February is Black History Month but it is not the only time of year we should center conversations around race and racism, according to sociologist Dan Hirschman speaking with USA Today, especially given the organized backlash against racial progress.
We’re working on a *secret new project* that has us thinking about how to balance big picture thinking with zooming in on the complexities of life uncovered in social scientific analysis. Whether we’re imagining our audience as the interested public, students, or a skeptical parent who isn’t quite sure why we picked sociology, we need to balance key takeaways with the data and stories that help explain these findings and showcase the relationships or processes we think our readers should care about. Striking this balance is one of the main challenges of how we think about doing public sociology. It helps to view this as a vision rather than a destination, one we work towards everyday as a student board, especially when the excitement for a new undertaking starts fading in light of the reality of the hard work ahead.
Board member Jacob Otis wrote up new research from Tony Cheng that shows that community listening sessions are not an impartial venue for residents to raise complaints about the New York Police Department (NYPD). Instead, the NYPD focuses on easily resolvable complaints rather than than “rabble-rousing” topics such as police brutality, favor regular pro-police attendees, and choose venues, such as churches and schools, with existing relationships with the police.
Image description clockwise from upper left 1. Older couple holds hands around a tree. 2. Mars Rover 3. An asian chef holds her hands over a plate, seasoning the food 4. Coach Deion Sanders on the Jackson State sideline at the 2021 SWAC Championship
Given Twitter’s uncertain future, and the energy of our board members, particularly our enthusiastic undergrads, we are considering what alternative social media platforms TSP might use to showcase our public sociology work. We aren’t yet sure what this will look like but we are having fun thinking about how we could make TSP go viral and feeling grateful for the advice and participation of a younger, and more trend-sensitive, generation. Do you showcase your academic work on other platforms? Do you wish TSP was on a social media site that you love? Drop us a line at tsp@contexts.org.
Image descriptions, clockwise starting at upper left. 1. A black woman and boy wash their hands at a kitchen sink. 2. The back of a young black person in a red jacket, they are facing a large building in the distance. 3. Image of a small statue of a harried white man, holding a baby and a vacuum. 4. Banner image titled “Q&A with Dr. Ethan Raker” featuring images of magazine pages. Image attribution at the bottom of this post.
Best of 2022
We can’t stop thinking about this piece from new board member Leonardo LaBarre, voted one of our “Best of 2022.” Check out his write-up of research from Dylan Jackson & colleagues showing that kids who are expelled or suspended from school experience earlier and more frequent police encounters.
Today our spring semester kicks off! We’re excited to reunite and welcome a few new board members. I, for one, am feeling energized and ready to tackle some new projects we have in the works and dive back into our regular schedule of meetings, editing, and posting. Every new semester brings fresh faces and challenges, we look forward to what’s ahead.
(Clockwise from top left) A man sits in front of a document, cup of coffee, and laptop, his head resting in his hands; Father helping daughter with schoolwork; Art Shell, then head coach of the LA Raiders, reaching for a handshake; A Kaiser Permanente ad trumpets the organization’s involvement in 2017’s Washington, D.C. Capital TransPride celebration. Image attributions at the end of the this post.
If this week you are celebrating a winter holiday, TSP sends warm wishes as you gather with friends and family. If this is not a holiday time, we wish you peace, rest, and safety. Below, we have one new piece to share and round up some holiday classics. We’ll see you next year!
Today, news broke that Brittney Griner was released from Russian custody. Check out this piece from partner Engaging Sports on the working conditions of WNBA players that, among other consequences, leads players to seek highly lucrative off-season contracts internationally.
This week is our final board meeting of the semester. It’s a bittersweet moment, where we reflect on the accomplishments of the semester and look ahead to coming weeks that (hopefully) feature some more rest, relaxation, and connection. The wheels at TSP do not stop turning during the semester break, we continue to have editor’s meetings, publish new content, re-post our “Best of the Year” pieces, and plan for the coming semester. All the same, we’ll miss seeing each other every Friday morning. Thankfully, we know the weeks will fly by, re-energizing us and inspiring fresh ideas and content for the site.
This week, nominations for our “Best of 2022” went out. We rounded up exceptional pieces from our board members, partner, and community pages. It is a really fun opportunity to reflect on the year and all that we have accomplished. We look forward to announcing the winners and re-running this pieces in our “Best of” series during the semester break.
