Rating the Rankings
by wendy espeland and michael sauder
Collegiate rankings, the most popular of which are compiled by U.S. News & World Report, are designed to reflect educational quality. Despite the fact that most administrators are critical of their methods and influence, rankings remain very much a part of higher education. This article explains why.
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Current Issue
Volume 8 | Issue 2 | Spring 2009This issue we look at the value of a college degree, and the value of college rankings. Other highlights include features on discrimination, racial profiling and autism.
contexts podcast
The latest episode of the Contexts Podcast features a discussion with Woody Powell about the state of non-profits during today's economic downturn:
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contexts blogs
- 13 hours ago:
Women Talk About Waxing “The Hair Down There”
on Sociological Images
In this humorous 6-minute mini-documentary, women discuss why they did it and what it was like: You might also want to check out our posts ... keep reading - you’re not old!
2 days ago on Contexts Crawler - The Stereotype of the Repressed Republican
2 days ago on ThickCulture - The Model Minority Image: Balancing Praise and Caution
5 days ago on The Color Line - Stigma and White Power
5 days ago on Contexts Discoveries
ASA Press Releases
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Sociologists to Explore "The New Politics of Community" in San Francisco August 7-11
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News Briefs from the American Sociological Review
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Moving Away Lowers Re-incarceration Risk for Parolees
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African Americans Are More Vulnerable to Welfare Penalties
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Religious Devotion Does Not Impact Abortion Decisions of Young Unwed Women
about us
Contexts is a quarterly magazine that makes sociology interesting and relevant to anyone interested in how society operates.
It is a publication of the American Sociological Association, edited by Doug Hartmann and Chris Uggen at the University of Minnesota. Keep reading...
featured blog
contexts.org/graphicsociology
Analyzing the visual presentation of social data. Each post consists of a chart, table, interactive graphic or other visual display of sociologically relevant data and an analysis of the success of the graphic in terms of being clear, comprehensive, compelling and an accurate portrayal of the written content.
contexts.org news
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Introducing Graphic Sociology
Contexts is proud to announce the launch of another great Contexts Blog, Graphic Sociology, which explores visual representations of social data.
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Economic Sociology now at contexts.org!
Brooke Harrington’s Economic Sociology is now a Contexts Blog! Welcome to contexts.org, Brooke!
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Teaching the Social World
We’re very excited to announce a new blog about teaching sociology here at contexts.org: Teaching the Social World.
Culture Reviews
Jennifer C. Lena and Peter Levin on Damien Hirst, Lisa McCormick on (Le) Poisson Rouge, R. Tyson Smith on Pro Wrestling, and Nancy Wang Yuen and Cassidy J. Ray on Lost and Heroes. read more
Book Reviews
Peter Hennen on The Dangerous Book for Boys, The Daring Book for Girls, and The Decline of Men. Susan J. Ferguson on Ain't No Makin' It. read more
Online Features
We publish a few items from each issue online in their entirety. Here are a few samples. If you like what you see, subscribe.
- Rating the Rankings
by Wendy Espeland and Michael Sauder - Uncle Sam Wants Them
by Katherine McCoy - Muslims in America
by Jen'nan Ghazal Read - Rights Activism in China
by Ching Kwan Lee - Controlling the Media in Iraq
by Andrew M. Lindner - Rethinking Crime and Immigration
by Robert J. Sampson