Contexts

sociology for the public

Winter 2013

Volume: 12 | Number: 1

This issue covers violence in everyday Buenos Aires, movements to end deadly war in Central Africa, and young men’s masculinity in affluent societies. Also, an interview with a founding father of the Occupy movement and an analysis of public mourning practices from Steve Jobs to Kim Jong Il.

Missing Romance

Sociologist Minjeong Kim asks why Asian American characters in the U.S. television shows and films are always in interracial relationships, and explores the implications of the absence of Asian American couplings on screen. Read More

Beyond “Post 9/11”

Sociologist Erik Love reviews the books Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire and Terrifying Muslims. Each move beyond “post 9/11” explanations for anti-Muslim sentiment, showing how Islamophobia is best understood not as a temporary backlash, but rather as stemming from longstanding and durable forms of racial bigotry and colonialism. Read More

Digging for Mutual Cooperation

Kody Steffy presents a portrait of elderly Buddhist monk Bak Him, a resettled refugee living in rural Maine. Steffy’s photographs of Bak Him’s arduous labor highlight the refugee community’s ongoing struggle for understanding and integration. Read More

Borders and Margins

Photographer Emmanuel Maillard and sociologist Maryann Bylander document the lives of Cambodian migrants in Thailand. Through photographs taken for their Borders & Margins project at border crossings, work sites, and living spaces, they highlight the ambivalence many migrants express about their experiences abroad. Read More

Punk Politics

Photo by Maïté AbramLast February, police escorted Russian punk band Pussy Riot out of a Moscow church after they performed a “punk prayer” that … Read More