Contexts

sociology for the public

Trends

Using data to help readers gain a new perspective on our world.

Taking a Knee

Colin Kaepernick started one of the most visible protests for social justice in modern sports history. He gathered the attention of fans and non-fans alike, … Read More

Mental Illness Affects Police Fatal Shootings

Police fatally shot almost 2,000 people in the U.S. from the beginning of 2015 to the end of 2016. Much of the news coverage about … Read More

Young Women of Color and Shifting Sexual Identities

Last spring, one of us was talking with a heterosexual, African-American male friend who said he’d been surprised to learn that his niece, Amani, whom … Read More

Cobesity

Jack Sprat could eat no fat. His wife could eat no lean. And so between them both, you see, They licked … Read More

The Problem of Urban Sprawl

The unique identity of a city has many origins, from the cultural and political to the historic and geographic. But perhaps the most basic defining … Read More

English Soccer’s Mysterious Worldwide Popularity

Why is the English Premier League so popular worldwide? Read More

The Rise of the Gourmet Hamburger

Not all hamburgers are created equal, and given the changes in the U.S. dietary landscape in the past 10 years, hamburgers are only getting … Read More

Childless… or Childfree?

In the context of declining birth rates, sociologist Amy Blackstone examines the choice not to become a parent and considers social responses to that choice. Read More

Reefer Normal

Sociologist Thomas J. Linneman explores trends of support for marijuana legalization in the United States. Read More

Food Insecurity in Rural America

Sociologists Joy Rayanne Piontak and Michael D. Schulman explore spatial inequalities in food insecurity in the United States, specifically the problems of hunger and food access in non-metropolitan and rural localities. Read More