New & Noteworthy

Mallory Harrington has a new Discovery on work by Joss Greene on some of the history of gender boundaries in men’s prisons. Covering 1941-2018, this Discovery provides a succinct summary of the development of addressing gender in prisons.

Our media report this week includes The Amsterdam News coverage of Elizabeth Ross Haynes, an African American social worker, sociologist, and author during the early 20th century, Jess Carbino in The New York Times on young, dating adults’ preference to not pay for dating apps, Gaëtan Mangin in The Conversation covering the opinions of older car owns maintaining their old cars as a means of sustainability, Pepper Schwartz in ABC News on the rising use of Ozempic and other GLP-1 agonists for weight loss, and Eric Klinenberg was interviewed by The American Prospect about COVID-19 and some of the impacts social isolation on society.

From the Archives

Vice President Kamala Harris visited an abortion clinic in Minnesota, the first VP to do so. Read this piece from Contexts to learn more about some of the challenges surrounding abortion care.

Dartmouth’s basketball team unionized and Darthmouth has refused to enter into negotiations. Check out our ‘There’s Research on That’ on public opinion on the topic “and revered tradition of amateurism in college sports”, preventing payment of college athletes.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Give Theory a Chance with Kyle Green has a new episode, with Ugo Corte on the work of Gary Alan Fine.

Contexts‘ latest includes an interview with Dr. Sofya Aptekar by Colter Uscola on her recent article in Contexts, Green Card Soldiers.

Council on Contemporary Families has a new interview with Alicia M. Walker and Bella DePaulo on her new book challenging misconceptions about single life.

New & Noteworthy

Nicole Schmitgen has a new Discovery on work by Margarita Torre on women and union support. According to her research, 11% of Black women are a part of unions, more than other racial groups of women. Future union participation by women is expected to rise.

Our Clippings Media Report includes The Cut interview with Gretchen Sisson on her new book and the adoption industry, Elijah Anderson on the continued relevance of W.E.B. Du Bois’s The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study to today, Eric Klinenberg in Plain English with Derek Thompson on aloneness and loneliness, and Robert Bullard on Living on Earth about flooding in Alabama and segregation.

From the Archives

Libraries continue to be the site of controversy for groups who feel libraries allow too radical books onto its shelves. Read our Discovery by Nick Matthews, Hotspots in Red-Hot Demand in Rural America, to learn more.

Tax Day is coming quick! Learn about some tax myths from Contexts here.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts latest include:

• Sophie X. Liu writes up study by Nicolo Pinchak and colleagues reveals that the presence of dogs in neighborhoods is related with decreased rates of property and street crimes.
• Jaeun Lim and Benjamin Cornwell‘s latest study challenges the genetic explanation for obesity and detail the importance of social networks on this measure of health, covered by Rose Xueqing Zhang.

Council on Contemporary Families:

• Do I Belong? Isolation and Identity Among Minoritized Youth by Sophia Rodriguez and Gabrielle Cabrera Wy write up their research on minoritized students ‘sense of belonging’ and find they have a weaker ‘sense of belonging’ and more bullying.
• Debby Herbeni covers some findings from her new book, Yes, Your Kid, on today’s teens, sex, and communication.

First Publics has a new Dialogues:

• First Publics talks with Dalton Conley (You May Ask Yourself: An Introduction to Thinking Like a Sociologist), Shamus Khan (A Sociology Experiment), Lisa Wade (Terrible Magnificent Sociology), and Kathleen Korgen (Sociology in Action) on writing their Sociology textbooks.

New & Noteworthy

Richie Zweigenhaft published a new TSP Special on the race and gender of people holding fortune corporate board seats. Comparing 2011 to 2023, Zweigenhaft found that white men have gone from about 2/3 majority to slightly less than 1/2 minority. Read the special here, and the full article here.

This week’s TSP clippings includes Eric Klinenberg on MSNBC’s Why Is This Happening? The Chris Hayes Podcast and in The New Yorker to discuss his new book 2020: One City, Seven People, and the Year Everything Changed, Elizabeth Wrigley-Field in the StarTribune following new research by Wrigley-Field and colleagues that suggests ‘excess deaths’ (the number of deaths over the average expected deaths in a time period), Emine Fidan Elcioglu was interviewed by The Trace about her research examining a southwest border militia group that supplied information on migration routes to the U.S. Border Patrol, and Surinder S. Jodhka in IndiaSpend on India’s caste system fueling social exclusion.

From the Archives

Justice Alito made some controversial statements about same-sex marriage. Read our ‘There’s Research on That’ by Caity Curry and Allison Nobles to learn about some of the complexities surrounding LGBT parents.

Less than a week ago there was a Neo-Nazi rally in downtown Nashville. Learn about some similarities between 1930s Germany and the U.S. today by reading this piece from the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts Latest pieces include:

• Sophie X. Liu on some of the financial and social complexities of the legalization of cannabis in California.
• Katie Mercer and Stefanie Mollborn on the class differences of distancing during COVID-19 and affluent communities’ perceptions of their moral superiority through privilege.

Council on Contemporary Families has several new pieces including:

• Bethany Everett writes on some of the State-Level protections for infant and maternal health of the LGBT community.
• Marcus Maloney and Kate Babin cover some of the implications of Andrew Tate and the appeal of the manosphere.
• Lauren E. Harris covers her research on older adult dating during COVID-19 and interviews with 100 single adults ages 60-83.

The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies posted Professor John Packer‘s annual Holocaust Remembrance Day Lecture, titled “Remembering, Learning, and Applying ‘Never Again’ as the Essential Lesson of the Holocaust.”

New & Noteworthy

This week we have a new Discovery from Mason Jones on Self-Help Books from work by Amber Gwynne. The research found that readers learned that the books were not a “quick fix” and they still needed “to do the heavy lifting”.

Valentine’s Day was this past week and we reposted some pieces from us and our partners to acknowledge the holiday. This includes recent coverage of some sociology by Lauren Harris on ABC’s The Golden Bachelor, Valentine’s Day in Japan, and more.

Our media report from this week includes Scott Schieman (Professor of Sociology at the University of Toronto) in The Conversation on how accurate the ‘unhappy worker’ narrative is, coverage of Boris Kagarlitsky’s (prominent Russian sociologist and editor-in-chief of the Marxist online publication Rabkor) sentencing to five years in prison for his critical view of the war in Ukraine, Tina Fetner‘s (Professor of Sociology at McMaster University) new book, Sex in Canada: The Who, Why, When, and How of Getting Down Up North, in Brighter World and Vancouver is Awesome, and Christina Ciocca Eller in The Harvard Gazette on educational institutions rankings.

From the Archives

Orthodox Greece recently legalized gay marriage. Read Louisa L. Roberts‘s Special Feature on research of international attitudes toward same-sex marriage to learn more.

Russia has made advances in space-based nuclear weapons. Learn about some of the history of testing nuclear weapons from 1945-1998 from this Sociological Images piece by Gwen Sharp.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Context’s Winter 2024 is out and ready to read! This issue includes pieces on eviction, “Green Card Soldiers”, race and drug addiction, Q&A with Malcolm Gladwell, and much more!

Council on Contemporary Families has two pieces to read. First, Richard Petts and Daniel L. Carlson write up some of their research on domestic labor in Society and Mental Health and how this work extends far beyond childcare. And second, Jennifer Randles and Megan Carroll write up their different research studies on the societal and cultural beliefs surrounding the role of fathers.

First Publics‘s latest includes Calvin John Smiley‘s work on building trust and using practical applications of sociological concepts in education to address the prison-industrial complex.

New & Noteworthy

In case you missed it, the Super Bowl was this weekend. Read up on some of TSP’s Super Bowl-related sociology here. We also have a new Discovery on the NFL’s Rooney Rule by TSP board member Nadia Jackson-Fitch from work by Christopher I. Rider, James B. Wade, Anand Swaminathan, and Andreas Schwab in the American Journal of Sociology, using promotion data on NFL coaches from 1985-2015.

From the Archives

Does Blindness Beat Bias? by Evan Stewart in Sociological Images on one dating reality show, Love is Blind, that eliminates visual cues (new season coming out this Valentines’ Day).

No presidential debates for the 2024 election? Polls may indicate little impact, but remember polls aren’t always the most reliable representations of data. Read this piece from Contexts on who chooses to participate in online political polls by Danielle Koonce.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts latest:

• How does parenting impact happiness? Read how different groups experience happiness and parenting differently by Parker Muzzerall.
• Stephanie Ternullo interviewed over 50 residents of Motorville Wisconsin about how local organizations’ contexts, organized labor, and other aspects of rural America strengthen progressive politics or shifts towards populism.

First Publics has two new Class Notes:

• Anna Rogers writes about the importance of incorporating popular culture in the classroom to engage, enhance learning, and encourage critical thinking.
• Shelby Clark discusses her using Community-Based-Learning in a sociology class and how it can further involve students to get engaged in their communities.

Sociological Images has a new piece on how Large Language Models can have an impact on society and religion by Evan Stewart.

New & Noteworthy

We have two new pieces from TSP for you to check out:

• Super Bowl LVIII is this upcoming Sunday. Read some sociology on the Super Bowl, football, and sports from us and our partners. The list includes Politics and Sports: Strange, Secret Bedfellows by Douglas Hartmann and Kyle Green, Hegemonic Masculinity in Super Bowl Commercials by David Mayeda, and more!

• Clippings, featuring Rebecca London on changes over the last 30 years on how children play in KPBS, Susan Brown in a USA Today about ‘gray divorce’ and the growing rate of divorce for adults over age 55, Martin Schröder on generational differences of work ethic in Phys.org.

From the Archives

• Flooding in Southern California, LA, and other natural disasters leave millions in damage and several dead. Read about the unequal aid that follows these disasters from our Discovery on work by Junia Howell and James R. Elliott.

• In the spirit of the Super Bowl, check out our ‘There’s Research on That’ by Jean Marie Maiere on the health and eating habits of athletes.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

• Contexts has a new piece by Rose Xueqing Zhang on work by Khoa Phan Howard about sexual racism in interracial friendships for gay men.

• The latest from Council on Contemporary Families includes Hannah Tessler and Canton Winer writing on the masculine expectations of men in asexual and romantic relationships.

New & Noteworthy

This week Mallory Harrington writes up work by Aruna Ranganathana and Aayan Dasa on Baul sangeet folk-music and the level of asynchronous and synchronous creativity experienced by men and women musicians. There were different experiences for women and men in the recording space and asynchronous environments were preferred by women.

From the Archives

The first Native American actress, Lily Gladstone, is the first to be nominated Best Actress for the upcoming Academy Awards. Check out this Sociological Images piece to learn about how U.S. schools teach about indigenous history in the United States.

Texas’s governor Greg Abbott has mobilized the Texas National Guard and state troopers at the U.S.-Mexico border, leading to issues with the federal border patrol. Read more about the border from a recent Sociological Images piece by Ghazah Abbasi.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

There are two new pieces in Contexts this week:

• Colter Uscola writes up work by Beka Guluma on immigrants think about their racial and cultural identity as they acclimate to America.
• Marcus A. Brooks covers some of the discourse surrounding Sociology’s balancing between a scientific and social justice focus.

Council on Contemporary Families also has two new reads:

• An interview with Jessi Streib on luckocracy, which is based on hidden information and class-netural selection criteria.
• Daniel L. Carlson, Priya Fielding-Singh, Richard Petts, and Kristi Williams cover some of the health and employment impacts of COVID-19 on mothers.

First Publics has a new Reflections:

• Taura Taylor writes about the sociological character arc and the personal and intellectual journey and purpose of sociology in our lives.

New & Noteworthy

A new year and new Clippings from Mallory Harrington! This week includes Alexandrea Ravenelle in CNBC on the gig economy, Jacqui Frost in The Conversation writing on atheist churches, Mark Whiting in Newsweek examining common sense, Hajar Yazdiha in The Emancipator on Dr. Martin Luther King, and John Skrentny in the Los Angeles Times on STEM workers.

Backstage with TSP

The Spring semester is off and running! We have a few new faces at our weekly TSP board meeting this semester. This semester we will continue to bring you Discoveries and ‘There’s Research on That’ pieces, and have a number of new projects in the work. Stay tuned for more!

More from our Partners & Community Pages

The latest and greatest from Contexts includes:

• Parker Muzzerall on the climate crisis and military spending.
• Elena G. Van Stee on family and politics.

Council on Contemporary Families has a new piece:

• Lauren Harris writes her work with other researchers on communication patterns of families during COVID-19.

New & Noteworthy

Our latest includes a new ‘There’s Research on That’ by me on union organizing in the United States. Check it out to learn about some brief history, tactics used by unions and employers, and some of the impacts of unions on workers.

From the Archives

It’s an election year (in case you somehow missed it). Read some pieces by us and our partners to learn more about voting suppression, nationalism, and more!

I recently visited a “Little Free Library” with my kids and found some interesting literature inside. Read this piece from Contexts about the now-well-established phenomenon.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts‘ latest includes:

• A conversation with Elena G. van Stee and Hajar Yazdiha on the political misappropriation of the legacy of Martin Luther King Jr.
• Holly Hummer writes on her research in ‘a good time to not have children‘ about women without children during COVID-19 and their views on motherhood.
• Trica Keaton on racial profiling in France, and its raceblindness within its national policy.

Council on Comtemporary Families has a new piece:

• Kelley Fong’s new book Investigating Families: Motherhood in the Shadow of Child Protective Services includes her research with vulnerable families and CPS.

New & Noteworthy

We have two new Discoveries for you to read:

• Policing and Crimmigration by Leo LaBarre on a study by Michael T. Light, Jason P. Robey, and Jungmyung Kim how local and federal law enforcement in California and Texas differently work together when policing immigrants. They found immigrants were almost 10% more likely than citizens to be incarcerated in Texas, whereas the immigrant-citizen gap was only 2% in California.
• Teachers’ Racial Blame in the Classroom by John Purnell covers research by Jayanti Owens on race and the use of blame by high school teachers toward students. Dr. Owens shows evidence of ‘tough love’ by teachers of color towards Black and Latino students.

Check out some of our ‘Best of 2023’ pieces including:

• Defending Against Social Media in Criminal Trials by Mallory Harrington (best opening line).
• Roses are Red, Violets are Blue: Online Dating May Have a Gendered View by Nicole Schmitgen (best title).
• Not Just a Monolith: Complicating Asian American Identity by Shania Kuo (best TROT).

From the Archives

Government shutdown avoided? Read our TROT on shutdowns to learn more about how impactful.

Children and adults experiencing homelessness are particularly vulnerable to cold weather, especially in Minnesota. Check out this World Suffering piece by Ron Anderson The Intractable Suffering of the Homeless to understand some of the complexities, and risks.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

The latest from Contexts includes:

• Rose Xueqing Zhang writes up a recent publication by Sarah Goodrum, Jessie Slepicka, William Woodward, and Beverly Kingston on how school structure and culture can contribute to violence.
• Parker Muzzerall covers research by Pierre-Christian Fink on the front and backstage of financial crises.

Council on Contemporary Families a piece on love and loss:

• Deborah Carr writes about The Golden Bachelor and older adult dating and five important truths about widowhood, grief, and loss from The Golden Bachelor.