Friday Roundup

Since last we met…

The Editors’ Desk:

“Tie Day: R.I.P. Professor Gusfield,” by Doug Hartmann. Doug remembers Joseph R. Gusfield, author of Symbolic Crusade and The Culture of Public Problems.

“Research on a Potato Chip Budget,” by Chris Uggen and Doug Hartmann. TSP’s co-editors on the devastating effects of HR1806, the proposed reauthorization bill funding the National Science Foundation, which would strip 45% of the funding for social, behavioral, and economic sciences.

Office Hours Podcast:

“Joyce Bell on Social Work and the Black Power Movement,” with Matt Gunther. Bell’s work demonstrates the resources and tensions that radical social movements bring to civil society.

There’s Research on That!:

“Election 2016: Let the Sexism Begin!” by Caty Taborda and Sarah Catherine Billups, with research from Caroline Heldman, Lisa Wade, Susan J. Carroll, Stephanie Olson, Kathleen Dlan, Jennifer L. Lawless, Kathryn Pearson, Sheri Kunovich, and Pamela Paxton.

“When Women Lead,” by Caty Taborda and Sarah Catherine Billups, with research from Erin I. Demaiter, Tracy L. Adams, and Alexandra Kalev.

“Advanced Placement Testing Season,” by Amy August, with research from Grace Kao, Jennifer S. Thompson, Daniel G. Solorzano, Armida Ornelas, Joshu Klugman, Thurston Domina, Joshua Saldana, Saul Geiser, Veronica Santelices, and Wayne Au.

“May Day Part I: The U.S. and Inequality,” by Erik Kojola, with research from ChangHwan Kim, Arthur Sakamoto, Bruce Western, Jake Rosenfeld, Winfried Koeniger, Marco Leonardi, and Luca Nunzjata. more...

This week, Cyborgology reported from the #TtW15 conference (that’s “Theorizing the Web 2015” for those not down with the hashtags), while we all wished Max Weber and Emile Durkheim happy birthdays, celebrated the Riot Grrrl movement, and considered guns, privacy, and presidential politics. Dive on in! more...

As always, we’ve got a little something for everyone… dive in!

Feature:

“Can We Race Together? An Autopsy,” by Ellen Berrey. Starbucks’ Race Together program sure seemed to unite people, but not necessarily around the need to abandon social constructions of race.

The Reading List:

“Caught in the Culture Wars’ Crossfire,” by Jack Delehanty.

There’s Research on That!

“Rights and Rights: Religion at Work,” by Jacqui Frost and Evan Stewart. “Restoring Religious Freedom Acts” affect the rights and freedoms of more than business owners and LGBTQ customers. Frost and Stewart look to scholars Amy Adamczyk and Cassady Pitt; Penny Edgell, Joseph Gerteis, and Douglas Hartmann (hey! We know that guy!); András Tilcsik; Michael Wallace, Bradley R. E. Wright, and Allen Hyde; and Bradley R. E. Wright, Michael Wallace, John Bailey, and Allen Hyde.

Citings & Sightings:

“XXX’d Out: What if Porn Disappeared,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. Sociologist Chauntelle Tibbals, author of the forthcoming book Exposure: A Sociologist Explores Sex, Society and Adult Entertainment, on why shutting down mainstream porn would harm performers.

“Parenting: QT Better than OT,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. Melissa Milkie and Kei Nomaguchi share the findings of their recent study with the Washington Post: “I could literally show you 20 charts, and 19 of them would show no relationship between the amount of parents’ time and children’s outcomes… Nada. Zippo,” says Milkie.

“Spitting and Suspicion,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. On the racialization of low-level crimes in a large midwestern city (hey! We know that city!) with Nancy Heitzeg and community consultant William W. Smith IV.

“Toking While Black,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Sociologist Pamela E. Oliver on the larger patterns that have resulted in disproportionate drug arrests of African Americans even in states with legalized marijuana.

“For Gay Black Men, Negative Stereotypes May Have One Positive Consequence,” by Caty Taborda. When David Pedulla‘s research team sent out resumes for identical job candidates and descriptions of jobs they were perfect for, but manipulated whether their hobbies suggested they were gay, gay black men won out. Why?

“An Eye-Clopening Workforce Trend,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. As small-staff shops move to having the same workers open and close the store, wociologist Gerhard Bosch tells the New York Times about the European Union’s required 11-hour rest period between shifts.

“Money Talks,” by Jack Delehanty. New apps for payments and money transfers are nice and easy, but the record of your spending might say more about you than you’d like.

Give Methods a Chance Podcast:

“Keith N. Hampton on Visual Content Analysis of Urban Space,” with Kyle Green:

“I think the biggest strength is that this is truly the only way to do a longitudinal study of public space. We can hang out in a public space for months, or maybe even a year, but doing that for two or three decades is simply impossible. So, for any large scale, longitudinal study of urban public spaces, I think this is probably the only method that is available to us.”

“Daniel Sui on the Methodological Advantages and Limitations of Big Data,” with Sarah Shannon:

“In terms of the applications of big data, it is limited by only your imagination. That is why big data has attracted interest by industry, government agencies all over the world, and, of course, academics and scholarly researchers.”

The Editors’ Desk:

“Holy Week, Hoops, and Hoosier State Law,” by Doug Hartmann. Last week, the eyes of the nation were on Indiana for two reasons: the contentious “Restoring Religious Freedom Act” and the NCAA Men’s March Madness basketball tournament. Turns out, that’s not such a surprising cross-over (even if Wal-Mart and NASCAR’s calls for repeal of the law may have been).

Scholars’ Strategy Network:

“How Educational Opportunities Can Help Disabled Americans Break out of Low-Wage Occupational Ghettos,” by David Pettinicchio.

“Why Historically Black Colleges and Universities Remain Vital in U.S. Higher Education,” by C. Rob Shorette II.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“‘Daddy’s Home!’ Increasing Men’s use of Paternity Leave,” by Ankita Patnaik.

A Few from the Community Pages:

• Sociological Images rounds up the month of March and takes another look at the data on moms’ time spent with kids. They also highlight data on U.S. police officers’ citizen kill rates, wonder if marijuana is a gateway drug (maybe to no), look at Devah Pager’s research on race and job applicants, and show that the vast majority of college presidents believe rape is “some other school’s problem.”
• Cyborgology reviews Beautiful You, considers Rolling Stone’s failures, augurs the augmented present, and warns that good encryption doesn’t mean good government.
• Sociology Lens kicks off its “advice for grad students” month with five things they wish they’d known before entering a grad program, five tips for applying to a doctoral school, and a light-hearted warning for those who would love a grad student.
• Education & Society looks at Howard Bloom and Christina Weiland‘s new work on Head Start Programs, Sarah M. Ovink‘s work on Latina college-goers, and Fabian T. Pfeffer’s work on social mobility, affluence, and higher education.

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As TSP sends its crew off to Kansas City for the Midwest Sociological Science meetings, things keep buzzing along at HQ! Here’s what we’ve been up to:

The Reading List:

“Rating Your Corporate Peers,” by Erik Kojola. Amanda Sharkey and Patricia Bromley investigate certification programs’ influence on corporate social and environmental responsibility in the American Sociological Review.

There’s Research on That!

“The Politics of Peeing,” by Caty Taborda. Research from Suzanne Kessler, Wendy McKenna, Laurel Westbrook, Kristen Schilt, Betsy Lucal, Sheila Cavanagh, and Tey Meadow paints a picture of gender binaries and public space—and, as SocImages puts it, who goes where.

“47 Senators: Cultural Performance and Politics,” by Jack Delehanty. Why an open letter to Iran isn’t really about Iran, with research by Jeffrey C. Alexander, Jonathan Wyrtzen, Craig Calhoun, and Rhys H. Williams. more...

Welcome, spring! Here’s some fresh soc to start the season off right.

Office Hours Podcast:

“Victor Rios on Policing Black and Latino Boys,” with Sarah Shannon. A TSP-alum, Shannon talks with Rios about his award-winning book Punished.

The Editors’ Desk:

“Education & Society,” by Chris Uggen. Welcoming TSP’s newest Community Page, under the direction of Rob Warren.

“Midwest Sociological Society Meetings: Register Now!” An update from MSS president Doug Hartmann on the meetings, which will feature Dalton Conley and Lisa Wade.

There’s Research on That!

“Joke’s on You: The Italy/ISIS Twitter Exchange,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. With research from Christie Davies, Elise Kramer, Karen Parkhill, and more.

“Race and the Classroom,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. With research from Sylvia Hurtado, Josh Packard, Lisa M. Nunn, and more.

“How Hate Crimes Count,” by Evan Stewart, Jack Delehanty, Ryan Larson, and Stephen Suh. With research from Ryan King, Jack Glaser, Louise Cainkar, and more.

The Reading List:

“Misdemeanors as a Form of Social Control,” by Ryan Larson. New work from Issa Kohler-Hausmann.

“Egalitarian Dreams, Unequal Marriages,” by Anne Kaduk. Research from David S. Pedulla and Sarah Thebaud.

“Talking Trash: High Status Explanations for Watching Low Brow TV,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. Charles Allan McCoy and Roscoe Scarborough in Poetics.

Give Methods a Chance Podcast:

“Matthew Hughey on His Tripartite Methodological Approach to Understanding Film,” with Kyle Green. TSP alum Green interviews UConn’s Hughey.

Citings & Sightings:

“Subsidizing the Suburban Commute,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Alexandra Murphy on why social programs must extend to transportation.

“Old Dogs, New Tricks,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. Christine Whelan on SMART goal-setting.

“‘Treat Yo’Self’ to Some Sociology,” by Caty Taborda. Comic and actor Aziz Ansari teams up with sociologist Eric Klinenberg. The rest is… a new book!

“D8TR Dilemma: Millennials ‘Just Talking’, ‘Hanging Out’,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. Kathy Hull on the new terminology of budding relationships.

“Unsurprising Stats: Hollywood Lacks Diversity,” by Caty Taborda. UCLA’s Darnell Hunt and Ana-Christina Ramon see hope for diversity in new entertainment production platforms like Netflix.

Scholars Strategy Network:

“Financial Reforms Alone Cannot Reduce Household Debts for Americans Facing Low Wages and Insecure Jobs,” by Sara M. Bernardo.

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

Council on Contemporary Families:

“An Analysis of New Census Data on Family Structure, Education, and Income,” by Shannon Cavanagh.

A Few from the Community Pages:

• Education and Society debuts its new interview feature with three questions with Josipa Roksa.
• Sociological Images rounds up the best of February, revisits Skull-Face, and talks Irish dance and changing ideas of race.
• Sociology Lens on pronouns, gender policing, and a new(ish) acronym: PGPs.
• Girl w/ Pen! and its latest Manly Musings: Beyond “Bossy” or “Brilliant”? Gender Bias in Student Evaluations.

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February may be a short month, but we’re never short on sociology to share.

Roundtables:

“Is the (Tea) Party Over?” by Erik Kojola and Jack Delehanty. Scholars Meghan A. Burke, Ruth Braunstein, Andrew Perrin, and Robert Horwitz weigh in on the past, present, and future of a young political movement.

The Editors’ Desk:

“Oscar Winners Put Social Issues Center Stage.” A look at some accessible research on four big social issues raised in Academy Award speeches last weekend.

“Contexts: New Issue, New Site,” by Doug Hartmann. New editors Philip Cohen and Syed Ali have put out their first issue and launched the revamped contexts.org, hosted by thesocietypages.org.

There’s Research on That!

“Extra! Extra! Read All about It, All the Time!” by Sarah Catherine Billups. A look at media saturation with research from Sara Goldrick-Rab, Lauren Schudde, Jennie E. Brand, Fabian T. Pfeffer, Matthew Curry, Yu Xie, Mina Dadgar, Madeline J. Trimble, Christopher Jepsen, Kenneth Troske, and Paul Coomes.

“Who—and How—Community College Helps,” by Anne Kaduk and Amy August. A sociological primer on Obama’s plan to make two years of community college free, with work from Kenneth T. Andrews, Neal Caren, Rachel Best, Arnout van de Rijt, Eran Shor, Charles Ward, Steven Skiena, Karin Wahl-Jorgensen, and Stephen Ostertag.

Citings & Sightings:

“Cheap Gas Has Pricey Consequences,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Guangqing Chi on the way pump prices change driving habits.

“God and Good Citizens,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. Penny Edgell on the perceived tie between religion and morality.

“Orphaned by Incarceration,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. When Sesame Street adds a character with a parent behind bars, Christopher Wildeman, Sara Wakefield, Kristin Turney, and John Hagan talk to The Nation.

“Happily Never After? The Challenges of ‘Marrying Up’,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. Scholar Jessi Streib discusses how cross-class marriages aren’t as common as they seem in the movies, but they certainly can, and do, work out in the real world.

Give Methods a Chance Podcast:

“Naomi Sugie on Using Smartphones for Research,” with Sarah Esther Lageson. Naomi Sugie tells GMAC, “Smartphones have their limitations, but they… can expand the realm of empirical investigation for researchers to consider questions and ideas we just weren’t able to think about before…”

Contexts Magazine:

The Winter 2015 issue is brimming with goodies! Some are available on contexts.org, but the full issue is out from behind its paywall for another three weeks at contexts.sagepub.com.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Equal Pay? Not Yet for Mothers,” by Shelley J. Correll.

Scholars Strategy Network:

“The Promising Launch of Community-Oriented Charter Schools in New Orleans,” by Brian R. Beabout and Joseph L. Boselovic.

A Few from the Community Pages:

• Speaking of kids with incarcerated parents, Sociological Images takes a look. They also ask, who’s harmed by pesticide drift? Taking a turn, they consider the social construction of chest hair, pharma companies’ spending, and how strawberries caught on in the U.S.
• Sociology Lens asks, “Why are we obsessed with what teens are doing on social media?“
• Cyborgology checks out a new ad campaign, “#SpeakBeautiful: Reinforcing a dangerous metric,” and wonders “Why Do Many Reasonable People Trust Science?“

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This week on TheSocietyPages.org…

Office Hours Podcast:

“Hahrie Han on Organizing Political Activists,” with Evan Stewart. Dr. Han discusses her latest book and the shaping of political movements.

Teaching TSP:

“Intro to Sociological Methods Using the Reading List,” by Amy August. An exercise—with worksheets—designed to help students learn methods by distilling academic journal articles.

The Reading List:

“The KKK’s Living Legacy,” by Evan Stewart. New research from Rory McVeigh, David Cunningham, and Justin Farrell shows the Klan’s activities in the ’60s continue to affect today’s Southern politics.

Citings & Sightings:

“Self-Segregation in San Francisco Schools,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Studies find school choice works through parents’ social networks to segregate schools.

“Working for the Long Weekend,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. Long weekends make a great treat, but one sociologist argues adopting the schedule full-time wouldn’t help work-life balance.

Scholars Strategy Network:

“Does Public Education Improve When Urban Districts Manage a ‘Portfolio’ of Schools?” by Katrina Buckley.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Men against Women, or the Top 20 Percent against the Bottom 80?” by Leslie McCall.

A Few from the Community Pages:

• Sociological Images goes to Mardis Gras!
• Cyborgology on the exclusive aesthetic of writing—long-hand.
• Sociology Lens on the influence of Facebook in UK elections.

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Not at all spooky, but always “soc-y.”

There’s Research on That!

“Justifying Our Love,” by Jacqui Frost. Americans love love, even when it hurts. How have love and culture mingled to create modern “love”? Frost brings research from Eva Illouz, Ann Swidler, Francesca Cancian, and Anthony Giddens.

“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.

The Editors’ Desk:

“The New Yorker: Champion of Serious Sociology,” by Doug Hartmann. Admiring the work of Kelefa Sanneh, Jill Lepore, and Adam Gopnik, who are all bringing sociology’s big ideas to the Big Apple.

Give Methods a Chance:

“Amy Schalet on In-Depth Interviews,” with Kyle Green. A leading sociologist on the methodology behind a time-consuming, but very rewarding, research technique.

Citings & Sightings:

“Books Behind Bars: College Courses in Prisons,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Using reading for rehabilitation.

“Could Porn Lead to Sex Trafficking?” by Caty Taborda. One researcher argues a correlation between consumption of pornography and demand for sex trafficking.

“The Anti-Vaxxer Vote,” by Caty Taborda. Does vaccination refusal break along party lines?

“Cheats in Cleats,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. When sports scandals break, are they amplified by public notions of sport as an almost sacred space?

“Workplaces May Create Inequalities at Home,” by Caty Taborda. Bringing work home has more than one meaning.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Valentine’s Day Fact Sheet on Healthy Sex,” by Adina Nack.

Scholars Strategy Network:

“Schools Adopting Digital Tools Without Evidence that They Boost Student Achievement,” by Patricia Burch, Annalee Good, Caroly J. Heinrich, and Chandi Wagner.

A Few from the Community Pages:

• Graphic Sociology on a Stakeholder Theory Diagram (aka, a donut).
• Sociological Images on the late 19th century Supreme Court case that decided whether tomatoes were fruits or vegetables and the globalization of commodified love.
• Cyborgology on using hashtags to speak up in a broad, thoughtful way.

This week on The Society Pages:

There’s Research on That!

“Curbing Police Profiteering,” by Ryan Larson. New policies put the brakes on civil forfeiture. With research from Eric Blumenson, Eva Nilsen, John L. Worrall, and others.

“Parents Prepping Kids for Racism,” by Lisa Gulya and Alex Manning. The NYTimes’ Charles Blow and NYC Mayor Bill deBlasio aren’t the only Americans who talk with their kids about expecting and reacting to discrimination. Research from Diane Hughes, Patricia Hill Collins, Cady Berkel, and Stephanie I. Coard.

The Reading List:

“The Social Costs of Punishment, from Prisoners to Pupils,” by Jacqui Frost. Brea Perry and Edward Morris show how school suspensions lower all students’ achievement, even those who aren’t suspended.

Citings & Sightings:

“2014: When Social Media Changed Sports Culture,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Dave Zirin on public pressures to address concussions and crimes, citing Harry Edwards from UC-Berkeley.

“What Doulas Do,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. The social role and medical mediation work of doulas, citing Lisa Hall.

“The Political and Cultural Problem of Paid Leave,” by Jack Delahanty. The NYTimes’ Upshot blog looks to Ruth Milkman‘s research on policies for working parents.

Scholars Strategy Network:

“Learning about Commonalities Can Improve Student-Teacher Relationships and Boost Achievement,” by Hunter Gehlbach.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“The Gender Pay Gap by Race and Ethnicity,” by Sarah Jane Glynn and Jane Ferrell.

A Few from the Community Pages:

• Cyborgology on the tyranny of small-town Internet, creating a “data-us,” and the difficulty of recognizing—and liking—the aggregated social media self.
• Sociological Images on physiognomy, leotards, stereotypes about feminists, work under capitalism, and state and local taxes as penalties on the poor.
• Sociology Lens on the “nuclear taboo,” unqualified teachers, and whether the LGBTQ community will ever be ubiquitous.
• Feminist Reflections on life as a roller derby queen.
• Girl w/ Pen! on the fluidity of male sexuality.

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This week has seen the beginning of the new semester at the University of Minnesota and new additions to our TSP graduate editorial board. Be sure to follow these up-and-comers as they begin to report and shape sociology in the public sphere!

The Editors’ Desk:

“Public Criminology and the Social Media Echo Chamber,” by Chris Uggen. How Uggen approaches public appearances and truly translating sociology for different audiences.

There’s Research on That!

“Taking Stock of Torture,” by Evan Stewart. When it comes to interrogation techniques, the choice to use torture has little to do with proven outcomes. Stewart looks to research by Randall Collins, Jared Del Rosso, John Hagan, Gabrielle Ferrales, Guillermina Jasso, and Diane Vaughan.

The Reading List:

“Active Learning and STEM Success,” by Amy August. New research from Scott Freeman and his colleagues compare the outcomes of teaching techniques, and Nobel Prize winning physicist Carl Wieman says, “Sounds about right.” (I’m paraphrasing here…)

Citings & Sightings:

“Trial Hype: The Different Allures of the Tsarnaev and Hernandez Cases,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. Northeastern University’s Jack Levin on how trials attract attention in specific ways.

“Modeling: A Tough Job at Any Size,” by Sarah Catherine Billups. Sociologist Amanda Czerniawski has walked a mile—or at least a runway—in those shoes.

“A Sociology of Celebrity Sanctions,” by Neeraj Rajasekar. UT-Austin prof Ari Adut chimes in on when corporate interests start taking an interest in celebrity crimes.

“Women at the Top Find the View Depressing,” by Caty Taborda. Tetyana Pudrovska shares findings from her research on highly successful women.

“Twitter Tension?” by Sarah Catherine Billups. When it comes to social media, it’s not all bad news, says sociologist Dhiraj Murthy in Smithsonian Magazine.

Give Methods a Chance Podcast:

“David Knoke on Network Analysis,” with Sarah Esther Lageson.

Scholars Strategy Network:

“Targeting Muslims in the Name of National Security,” by Saher Selod.

Council on Contemporary Families:

“Child-Rearing Norms and Practices in Contemporary American Families,” by Sandra Hofferth.

“The Youth and Beauty Mystique: Its Costs for Women and Men,” by Stephanie Coontz.

A Few from the Community Pages:

• “Can We Finish the Gender Revolution?” asks Families As They Really Are.
• “Elite University Degrees Do Not Protect Black People from Racism,” asserts Sociological Images (Barack Obama nods woefully). Further, “We Have Less Control Over Our Reproductive Bodies than We Think.”
• Graphic Sociology is back! “The New York Times Notable Books and Gender Equity.”
• Sociology Lens wonders if “Meritocracy” is “Neoliberalism’s Fig Leaf.” Intriguing!

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