Tag: American Studies

Representation and the digital environment: Essential challenges for humanists

May 16, 2012

 BY JOHANNA DRUCKER Breslauer Professor of Information Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles The basic challenge for humanists comes from adopting visualizations that don’t suit our fundamental epistemological values. Obviously humanism is not monolithic. But methods of statistical analysis and empirical observation are grafted onto the humanities, they were not created from within … More Representation and the digital environment: Essential challenges for humanists

Obama’s support of same-sex marriage: A game-changer?

May 11, 2012

BY AMY STONEAssistant professor of sociology at Trinity University in San Antonio This has been an unexpectedly dramatic year for same-sex marriage, and this past week is no exception. Not only did North Carolina voters handily pass a constitutional amendment barring same-sex marriage this week but President Barack Obama also publicly announced his support for … More Obama’s support of same-sex marriage: A game-changer?

Kenneth B. Kidd: Goodbye, Maurice. And thank you.

May 10, 2012

Moishe from Where the Wild Things Are. Image via Flickr. But the wild things cried,Oh, please don’t goWe’ll eat you upWe love you soAnd Max said:“No!” And we roared our terrible roars, and gnashed our terrible teeth, and rolled our terrible eyes, and showed our terrible claws, but Maurice Sendak stepped into his private boat … More Kenneth B. Kidd: Goodbye, Maurice. And thank you.

The National Organization for Marriage is part of a long history of "divide and conquer"

March 29, 2012

The National Organization for Marriage’s latest tactics—the latest reflecting a search for “non-intellectual” celebrity spokespeople, have been making headlines this week. The thing is, these tactics are nothing new. Image source. BY AMY STONEAssistant professor of sociology at Trinity University in San Antonio and author of Gay Rights at the Ballot Box In several news … More The National Organization for Marriage is part of a long history of "divide and conquer"

Ballot measures in the courts: Proposition 8 and Romer v. Evans

February 10, 2012

This 2008 photo is of a protest against California’s Proposition 8 in Washington, D.C. A federal court’s declaration this week that Proposition 8 is unconstitutional makes California a most unusual case. BY AMY STONEAssistant professor of sociology at Trinity University in San Antonio and author of the forthcoming book Gay Rights at the Ballot Box … More Ballot measures in the courts: Proposition 8 and Romer v. Evans

"This sounds dramatic, and it’s intended to be": Why imagining ourselves as "outside" of nature does more harm than good.

February 8, 2012

The Hall of Biodiversity at the American Museum of Natural History in New York is, as Stephanie Rutherford argues in Governing the Wild, a manifestation of green governmentality that seeks to define and regulate our understanding, experience, and treatment of nature. BY STEPHANIE RUTHERFORDAssistant professor in the environmental and resource studies program at Trent University … More "This sounds dramatic, and it’s intended to be": Why imagining ourselves as "outside" of nature does more harm than good.

New Jersey’s governor and same-sex marriage: Shall we let the voters decide?

January 30, 2012

BY AMY STONEAssistant professor of sociology at Trinity University in San Antonio and author of the forthcoming book Gay Rights at the Ballot Box In a recent article in The New York Times, “Christie Wants Voters to Decide on Gay Marriage,” New Jersey governor Chris Christie warned that he would veto a bill to legalize … More New Jersey’s governor and same-sex marriage: Shall we let the voters decide?

George Lipsitz: Why Johnny Otis’s death hits so hard.

January 23, 2012

BY GEORGE LIPSITZProfessor of black studies and sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara I knew something was wrong the second I answered the telephone and heard Tom Reed’s voice. Although it has been decades since Tom ruled the airwaves in Los Angeles as the city’s most popular disc jockey — as “The Master … More George Lipsitz: Why Johnny Otis’s death hits so hard.

What happens when churches support anti-gay ballot measures?

January 20, 2012

BY AMY STONEAssistant professor of sociology at Trinity University in San Antonio and author of the forthcoming book Gay Rights at the Ballot Box According to the recent Minnesota Star Tribune article “Priests Told Not to Voice Dissent” (January 15, 2012), archibishop John Nienstedt is attempting to mandate the Catholic Church’s support of the Minnesota … More What happens when churches support anti-gay ballot measures?