as well as the wide array of sociological approaches to analyzing and understanding these worlds, I think having a diversity of narrative devices in our tool kit is something worth preserving.

Hello and happy Friday everyone! The TSP grad board is back in full force this week with an array of interesting and timely posts, from welfare in Oregon, to mourning on social media, to getting in trouble at school. Also, Contexts is rolling out their latest issue, which covers Hamilton, the Oscars, street dancing in Compton, and bonfires in Belfast, so be sure to keep checking in with them as they make different pieces from the latest issue available online over the next few weeks.

There’s Research on That!:

“Restorative Justice in the Classroom,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. Back to school means back to important discussions about disciplinary action in the classroom.

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

Discoveries:

“Variety is the Spice of Life, but Are Typical Dishes Best?” by Sarah Catherine Billups. New research in the American Sociological Review examines the differences between consumers who prioritize variety in the genres of food and movies they consume and those who prefer typicality.

Clippings:

“Why Oregon is So Generous,” by Ryan Larson . Oregon has one of the most robust welfare systems in the U.S., but social scientists shed light on some of the racist and classist reasons why that might be.

“Challenging ‘Normal’ Bodies, One Girl at a Time,” by Amber Joy Powell. Female Olympians are fighting back against the stigma of larger, more muscular female figures.

“Mourning with Social Media,” by Edgar Campos. How Twitter is making the mourning of others more open and public than it’s ever been.

From Our Partners:

Contexts:

Contexts is rolling out its latest issue, and new individual pieces will be made available online each week. See below for the table of contents, a letter from the editors, and one of their new feature articles.

“A Cornucopia of Sociological Goodness,” from editors Syed Ali and Phil Cohen.

“Summer 2016 Table of Contents.”

“The King of Compton,” by Jooyoung Lee.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Why Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood Programs Succeed or Fail on the Frontlines of Welfare Reform,” by Jennifer Randles.

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Cyborgology covers grief hype-jacking, writing for a public audience, and the political economy of the headphone jack.
• Sociological Images explores Latinos for Trump and how our media bubbles protect our ideologies.
• Families As They Really Are talks Bad Moms and back to school.

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Border security, breadwinners, and Botox – we covered all that and more this week on our site, so stop by or see below for the latest in sociological research and writing!

The Editors’ Desk:

“A Quick, Little Defense of Sociological Labor and Learning,” by Doug Hartmann. Co-editor Doug Hartmann responds to a growing number of commentators who think sociology degrees are a waste of time. He writes, “If we understand it properly, such talk can provide a powerful incentive and inspiration for doing the best work we all can do in the coming year to promote a broader understanding of what sociology is and why our teaching, research, and writing is so necessary and essential in the worlds in which we live.”

Clippings:

“Women, Work, and Well-being,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. More women are becoming the primary earners in their families, and new research finds that this shift might make actually increase well-being for the whole family.

From Our Partners:

Council on Contemporary Families:

“History, Myths, and Opportunities: Welfare at 20,” by Stephanie Coontz.

Contexts:

“Dark Money in American Politics,” by Dana R. Fisher.

“Don’t Use Wounded Veterans as Symbols for Your Cause,” by Sidra Montgomery.

“Is the Border Safe? Border Residents’ Perceptions of Crime and Security,” by Ernesto Castañeda.

And a Few from the Community Pages:

• Girl w/Pen! investigates men’s beliefs about gender-egalitarian relationships.
• Sociological Images talks Botox and the emotional lobotomy.
• Families As They Really Are asks if involved parents burden the university.

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“We simply do not need more poetry, gender studies or sociology majors. Starbucks is fully stocked with baristas for the foreseeable future.” (StarTribune, Monday, September 5, 2016).

This is the pull quote from this morning’s local paper that I was confronted with as I prepared to head to campus to finalize my syllabus on this Labor Day holiday. It actually comes from an editorial written by an economics professor and academic administrator that originally appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer. The piece argued that if more of higher education is to be publicly funded–as per the calls of the Bernie Sanders wing of the Democratic party–then taxpayers should have more of a say in what academic programs are offered by colleges and universities for students to study.

Troubling though it is, the sentiment is far from new. Attacks on the liberal arts and publicly funded higher education more generally have not only proliferated, they have begun to be institutionalized in states ranging from Wisconsin to North Carolina to Louisiana. But what jumps out at me, for obvious reasons given my position and this website, is the inclusion of sociology on the list of supposedly unproductive and unemployable college majors. If this were just this one instance, I might write it off. But over the past few weeks, I’ve seen and heard sociology pop up in several such conversations and contexts. Perhaps most notably, there’s a radio spot running currently on my favorite sports talk station in the Twin Cities in which some for-profit college identifies sociology as a major that will leave its graduates channel surfing on the couch without meaningful work or income.

Obviously, I couldn’t disagree more. I feel like sociology is an extremely valuable area of study, not only in terms of the general value of a liberal arts education, but in terms of cultivating useful, marketable skills in the workplace. Indeed, with its emphasis on research, communication, critical thinking, and the realities of our social conditions, I see sociology as great preparation for a job market that values soft skills, creative thinking, flexibility and the ability to think, learn, and re-invent one’s self over time.

What’s more, the kinds of graduates we produce and the research we put into the world are of tremendous societal value as well–indispensable, I think, to making a good society as well making money. One of the points in the editorial that is the most objectionable to me is the assertion that we need fewer criminal justice majors, social workers, and elementary school teachers than we do computer engineers and statisticians–which seems to be based mainly on the fact that the starting salaries of the latter seem to be about double those of the former rather than any actual consideration of the societal value and necessity of these occupations. (Oh and by the way: statistics, methods, and data analysis are a key component of any self-respecting sociology curriculum as well.)

I don’t want to dwell on this little cloud of negativity much further at the start of an exciting new academic year and on what, for me at least, will be a day full of sociological labor, except to say two things. First, such talk should serve as a useful reminder of how misunderstood and marginalized our discipline can be. And second, if we understand it properly, such talk can also provide a powerful incentive and inspiration for doing the best work we all can do in the coming year to promote a broader understanding of what sociology is and why our teaching, research, and writing is so necessary and essential in the worlds in which we live.