weekly roundup

Worth a Read (Sociologically Speaking)

Daniel Cueto-Villalobos rounded-up research on job insecurity, expectations for work, and emotion that puts the “great resignation” into sociological perspective

New and Noteworthy

For Contexts’ blog Alfredo Huante and Michael L. Rosino analyze coverage of the backlash against teaching critical race theory to distill the tenets of this racialized moral panic

Citings and Sightings

Axios spoke with Marianne Cooper to provide context for new findings that show that young women do out-earn young men in a limited number of metro areas

More from Our Partner and Community Pages

Nikoleta Sremac wrote about the external and internal pressures threatening Serbia’s official position of neutrality in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict for the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies’ blog

L. Dugan Nichol wrote about the precarious labor conditions of professional skateboarders for Engaging Sports

Amy L. Stone wrote about their research on queer carnival and how Mardi gras celebrations offer an opportunity for parents of LGBTQ people to provide support for the Council on Contemporary Families’ blog

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New and Noteworthy

Board member S Ericson covered new research from Samuel L. Perry, Kenneth E. Frantz, and Joshua B. Grubbs showing that who identifies as anti-racist is complex with, for instance, many Americans identifying as both color-blind and anti-racist.

Worth a (Look), Sociologically Speaking

Sangyoub Park wrote for Sociological Images on the emotional experience of seeing gochujang, Korean red chili pepper paste, on the shelf in American grocery stores while the United States has experienced a sharp rise in racism and hate crimes against Asian-Americans.

Citings and Sightings

Junia Howell spoke with Marketplace for their Morning Report on the release of the Biden administration’s plan to decrease racial inequity in home appraisals. Howell’s research shows that appraisals of homes in mostly white neighborhoods are three times higher than those in Black or Latinx neighborhoods.

More from Our Partner and Community Pages

Women can run the world (or at least my city) but men continue to hide from equality at home! by Barbara Risman for Council on Contemporary Families’ blog

Meyer Weinshel wrote on Marking Women’s History Month for the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies’ blog

SJSU HonorsX from Dispatches from a Dean

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It’s the start of a new semester here in Minnesota (where, at the time of writing, it is a balmy one degree) and we’re back to share the latest social science writing from our grad board, partner, and community pages.

New and Noteworthy

We shared writing from our own Doug Hartmann, published in the Winter 2022 issue of Footnotes, on what community-engaged research is and how it can provide meaning, and challenges, to sociologists.

Worth a (Look), Sociologically Speaking

Over at Sociological Images Evan Stewart covers the persistent drop in self-reported happiness in the General Social Survey and the potential for both policy (and personal) solutions to improve subjective well being.

Citings and Sightings

Amanda Mull interviewed sociologist Daniel Schneider, who studies precarious and unpredictable work schedules, for the Atlantic on “How Omicron is Making America’s Bad Jobs Even Worse.”

Backstage with TSP

At the request of our graduate board, this semester we’re focusing some of our meetings on writing. As both academics and folks interested in connecting scientific findings with a larger public, we wear a lot of “writing hats” at TSP. Over the course of the semester we hope that talking together about writing will help us think about our collective work at TSP, exploring how to better engage in writing as communication and writing as a collaborative process. If you have a favorite piece on sociological writing, send it our way at tsp@contexts.org.

More from our Partner and Community Pages

The Council on Contemporary Families’ blog shared Dominique C. Hill‘s writing A Black Girl’s Crown Changes the Game, exploring how her participants defined black girlhood.

Kennedy Kneller wrote for Engaging Sports on how the backyard ice rink shatters the myth of Canadian hockey as underpinned by community and collective identity.

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New and Noteworthy

Board member Daniel Cueto-Villalobos covers research from Angela S. García on the importance of local policy context for the political participation of undocumented immigrants.

Worth a Read, Sociologically Speaking

As the Supreme Court hears arguments in a case that threatens to overturn abortion protections, we recommend reading this piece from Allison Nobles about abortion providers before Roe v. Wade.

Citings and Sightings

Daniel Pearson interviews Elijah Anderson for the Philadelphia Inquirer about what his research can tell us about race and urban spaces.

Backstage with TSP

This week, we prepared nominations for our annual “Best of TSP” awards. We use these awards, voted on by our board, to highlight the best content from our site as we transition into a new year (and new semester). It’s a nice opportunity to reflect on all that we have accomplished over the last year and highlight the contributions of our board members. Look out for some “Best of” content over the coming weeks, and drop us a line at tsp@contexts.org or @thesocietypages if you have a piece you think should be considered.

More from Our Partner and Community Pages

Over at Contexts Genesis Fuentes interviews Marcus Bullock on how his experience in the criminal justice system connects to his entrepreneurship

Dan Cassino and Yasemin Besen-Cassino discuss their book Gender Threat: American Masculinity in the Face of Change at Council on Contemporary Families’ blog

A backstage sociologist shares a favorite poem

At Engaging Sports Joseph M. Bradley discusses how the rivalry between the Scottish football clubs the Rangers and Celtic connects to historical memory

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New and Noteworthy

Out today board member Jake Otis covers research from Lindsay Bullinger and colleagues documenting how, although arrests and reports for domestic violence decreased during the covid-19 lockdown in Chicago, police calls increased

Worth a Read (Sociologically Speaking)

At the Everyday Sociology blog Colby King writes on #striketober, offering a sociological perspective on the wave of labor strikes across the country.

Backstage with TSP

Last week we welcomed Walt Jacobs to our board meeting. We continued our conversation on first-person sociology, with Walt sharing how his life story and experience drew him to research on the places and institutions he inhabited using, for instance, auto-ethnographical methods to examine teaching and digital literacy. Speaking with Walt, we were reminded of the power of the personal perspective he brings to his writing with us, whether at Dispaches from a Dean or the Wonderful/Wretched series. As we look towards the future of our site, we are thinking of ways to incorporate this voice into the content we produce and post.

More from Our Partners and Community Pages

Over at the Council on Contemporary Families‘ blog Priya Fielding-Singh writes on her research on nutritional inequality and why we need to move beyond conversations centered solely on food access and consider the meaning of food for families, due out in book form next week.

The Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies’ blog covered Divide Up Those in Darkness from the Ones Who Walk in Light, an exhibit of Professor David Feinberg’s art currently on display at University of Minnesota’s Katherine E. Nash Gallery

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New and Noteworthy

We cover new research from Orlaith Heymann and colleagues on how people access risk and safety when seeking abortions– even after overcoming legal and economic barriers

Worth a Read (Sociologically Speaking)

Over at our partner Council on Contemporary Families’s blog Sara Yeatman and Emily Smith-Greenaway discuss their research on women’s responses, both negative and positive, to unexpected pregnancies.

Citings & Sightings

Sociologist Louise Seamster was on the Ezra Klein show this week, in conversation with Tressie McMillan Cottom, discussing how student loans and higher ed contribute to the racial wealth gap.

Backstage with TSP

This week, we welcome Walt Jacobs to our board meeting. Last week, in preparation, we read Walt’s preface to Sparked, and discussed how and why to do first-person writing for a social science audience. This conversation gave board members the space to think about how to balance our emotion and values with the demands of social scientific research.

Tonight, Walt will be in conversation with our own Doug Hartmann, as well as Bianet Castellanos, discussing Sparked as part of the University of Minnesota’s public life project. We’d love to see (and hear from you) there. More info and registration here.

More from Our Partners and Community Pages

Give Theory a Chance spoke with Dr. Christopher R. Matthews about the work of Nick Crossley. Give the podcast(s) a listen!

Over at Contexts’ blog David Burley spoke about the potential (and necessity) of training our sociology students to lead the fight against climate change.

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New and Noteworthy

Over the weekend Social Forces published Mariana Amorim‘s work with the Alaska Permanent Fund data, showing that low and middle-income parents increase spending on their kids when given no-strings-attached money.

Worth a Read (Sociologically Speaking)

We rounded up research on the consequences of thinking about childcare as an individual family’s responsibility as democrats continue to hammer out the details of an infrastructure plan that will likely not include paid family leave.

Citings & Sightings

Council on Contemporary Families reposted Stacy Torres’ USA Today essay on how her experiences with hospice care at the end of her father’s life opened up her eyes to the weight of “administrative burdens” on folks navigating the healthcare system.

Backstage with TSP

Last week the board discussed the introduction to friend of the site Lisa Wade’s new introduction to sociology textbook Terrible, Magnificent Sociology. We used this as a jumping off point to discuss the relationship between emancipatory sociology and sociology as the pursuit of social facts, what that means for teaching, and how we can incorporate that into the public sociology work we do here at TSP. Going “back to the basics” was helpful for us, particularly as we have undergraduate board members and board members from outside the discipline.

More from Our Partners and Community Pages

Read Rabble Rouser get the Boot! at a backstage sociologist.

Contexts’ blog posted a 2018 interview of California Supreme Court Justice Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar by Jeannine Bell.

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New and Noteworthy

Board member Daniel Cueto-Villalobos wrote on new research from Patricia Homan and Amy Burdette on how belonging to a sexist religious community can harm women’s health and wellbeing.

Worth a Read (Sociologically Speaking)

Richard J. Petts, Trenton D. Mize, and Gayle Kaufman wrote for the Council on Contemporary Families about the importance of designing paid parental leave policies that reduce the stigma, reflecting on research about the benefits of parental leave and their own study on how supportive leave policies can reduce penalties associated with leave-taking.

Backstage with TSP

This year we have rebooted our “media beat.” Led by intrepid new board member, S, each week during our board meetings we share coverage of sociologists and sociology in mainstream news outlets. In the past we have shared content like this on the site (most recently in our Clippings format). We know we gain valuable perspective when we better see how “the other” understands the work that social scientists are doing in the world. This knowledge helps guide our thinking about how to make the information and content we share more approachable and relevant for our audience.

More from Our Partners and Community Pages

Pierrette Hondagneu-Sotelo and Manuel Pastor write about place-based racial identities and shared futures for the Contexts’ blog.

Meyer Weinshel shared the history and significance of the Kindertransport movement of Jewish children from Nazi Germany during World War II for the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies’ blog.

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New and Noteworthy

Alicia Smith-Tran wrote for Engaging Sports on how her research on Black middle-class women runners demonstrates the importance of running groups for black women as a source of community and belonging in sport.

Worth a Read (Sociologically Speaking)

Board member Jake Otis rounds up research on the promises and effectiveness police-mental health professional partnerships, known as Crisis Intervention Teams (CITS).

Sighting and Citings

The New York Times spoke to eighteen academics (including several sociologists) about which family policy should be a priority during ongoing Capitol Hill negotiations on the infrastructure package.

Backstage with TSP

Last week we prepared for our board meeting by re-watching Aldon Morris’ 2021 ASA presidential address. We used this as a jumping off point for a discussion about emancipatory sociology: what does it mean for us and our work at TSP? This is a big, complicated conversation. We didn’t reach any conclusions and we’re excited to continue the discussion over the coming weeks. We are also wondering what our readers think. Do you have ideas, suggestions, or reflections about how TSP could engage with emancipatory sociology? Drop us a line at tsp@contexts.org.

More from Our Partners and Community Pages

Amanda Michiko Shigihara writes for Contexts‘ blog on the relationship between labor shortages and low wages in the restaurant industry.

Outgoing editor Arielle Kuperberg asks three questions of incoming Council on Contemporary Families‘ blog editor Dr. Alicia Walker.

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This week we have it all: research on imposter syndrome, conversations on how to handle gender inequality at home, what the pandemic parenting meant for gender inequality, and an intro to the theoretical work of W.E.B. Du Bois.

Worth a Read (Sociologically Speaking)

Daniel Cueto-Villalobos rounded up research on imposter syndrome, how it relates to diversification efforts, and what we might do about it.

Sighting and Citings

The Atlantic wrote up “The Gender Researcher’s Guide to an Equal Marriage,” asking sociologists William Scarborough, Richard Petts, Daniela Negraia, and Caitlyn Collins how they handle gender inequality at home.

Backstage with TSP

Last week one of our new board members did their first round of discovery pitches, bringing three new research articles to our weekly board members that would make good discovery pieces. It was exciting to see the field from some fresh eyes and got us excited about what’s to come for TSP.

From our Partners

Jennifer Randles wrote for Council of Contemporary Families on pandemic parenting and the persistence of gender inequality.

From our Community Pages

Give Theory a Chance was in conversation with Dr. Matthew Clair this week, speaking about the work of W.E.B. Du Bois.

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