Sometimes, time gets away from you! As does debt, as shown in this week’s contribution from Dr. Jason Houle, showing the increase and changes in debt over three generations. Other things that can get away from you: March Madness (I mean, it’s called Madness), the reproduction of sexism and racism, and parental worry.
“Out of the Nest and Into the Red,” by Jason N. Houle. Three generations of debt reveal changing ideals and life courses. Oh, and debt. more...
This week we talked about American debt and folded a whole new and incredibly interesting sector of debtors into the conversation: those who’ve gone through the criminal justice system. That’s careful wording, by the way, because you don’t even have to be convicted—just charged—to start racking up legal fees with compounding interest and compounding effects on your future. We also got a look at how race affects school suspensions and the oft-overlooked problem of homelessness among college students. No, it’s not all good news, but with the right information and appropriate action, we can keep moving toward the good news, right? That’s worth something! For palate cleansers, we offer the annual Mardis Gras archive, the DRM-coffee-bot, and why we shouldn’t let law enforcement end up based on the quality of business owners’ gaydar. mesothelioma more...
This week TSP featured great content on immigration, drugs, and healthcare reform from heavy hitters, as well as the incredibly popular Sociological Images monthly recap and a caveat from our editor, keen even with one eye on the Klout scores.
“Crimmigration”: A Roundtable with Tanya Golash-Boza, Ryan King, and Yolanda Vàsquez, by Suzy McElrath, Rahsaan Mahadeo, and Stephen Suh. What happens when criminal and immigration enforcement come together?
“Are Mexicans the Most Successful Immigrant Group in the U.S.?” by Jennifer Lee. If the American Dream is about upward mobility—doing better than your parents’ generation—we’re looking to the wrong racial and ethnic groups for success stories. more...
Reporting live from a snowbank, I’m here to share this week’s picks from The Society Pages! Send provisions—or at least snowblowers—if you can. Or, take a cue from us and hunker down to devour the latest spotlight on the Scholars Strategy Network website: “Lone Star Debacle: The High Price of Obstructing Health Reform.” As their introduction puts it:
Almost a quarter of Texans do not have health insurance—and 13% of all uninsured Americans live in the state. Millions could gain coverage through the Affordable Care Act. But ultra-conservative Texas authorities are doing all they can to block and sabotage reform – hurting health and wellbeing and imposing unnecessary costs on hospitals, community clinics, and state finances.
SSN scholars have looked closely at the extra and unnecessary costs Texas people and health care institutions are paying because of the state’s decisions to obstruct exchange enrollments and refuse new federal funds to expand Medicaid. The picture is not pretty—and the juxtaposition of America’s two largest states, California and Texas, dramatizes the impact of state-level cooperation versus obstruction on the progress of health reform.
This week we unveiled our new TSP on Topic pages, where you can find a curated selection of our content in six major areas. The left hand side of each page is content directly from TSP’s departments, including features, interviews, and other goodies, and the right highlights pieces from our “Community Pages”—our suite of lively, engaging blogs that reveal the sociological imagination at work. Links are on the homepage—have at ’em! more...
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This week on The Society Pages, we tackled drug addiction and harm reduction, body image and stigma, Twitter as a public forum for shaming, marriage equality and health, and the thin line between The Bachelor‘s Juan Pablo and Duck Dynasty‘s Phil Robertson. Plus much more (as always)!
This week, on The Editors’ Desk*, Doug Hartmann enumerated and tried to define** six elements of the sociological worldview. Elsewhere on The Society Pages, our many contributors worked to demonstrate that worldview—enjoy!
*That’s right: we all share one desk. It’s adorable. Possibly even adorkable.
**See what I did there? The man never met a conjunction he didn’t like. more...
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From racial codes to technology design, “bland erotic pudding,” and why college is still worth the cost (but maybe shouldn’t be)—all that and a bag of weed (well, an article on the uneven policing of possession) on this week’s Friday Roundup! more...
This week The Society Pages checked out gender stereotyping and toys, how we communicate our tone online (but really don’t want to talk on the phone), a whole collection of photoshop in the media, fatherhood and race, and we learned a thing or two from our Nordic friends. Enjoy! more...
This week saw outrage over personal loans offered to Nevada teachers just to buy classroom supplies (for their public school rooms!), a flurry of suggested “great books in sociology” reading lists, 40 years of the War on Poverty, another fight in the toy aisle, and, of course, Canada’s gift to the U.S., the Polar Vortex (we’re particularly sorry for the South… at least we Minnesota types have some snowpants we can dig out of the basement). Enjoy! more...
