Contexts

sociology for the public

Spring 2024

Volume: 23 | Number: 2

We preach and practice the mission of public engagement that motivates our magazine, much like the authors of our blooming Spring edition. The features in this fertile issue have significant insights to offer about who we are and how we cultivate our identities, particularly amidst the mayhem of the modern world. Listen closely, and you’ll learn about the label preferences of people who have experienced sexual violence: Do they define themselves as survivors, victims, or something else? From there, florets of wisdom await about the family-making practices of interracial couples: How do they manage racial surveillance and threats of erasure? Next come the sprouting conspiracy theories: Why are some of us irresistibly drawn to groups like QAnon, and how do those conspiratorial beliefs feed deeper needs like validation, connection, and purpose? The final feature is rooted in philosophical and applied questions about data transparency: If the public sphere is a democratic one, what does it mean for Twitter/X to cut off free access to its data?

letter from the editors: spring 2024

Reaching broader publics? Yeah, we do that. Amin is in Amsterdam and London on a European book tour for Long Live Queer Nightlife. He … Read More

Spring 2024 Table of Contents

from the editors in brief: “Okay, Boomer,” Elena G. van Stee “AI and the Scientific Imagination,” Colter J. Uscola “Who’s on Top?” Elena … Read More

Q&A with Dr. Elizabeth Blakey

For 17 years, Twitter/X provided free academic access—not by law, but by social contract—to its data for researchers examining elections, hate speech, and other … Read More