Tag: Sociology

Carving out the Commons: Fighting Displacement in the Capitalist City

March 21, 2018

BY AMANDA HURONAssistant professor of interdisciplinary social sciences at the University of the District of Columbia On Christmas Eve 1977, the working-class residents of an apartment complex in Washington, D.C., all received eviction notices. They had 90 days to get out; the owner of the complex wanted to rip it down and replace it with … More Carving out the Commons: Fighting Displacement in the Capitalist City

International Women’s Day 2018: On feminism’s political message and its past, present, and future.

March 8, 2018

BY JANET HALLEY, PRABHA KOTISWARAN, RACHEL REBOUCHÉ, AND HILA SHAMIR As we celebrate International Women’s Day, it is hard not to be struck by how ubiquitous the political message of feminism is. Until recently, announcing one’s feminist credentials elicited looks of surprise, incomprehension, or outright hostility. Fast forward to 2018 and Sweden has a foreign … More International Women’s Day 2018: On feminism’s political message and its past, present, and future.

The Coming Storm

September 6, 2017

BY CEDRIC JOHNSON (The Neoliberal Deluge and Revolutionaries to Race Leaders) AND THOMAS JESSEN ADAMS Excerpt from article published in Jacobin: The rains over Corpus Christi and Houston have finally stopped, and floodwaters are beginning to recede. Some residents are still stranded, while others — tens, maybe hundreds, of thousands — won’t be able to … More The Coming Storm

Health care and the right to be responsible.

March 1, 2017

BY SHELLEY Z. REUTERAssociate professor of sociology at Concordia University “I really should be taking better care of myself.” Who hasn’t thought that at least once in the past year? (Month? Week?) In Canada, where I live, government surveys have found in 2014, for example, that 72% of those responding thought there was something they … More Health care and the right to be responsible.

The U.S. custom of tipping at restaurants, from the 1800s to now

September 16, 2016

Prior to the late nineteenth century, the practice of tipping in the United States was consideredhumiliating to waiters.Image source: An 1899 edition of Their Wedding Journey by William Dean Howells. BY KELLY ERBYAssistant professor of history at Washburn University Today, when Americans go out to eat at a restaurant that provides table service, it is … More The U.S. custom of tipping at restaurants, from the 1800s to now

When Homeland Security goes to school

August 25, 2016

BY NICOLE NGUYENAssistant professor of social foundations of education at the University of Illinois-Chicago In 2015, the FBI launched the controversial website Don’t Be a Puppet: Pull Back the Curtain on Violent Extremism. Through interactive games, the playful website intends to prevent young people from embracing extremist beliefs. Don’t Be a Puppet also offers resources … More When Homeland Security goes to school

Turning from political extremes to new forms of collective action

August 18, 2016

BY GERDA ROELVINKSenior lecturer in the School of Social Sciences and Psychology at Western Sydney University While those from the political extremes seem to be excited and increasingly agitated about their participation in democracies across the globe, with the US and Australia being good recent examples, a larger majority of perhaps more moderate people appear … More Turning from political extremes to new forms of collective action

The global implications of RNC support for gay “conversion therapy”

August 11, 2016

BY TOM WAIDZUNASAssistant professor of sociology at Temple University Last week, police in Uganda raided an LGBT pride event. Witnesses described police brutality, especially toward transgender women. Among those arrested were Pepe Julian Onziema and Frank Mugisha, leaders of Sexual Minorities Uganda. The Anti-Homosexuality Act, which passed there in 2014, has since been overturned by … More The global implications of RNC support for gay “conversion therapy”

Looking back: Breast cancer activist Barbara Brenner on cancer wristbands

May 19, 2016

Barbara Brenner, a key figure in North American breast cancer history, wrote the following piece in 2005 as a Perspective for the San Francisco public radio station KQED. Brenner died in 2013. So Much to Be Done, an anthology of her political and personal writings, has been published by University of Minnesota Press. ——-Anyone who … More Looking back: Breast cancer activist Barbara Brenner on cancer wristbands