sociology

New & Noteworthy

This week’s Clippings by Mallory Harrington includes Swiss sociologist and mental health advocate Jennifer Walter’s Threads post on the Trump administration’s “shock doctrine” to cognitively overwhelm citizens; Tonika Lewis Johnson and Maria Krysan’s new book, Don’t Go: Stories of Segregation and How to Disrupt It, highlighting how warnings to avoid Chicago’s South and West sides reinforce harmful segregation; Ardeshir Geravand’s caution that Iran’s soaring inflation may foment social unrest if citizens’ legitimate paths to economic mobility remain blocked; and Jamie Lee Kucinskas’s forthcoming The Loyalty Trap: Conflicting Loyalties of Civil Servants Under Increasing Autocracy, on the challenges American civil servants faced during Trump’s first term.

Our latest podcast episode includes TSP Board members Jordyn Wald, Emma Goldstein, and Forrest Lovette discussing Tressie McMillan Cottom recent opinion piece in The New York Times on “Dry January”, or avoiding drinking alcohol during the month of January.

Francesca Bernardino‘s new piece, Listening to Music (and Being Tracked) In the Streaming Age, writes on research by Michael James Walsh in Media, Culture & Society, covering how music streaming services like Spotify and Apple Music blur the line between personal listening habits and public identity. These social media-like elements heighten self-consciousness and spotlight the burden of constant data collection.

From the Archives

According to a recent NYT article, 33% of 8th graders read at a “below basic” level according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. COVID-19 and the move to online classes (which has been associated with absenteeism) has been one suggested source of the decline, as well as the increased shift of reading on devices. Check out this Discovery from 2022 on how virtual schooling had (and has) impacts beyond the classroom.

President Trump signed an executive order directing the Education Department to prioritize funding school choice programs and making alternative schooling more accessible to families. This TROT from 2019 reviews research on school choice and public education, showing that school choice can reinforce inequality.

The Super Bowl is this weekend. Check out this list of some sociology pieces by us and our partners before the big game.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts

• shedding the wealth by Colter J. Uscola covers research by Julian Posada on Venezuelan gig workers losing earnings to costly intermediaries and volatile crypto transactions.
• intergenerational costs also by Colter J. Uscola summarizes research by Veronica L. Horowitz, Ryan Larson, Robert Stewart, and Christopher Uggen on how monetary sanctions extend beyond individuals, leaving intergenerational stigma and financial strain on disadvantaged families.
• a woman walks into a brothel… by Parker Muzzerall writes up Eileen Tsang‘s research on women who purchase sex from male workers, seeking intimacy, pleasure, and gender role reversal—challenging traditional views of commercial sex.

Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies

• Musk for Forgetting, against Democracy by Joachim Savelsberg unpacks Elon Musk’s support for Germany’s far-right AfD and the recent 80th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz.

Council on Contemporary Families

• Cherished Family Possessions, Celebrity, and News Coverage of the Los Angeles Fires by Michelle Janning writes on the LA fires shattering, the city’s mythical image, highlighting the deep cultural significance of home, possessions, and family narratives—even as celebrity losses blurred lines between relatability and privilege.

First Publics

• Creating Space for Constructive Conflict in Teaching Theory by Tess E. Starman writes on her experiences teaching sociological theory at a conservative-leaning Catholic university through embracing disagreement, power-sharing, and critical engagement by actively applying theory to real-world social issues.

New & Noteworthy

Our latest Clippings by Mallory Harrington covers sociology making headlines, including Tressie McMillan Cottom‘s critique of the moral politics surrounding “Dry January”; Brooke Harrington’s analysis of the antidemocratic ambitions of tech “broligarchs” on The Daily Show; Joan Donovan’s insights into the evolving role of political disinformation in Trump’s campaigns and the broader internet landscape; Volodymyr Paniotto’s examination of Ukraine’s shifting social dynamics and demographic crisis amid the ongoing war; Hannah Wohl and Lindsey Cameron’s exploration of the illusory autonomy of gig economy workers in industries like ride-sharing and adult content; and Zeynep Tufekci’s incisive critique of Mark Zuckerberg’s approach to hate speech moderation and the monetization of divisive content on Meta platforms.

From the Archives

President Trump has pulled back directives that bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Patrol from arresting people who are suspected of being undocumented in previously “sensitive” areas that include schools, churches, courthouses, hospitals, and others. Check out our recent Discovery by Leonardo LaBarre, Undocumented Driving, Threats of Deportation, & Childhood Trauma, which covers research about the ripple effect of these immigration policies on children.

On Sunday, February 2, the Grammys will be awarded to US musicians. Read another recent piece, The Making of a #1 Song by S Ericson, from last year if you want to know more about how music charts are calculated in the US.

Backstage with TSP

The TSP board met for our first time for Spring Semester. This semester we are going full steam ahead on some new TROTs, summarizing social science research on a variety of topics.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts

• rural rainbows by Sophie X. Liu covers a study in the Canadian Review of Sociology, showing that mental health outcomes among LGB Canadians vary across urban and rural contexts, and is influenced by gender and partnership status. While partnered gay men in rural areas report the highest levels of mental well-being, bisexual individuals—especially women—consistently face significant mental health disadvantages, highlighting the need for supportive rural environments.
• youth migrants and long-delayed family reunification by Daniel Jenks and Ernesto Castañeda summarize their new book, Reunited. It challenges the media’s portrayal of unaccompanied minors from Central America, revealing their journeys as family-driven efforts to reunite amid long separations and rising violence, highlighting the visible struggles at the border and the often-invisible challenges of reintegration.

Council on Contemporary Families

• Finding a Home During the Affordable Housing Crisis by Steven Schmidt covers his research in the American Sociological Review, highlighting how low-income renters in Los Angeles rely on social ties to navigate the challenges of unaffordable housing, using support from friends and family to secure leases, cover deposits, and find temporary housing. However, racial disparities in the financial resources available through these networks widen housing inequalities, with white renters often accessing better options and outcomes compared to Latina/o renters.

Engaging Sports

• The Olympification of Kinesiology: Highlighting Troubling Trends and Emphasizing Hope by Parissa Safai, Alixandra Krahn, and Yuka Nakamura critiques the narrowing focus of kinesiology programs, likening their emphasis on optimizing performance and producing “work-ready” graduates to the Olympic motto of “faster, higher, stronger.” The authors argue for a broader approach that integrates sociological awareness, collective action, and community engagement, ensuring kinesiology fosters thought leaders equipped to address social inequalities and promote solidarity.

New & Noteworthy

How Partisan Moral Flexibility Shapes Beliefs in American Politics by Anastasia Dulle writes about research by Minjae Kim and colleagues who examined how Americans evaluate truth in political statements in their study in the American Journal of Sociology. Using online surveys, the researchers found that voters across the political spectrum often support factually false statements from politicians of their own party, even after being informed of their inaccuracy.

How the American Rescue Plan Transformed Child Poverty in the U.S. by Leo LaBarre covers research by  Zachary Parolin and Stefano Filauro in Demography lookings at the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021, which temporarily increased economic support for families. They found that the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) decreased from 9.7% in 2020 to 5.2% in 2021, making the child poverty rate the lowest ever recorded in US history. 

From the Archives

Attacks on Sociology in Higher Education continue in the United States and across the globe. Check out ‘Sociological Gobbledygook’ and Public Distrust of Social Science Experts by Isabel Arriagada writes about the current public distrust of social science, rooted in perceptions of intellectual elitism and hidden biases, challenges researchers to bridge gaps by engaging more visibly in the public sphere to rebuild credibility and trust.

Backstage with TSP

TSP board member Leo LaBarre has graduated (see above pic)! Congratulations Leo – we will miss you!

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts

• parenting gender, from left to right by Elena G. Van Stee highlights Mallory Rees and Abigail Saguy‘s study, revealing surprising points of agreement, including shared beliefs in gender as an innate attribute and evolving perspectives on children’s gender expression.

Council on Contemporary Families

• Highlights from the 2024 CCF Workshop include the low-down of CCF’s “Families in Perilous Times: A Policy and Public Scholarship Workshop” from October in Baltimore. Check out the recordings here.

First Publics

• Embracing AI in the Sociological Classroom by JoAnna Boudreaux and Kendra Murphy call for instructors in Sociology to lean into the use of generative AI in the classroom – but thoughtfully and intentionally.

New & Noteworthy

This week’s Clippings via Mallory Harrington highlights recent sociological insights, including Arlie Russell Hochschild’s exploration of political divides in Stolen Pride: Loss, Shame, and the Rise of the Right, Gi-Wook Shin’s analysis of South Korea’s political instability following President Yoon’s martial law declaration in All Things Considered, Allison Pugh’s examination of AI’s impact on human connection in  The Last Human Job: The Work of Connecting in a Disconnected World, Musa Al-Gharbi’s critique of social justice discourse in We Have Never Been Woke: The Cultural Contradictions of a New Elite, and Danielle Lindemann’s take on how reality TV reflects societal inequalities.

From the Archives

As 2024 comes to a close, many magazines and publications are sharing their picks for this year’s best books. Whether you’re looking forward to some holiday downtime or are starting to plan your 2025 reading list, be sure to check out this selection of must-read sociology books that our Board published earlier this year.

Public outcry against Joe Biden’s hypocrisy in pardoning Hunter Biden after repeatedly claiming he would not do so throughout his presidency brings forth a number of considerations; first, this New York Mag article highlights how Biden could potentially commute the sentences of 40 men on federal death row, yet chose to use the remainder of his time in office pardoning his son. This 2021 piece provides a rundown on the sociological significance of scandals and the role that media, public morality, and social identities like race and gender contribute to how we experience scandals socially.

Recently Brian Thompson, CEO of United Healthcare, was killed outside of his Hotel in New York. While the motives are still unknown, this news has raised many questions about the ethics of profiting off of health care. This 2014 article from Sociological Images reflects on health care as a 2.7 trillion dollar industry in America.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts

• from carbon paper to code: crafting sociology in an age of ai by Corey Abramson on repurposing evolving technologies like AI for deeper social insights while reflecting on the enduring lessons of critical, engaged methodologies from thinkers like C. Wright Mills and W.E.B. Du Bois.

Council on Contemporary Families

• Racial Wealth Inequality Emerges in Young Adulthood by Ellen Bryer and Alexander Adames write about racial wealth gaps, emeringe in young adulthood, driven by disparities in financial assets rather than debt, and how addressing these gaps will require multifaceted solutions such as student debt cancellation, raising the minimum wage, and implementing baby bonds.
• The educational costs of teen births by Joseph D. Wolfe and Mieke Beth Thomeer cover their research on how educational costs of teen births have grown over time, especially for women from advantaged backgrounds, as structural and socioeconomic factors increasingly shape the opportunity costs and life outcomes tied to adolescent childbearing.

New & Noteworthy

Tressie McMillan Cottom (Associate Professor at the University of North Carolina’s School of Information and Library Science) wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times in the aftermath of the presidential election. “[T]his election was about enthusiasm and diagnoses. The long-term trajectory of our country has not changed. Millions of middle-class people feel working-class. These Americans have no way to describe what is happening to them,” Cottom described. “Nature abhors a vacuum. But political opportunists thrive in vacuums. This election was about who told a better story about the fundamentals without promising anything to fix those fundamentals. That is the sweet spot for an opportunist like Trump and his party. Sell everything, promise nothing. Keep them coming back for more.” Cottom was also recently on The Daily Show.

From the Archives

The 2024 election has left women’s health in an even more uncertain place, as seen with the failure of pro-abortion ballot measures in three states and Trump’s remark that vaccine skeptic RFK Jr. would “work on women’s health” in his administration. The root of poor health outcomes for U.S. women isn’t just medical—it’s systemic. Inequities shape everything from research that sidelines women’s needs to restrictive laws that worsen health outcomes for all. Check out this post from the Council on Contemporary Families to learn more about the deep-rooted issues impacting women’s health in the U.S. and what is required for real change.

On Wednesday afternoon two people started a demonstration at Texas State University, holding signs and wearing shirts that said “women are property” and “homo sex is sin”. The demonstration sparked a counter-protest of hundreds of students, and images and videos of the demonstration quickly went viral. This 2017 Contexts piece talks about the importance of the media in increasing the reach and impact of protests.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts:

• paying attention. period. by Sophie X. Liu on research by Rita Jalali on menstrual health and hygiene (MHH) and how it has been largely neglected in global health agendas due to challenges in measurability and enduring social stigmas, highlighting how inequality within social movements has sidelined issues affecting economically disadvantaged communities.

Council on Contemporary Families

• Parents’ Divisions of Childcare and Housework Remarkably Stable Throughout Pandemic by Richard J. Petts and Daniel L. Carlson covers their recent research in Demographic Research on how despite the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, most U.S. parents maintained their pre-pandemic division of housework and childcare, with some shifts towards more equal childcare sharing, especially influenced by fathers’ remote work and mothers’ employment.

New & Noteworthy

Daniel Cueto-Villalobos‘s latest Discovery on research by Ioana Sendroiu on how small business during COVID-19 navigated the balance between keeping their doors open, and protecting the public. The study found that many small business owners prioritized public health and employee well-being over profits, navigating moral dilemmas beyond partisan divides.

This week’s Clippings of sociology in the news includes Melissa Milkie and Kei Nomaguchi in The New York Times on the mental health impacts of intensive parenting, Amanda Miller on 21 Alive News discussing the effects of police-action shootings, Laura K. Nelson and Alexandra Brewer in The Economic Times on how women receive less clear feedback at work, and Neil Gross in The New York Times on the debate over “viewpoint diversity” in academia.

From the Archives

Discussions on women’s health and morality have intensified, especially around pregnancy. Sociologists point to how cultural ideals of motherhood put women – especially poor women of color – under increased scrutiny. Learn more in this TROT by Allison Nobles.

The US recently ranked last among 10 developed nations in healthcare. Check out this Discovery by Amy August from ~10 years ago on where things were then.

Last week, Yale, Princeton, and Duke were quested over the decline in Asian Students. Read our recent Discovery by Shania Kuo on research about Asian Student’s views towards affirmative action.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Council on Contemporary Families:

• Did the global pandemic of COVID-19 change the division of labor at home? by F. Kubra Aytac, highlighting how the COVID-19 pandemic highlighted persistent gender disparities in household and childcare responsibilities, with mothers bearing a disproportionate share, particularly in collectivistic cultures like Turkey.

First Publics:

• Toward a Better Vision of Classical Sociological Theory by Seth Abrutyn writes about how soc theory should be taught through a fresh, practical approach that links classical ideas with contemporary research, making it more relevant, engaging, and connected to students’ lived experiences and sociological inquiry – providing 2 approaches.

New & Noteworthy

This week’s Clippings of sociology in the news includes Julia Sonnevend in Public Seminar on her new book Charm: How Magnetic Personalities Shape Global Politics, Eric Klinenberg in the New York Times on the dangerousness of heat waves,  Fraya Frehse in Pesquisa on homelessness in Brazil, Tressie McMillan Cottom in an online discussion on the candidates prior to last week’s debate, and David Karen in  Bryn Mawr News on the recently released film Love 2020.

We reposted a piece from The Conversation by James Densley and Jillian Peterson on how most school shootings show warning signs in advance, with over 90% of shooters leaking their plans, highlighting the need for early intervention and secure gun storage to prevent such tragedies.

From the Archives

Hurricane Francine hit Louisiana last week, again highlighting how many natural disasters unevenly impact communities with the least economic, social, and political power. Read this ‘There’s Research on That’ (TROT) by Erik Kojola to learn more.

Kamala Harris’s multiracial identity has been a consistent area of discussion. Check out this TROT by Allison Nobles and Amber Joy Powell to learn some sociology on this area.

Backstage with TSP

This week several board members created some prototype multimedia demos and reviewed some of our previous videos to spark ideas. We also began the process of showing new board members our Discovery process, including the pitching of articles and workshopping of drafted Discoveries.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

Contexts:

• that tiny, tiny little fish by Caleb Scoville on his research about the controversy over the Delta Smelt in California is more about partisan politics and symbolic division than actual water policy, serving as a tool for conservative pundits to critique liberal environmentalism.

Council on Contemporary Families:

• Black Fathers and The Talk by Conial Caldwell Jr. on The Talk, a critical racial socialization practice among Black families, involves discussing the realities of racism and safety with children, a tradition that dates back to the era of chattel slavery and remains vital due to ongoing racial violence and discrimination.

First Publics:

• Community-Engaged Learning as a Triple Win by Kirsten Vinyeta in her undergraduate Environmental Sociology course at Utah State University, a community-engaged research project on water conservation provided students with hands-on experience in qualitative research methods, while generating useful data for local agencies and supporting the faculty’s research goals. 

Give Theory a Chance:

• Andrea S. Boyles reads Patricia Hill Collins, guest hosted by Jabez Turner on Patricia Hill Collins’ Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment (1990).

New & Noteworthy

• Our latest Clippings (Sociology/Sociologists in the news) includes Jeffrey W. Swanson in The New York Times on gun laws in Georgia, Scott Thumma in PBS News, discussing megachurches (religious congregations with 2,000+ worshipers) and the recent resignation of several high-profile pastors, Ruth Milkman in The New York Times on pressure on labor unions to take positions on the war in Gaza, Stephanie Alice Baker in City University of London on the UK’s populist movement, and Ruth Horowitz in Pointe Magazine on ballet dances in corps de ballet and maintaining passion.

From the Archives

• The presidential debate is tomorrow, with many Americans eager to watch the performances of their candidates and fact-check the other. Check it out, or check out? When audiences spend extra time with content by Nick Mathews writes up research on how consumers are more likely to verify news that aligns with their beliefs to support arguments rather than fact-check information they find uncertain.
• Inflation and the economy is also frequenting the news, with the stock market facing challenges. Check out our ‘There’s Research on That’, Precarious Work in the Gig Economy, by Jean Marie Maier to learn more about one part of the market, the gig economy.

Backstage with TSP

• Last Friday TSP welcomed back returning board members and has begun onboarding our new board members. This includes assigning “beats” in the sociology literature to provide broad coverage in the creation for new Discoveries and TROTs, ideation of new projects, and, of course, donuts.

New & Noteworthy

• Leo LaBarre’s new Discovery, Blinded by Love: How Online Fraudsters Scam Victims, looks at research by Timothy Dickinson and Fangzhou Wang. They posed as fictitious victims to 87 real online romance fraudsters and then looked at the tactics used to manipulate and coerce. One of the most common tactics was asking for money for something pressing, such as bills or rent. Give it a read to learn about the other 3 tactics.
• Our latest Clippings, include Sherry Turkle on NPR’s Body Electric for the latest on AI chatbots,  Safia Dahani on The Conversation Weekly and The New York Times on France’s recent parliamentary election, Terry Shoemaker wrote an article for The Conversation applying sociologist Robert Bellah’s concept of “civil religion” to the Summer Olympics, and Sofia Hiltner‘s new study was in Phys.Org in the waning focus on climate change by sociology.

From the Archives

• Nearly 10 years ago, an armed man jumped the perimeter fence and entered the White House, leading to the resignation of Julia Pierson (the first female Director of the Secret Service). Check out this piece from Sociological Images, highlighting the heightened and gendered expectations that women often face.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

• ok, boomer in Contexts by Elena G. Van Stee breaks down research by Rob Gruijters, Anette Fasang, and Zachary Van Winkle. They found that Millennials are generally less wealthy than Boomers at age 35, and wealth inequality within the Millennial generation has increased – with the richest Millennials surpassing their Boomer counterparts at the same age.
• Parents, Partners, and Pandemic Housing Decisions in Council on Contemporary Families by Elena G. Van Stee and colleagues cover a new Socius article revealing that undergraduates’ decisions to move in with parents during the COVID-19 pandemic were influenced by housing and financial needs, age, romantic partnerships, and feelings about asking for money – highlighting the complex social factors affecting parental support.

New & Noteworthy

Our new Discovery by Mallory Harrington, Disease Stigma Through the Media covers research by Rachel Best and Alina Arseniev-Koehler. In this piece, the different levels of stigmatization of diseases are investigated via the media coverage and stereotyping that accompanies them. They find that the level of overall disease stigma has decreased over time, but it remains high for behavioral and infectious diseases.

In case you missed it, we posted some new TikToks on the value and importance of sociology via Nicole Schmitgen. Give them a watch, like, and share!

From the Archives

Trump’s trial continues to capture headlines. Take a look back on contexts’ Winter 2018 issue (trump365) on a time where Trump’s policies impacts on society were taking place real-time.

Wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe continue to leave millions harmed and the impacts will continue far beyond when the bullets stop flying. Read our 2019 Discovery on veteran’s mental health by Allison Nobles to learn more.

More from our Partners & Community Pages

The latest from contexts includes:

• the case for grandmothers by Neda Maghbouleh on the critical roles and resilience of elder matriarchs in multigenerational Syrian migrant households in Canada, despite immigration policies that often overlook their value.
• from the corner to the digital street by Parker Muzzerall on research by Yuan Hsiao who finds that real-world interactions and proximity among Chicago’s Latino gangs significantly influence their online conflicts, demonstrating the complex interplay between offline realities and online behaviors.

Council on Comtemporary Families has a new piece:

• 3Q with Elissa Strauss When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring for Others with Alicia M. Walker interviewing Elissa Strauss on her new book “When You Care: The Unexpected Magic of Caring for Others”