Midwest Sociology

After Charlottesville: A Contexts Symposium

Following the events in Charlottesville, VA, sociologists weigh in on issues such as racism, nationalism, and immigration.

Which Comes First: Bikes or Bike Paths?

Derek Burk, “Infrastructure, Social Practice, and Environmentalism: The Case of Bicycle-Commuting,” Social Forces, 2017 In a new study investigating bicycle commuting across the U.S., Derek Burk poses a sort of “chicken or egg” question: does the presence of bike paths and bike lanes encourage more bicycling, or does increased rates bicycling encourage the creation of […]

The Gown and the Gallows

‘How prisoners dressed for their executions says a lot about the condemned and the pageantry of American capital punishment, according to a new UC sociology study.”

The Organizational Barriers to Reporting Sexual Harassment

The recent media attention surrounding Fox News and accusations of sexual harassment are high-profile examples of the everyday experiences that many victims of sexual harassment face in the workplace. An article in the New York Times explores research on the factors that discourage people from reporting harassment, citing work from University of Illinois sociologist Anna-Maria Marshall and […]

Back on Track? Stall and Rebound for Gender Equality 1977-2012

This paper is part of the Council on Contemporary Families’ new Gender Revolution Rebound Symposium. Click to expand graphics throughout. For almost a decade now, researchers have been struck by a stall in what had been a remarkably rapid and seemingly unstoppable increase in support for gender equity and approval of women’s workforce participation up […]

Peter Hall on Sociological Memoir

In this episode, Colorado State professor emeritus Peter M. Hall drops in to talk about his forthcoming memoir, “Growing up Red, White, and Jewish: the Personal and the Political”. We discuss the potential of memoir as a sociological method, and we consider how telling one’s life story helps to reshape identity in the context of […]

Tim Pippert on Diversity in College Recruitment Brochures

In this episode, we talk to Tim Pippert, Associate Professor of Sociology at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. In his recent co-authored paper, “We’ve Got Minorities, Yes We Do: Visual Representations of Racial and Ethnic Diversity In College Recruitment Materials“, Pippert explores the over-representation of students of color on college brochures throughout the United States. In this […]

Bipartisan Colorblindness (Research by Meghan Burke)

Meghan A. Burke, “Racing Left and Right: Color-Blind Racism’s Dominance across the U.S. Political Spectrum,” The Sociological Quarterly , 2017 The concept of “colorblind racism” was first popularized by Eduardo Bonilla-Silva in his groundbreaking book Racism with Racists. He explains how people in the 21st century are quick to say they do not see race, […]