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Social analysis from a personal angle.
Hurricane Party
On Saturday evening, August 26th, Hurricane Harvey was bearing down on the Texas Gulf Coast. Houston had been hunkered down for more than 24 hours, … Read MoreThe Contemporary American University, In Seven Emails
FROM: Office of the President TO: all-campus-listserv SUBJ: incidents In light of recent protest activity in reaction to, among other things, the misspelled Nazi graffiti, … Read MoreWhat Good News Looks Like
It is worth appreciating how much major social indicators in American society changed over the past 100 years. Read More#callmecaitlyn and contemporary trans* visibility
D’Lane Compton and Tristan Bridges on the difference between reality show awareness and real-life change. Read MoreThe IRL Fallacy
When professors, especially professors on the margins, use our voices in ways that matter beyond narrow academic confines and convey uncomfortable truths, we will inevitably be targeted. Read MoreFor-Profit Public Intellectuals
Sociologist Ryanne Pilgeram and media scholar Russell Meeuf discuss the hijacking of public debate by private research organizations, using the viral video “The Economics as Sex” as an example. Read MoreCulinary Capitalism
Sociologist Shamus Khan writes about life of the modern food system, and how it may well be the greatest triumph of capitalism. Read MoreWriting Outside the (Sociological) Box
Sociologist Sudhir Venkatesh discusses the nuances of non-specialist writing and offers guidance on how sociologists can reach broader audiences. Read MoreI Gentrify Bed-Stuy
Sociologist Syed Ali provides an analytical, autobiographical essay on gentrification in one of the "hottest" neighborhoods in Brooklyn. Read MoreBetter Not Put a Ring on It
Same-sex marriage is all the rage these days and supporting it is a civil-rights no brainer. But sociologist Suzanna Danuta Walters warns us that we should never imagine that gaining this signals the end of homophobia or the beginning of deep social belonging. Read More