by jon on
Jan 08, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Article: Celebrity Status. Sociological Theory, December 2007.
Summary: The authors* argue that debates within sociology over class and status,which are usually grounded in the classic debate between Marxian and Weberian views of class, miss out on a distinguishing feature of status in contemporary mass society: celebrity. As they put it:
Compared with other types of status, however, celebrity is status on speed. It confers honor in days, not generations; it decays over time, rather than accumulating; and it demands a constant supply of new recruits, rather than erecting barriers to entry.
*Charles Kurzman, Chelise Anderson, Clinton Key, Youn Ok Lee, Mairead Moloney, Alexis Silver, and Maria W. Van Ryn.
by wes on
Dec 11, 2007 at 12:07 pm
Article: Democracy versus Distinction: A Study of Omnivorousness in Gourmet Food Writing. American Journal of Sociology, July 2007
Summary: Hamburgers, macaroni, and meatloaf. Traditional working-class fare or signs of a populist revolution? Although the ascendancy of the cupcake may look like a democratic swelling within the ranks of highbrow cuisine, a recent study by Josée Johnston and Shyon Baumann (American Journal of Sociology, July 2007) suggests gourmet food is still all about taste and distinction. Food critics have simply become more “omnivorous”—well-versed in many different cuisines—by showcasing the more obscure traits of everyday foods only a refined palette can discern. What makes a roadside diner or homemade casserole gourmet is their authenticity and exoticism. However, what counts as exotic or authentic depends on the expertise of someone with first-class taste and loads of frequent flier miles.
UPDATE: This Discovery was published in our Winter 2008 issue.
by jon on
Dec 05, 2007 at 12:58 pm
Article: It’s the Message, Not the Messenger: The Declining Significance of Black-White Contact in a “Colorblind” Society. Sociological Inquiry, August 2007.
Summary: Eileen O’Brien and Kathleen Odell Korgen each had two separate projects: O’Brien studied a group of white antiracist activists and Korgen studied black-white friendship pairs. When they brought their data together, they found they made for an interesting comparison. Contrary to the expectations of contact theory, whites with close black friends did not have strong anti-racist views and those whites participating in antiracism activism did not necessarily have many close black friends. They attribute this finding to colorblind attitudes. “Colorblindness” encourages Americans to treat all people purely as individuals and not as members of racial or ethnic groups. As a result, their respondents didn’t re-evaluate their view of a racial group after positive individual contact: they simply exempted that individual from what they thought about the racial group.
UPDATE: This Discovery was published in our Winter 2008 issue.