Troubling Bodies with Natalie Boero, C.J. Pascoe, and Abigail Saguy

Identity is increasingly tied to the body. Advertisements for natural herbal supplements to improve body shape, scientific concoctions to increase libido, and surgical procedures guaranteed, if not required, to impress sexual partners fill email inboxes on a daily basis. The … Read More

“Technological Optimism”: Egg-Freezing a Better Deal for Companies than for Women

The following is an excerpt from Rene Almeling, Joanna Radin, and Sarah S. Richardson’s CNN Op-ed, Oct. 20, 2014. Click more to read the entirety. Apple and Facebook made the headlines last week on the news that they are offering coverage for their … Read More

Race, Spanking, and Shame: Dimensions of Corporal Punishment

Football fans like me have undoubtedly heard about the indictment of Adrian Peterson on child abuse charges for striking his 4-year-old son with a thin tree branch. Pictures revealing multiple lacerations on the child’s thigh have surfaced, and exchanges regarding … Read More

The Feel of Faith

“So, what is it they believe?” As a sociologist of religion, I’m used to getting some variant of this question when colleagues, students, or curious friends want me to describe a religious community I happen to be studying. And, as … Read More

What’s Missing from the Debate Over Deportation Numbers

This past Spring, activists organized marches around the country, protesting President Obama’s record-breaking two million removals (the official term for deportations accompanied by an order of removal). The two-million milestone is significant because it is more than the sum total … Read More

Comic-Conned: Gender Norms in a Carnivalesque Atmosphere

San Diego’s Comic-Con feels like a huge, five-day carnival. Diverse attendees gleefully snap pictures, brave the crowds, and willingly wait in long (sometimes overnight) lines in this annual atmosphere of fantasy, science fiction, geekdom, and celebrity. The creative costumes and … Read More

Of Carbon and Cash

As Andy Ross told us, climate debt refers to the harmful carbon emissions created by countries like the United States and the grave effects that climate change is having on poorer, developing countries in the Global South. First … Read More

Andrew Ross on the Anti-Debt Movement

By now, it’s clear that in the United States and around the world, debt has come to shape people’s lives. Some use debt to get ahead, others buy debt to make a profit, and still others find their choices constrained … Read More

Old Narratives and New Realities

Editor’s Note: This is the third in a series: Has Borrowing Replaced Earning? Economic Decline and the American Dream Old Narratives and New Realities The simple narrative of who gets ahead in America is in … Read More

Economic Decline and the American Dream

Editor’s Note: This is the second in a series: Has Borrowing Replaced Earning? Economic Decline and the American Dream Old Narratives and New Realities  The 2008 – 2010 recession in the United States was the worst … Read More