From the Editors
What's going on in this issue. What's going on in the world.
Real People Problems
“What’s the Matter with Sociology?” This provocative question is posed as the title of a recent review essay in Slate by Sudhir Venkatesh, author of … Read MoreIdeals and Reality
We were a little envious when friends in the publishing world recently quoted Men’s Health magazine’s spectacular circulation figures to us. And when we picked … Read MoreGrounded Thought
At the end of Voltaire’s great satire of the Enlightenment, his erstwhile “hero” Candide asks his profoundly naïve and misguided teacher, Pangloss, whether he still … Read MoreThe Dialectic of the Tuxedo and the Blue Jeans
A great friend of Contexts, Rubén Rumbaut, pointed out at our annual board meeting that our editorship is animated by “the dialectic of the tuxedo … Read MoreOn Editing
Great writing is indispensable for all of social science, but especially so for Contexts. This issue features examples like Evelyn Bush’s careful reading … Read MoreThe Sociologist’s Non-Sociologists
A little over a year ago, our Minnesota graduate student editorial board began discussing a project to better understand and promote Contexts’ mission of … Read MoreScience and Accessibility
Contexts is an accessible, science-based sociology magazine. But there’s a huge difference between accessible sociology and fluff. As editors, our task is to simultaneously deepen … Read MoreThe Future of Contexts
Now is a critical time for Contexts. We are quickly approaching the end of the 10-year plan the American Sociological Association (ASA) used … Read MoreSociology and Socialism
In the short time we’ve held the editorial reins, we’ve taken every opportunity to talk up Contexts, civic engagement, and public sociology. Some … Read MoreCheerleaders For Social Facts
When a cheerleading catalog recently showed up in our mailbox, we snickered a bit before owning up to our similar role at Contexts. Like … Read More