Sociology Lens

Category: Sociology of Culture

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Highlights from the ISA World Congress of Sociology, Toronto, 15-21 July 2018

The XIX International Sociological Association World Congress of Sociology is taking place this week, 15-21 July 2018. The Conference theme is Power, Violence and Justice, a topic that could not be more relevant for the global landscape in 2018. With over 5,000 delegates attending from across the globe, the congress opened with a vibrant and rousing performance by the Red Urban Project, Wasauking First Nation dancers and musicians. Professor Myrna Dawson, President-Elect of the Canadian Sociological Association began the addresses...

Books and arts / Opinion / Political & Economic Sociology / Rural Sociology / Science & Technology / Social Movements / Social Change / Social Theory / Sociology of Culture / Urban Sociology

Interview: Lisa Garforth on Green Utopias: Environmental Hope Before and After Nature

Lisa Garforth is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at Newcastle University. Her work explores green future visions, especially in fiction. Her recent book Green Utopias: Environmental Hope Before and After Nature (Polity 2018) examines the changing content and socio-cultural contexts of green utopias from post-war environmentalism to the challenge of the Anthropocene. What lead you to write your book, Green Utopias, and what are the major themes? I wanted to rethink environmental utopianism, not so much from the perspective of practical...

Class & Stratification / Gender & Sexuality / News / Population & Demography / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Identity / Social Movements / Social Change / Social Psychology & Lifecourse / Sociology of Culture

Free Content Collection: Celebrate World Day for Cultural Diversity

Join us in celebrating World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development (#WorldDiversityDay), observed annually on May 21st. A special collection of the latest research from a variety of disciplines to share knowledge on this important subject is free to access  until June 30th 2018 Former Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova commented on the importance of this world focus day: “Even as we celebrate cultural diversity today, we must remember that cultural diversity is increasingly under threat. Across the world, violent extremists have targeted cultural...

Books and arts / News / Sociology of Culture

Producing Memory: Maps, Materials, Belongings @ Tate Exchange, London

From 1-6 May 2018, a fascinating project is taking place at Tate Modern, London, with artists and researchers from Queen Mary University of London, thinking about the role of objects in the production, conservation and recollection of individual and community memories. Producing Memory: Maps, Materials, Belongings offers installations, discussions, displays, workshops and screenings to explore how memory is produced in relation to material, objects and places. The programme displays migrant and refugee art, and considers the challenges of producing and conserving a home and identity when...

Opinion / People / Science & Technology / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

“Digital Sociology: The Reinvention of Social Research”. Noortje Marres on how digital technology contributes to sociology.

Noortje Marres is the author of 2017 book, Digital Sociology: The Reinvention of Social Research, a critical new overview and assessment of the key concepts, methods and understandings that currently inform the development of specifically digital forms of social enquiry. In conversation with Francesca Halstead, Noortje discusses the key arguments in her book, how she came to write it, and how digital technology contributes to sociology research and practice. What is Digital Sociology? Digital Sociology came into usage as a...

Class & Stratification / Opinion / Social Identity / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Health & Illness

The company you keep: Is socialising with higher-status people bad for mental health?

Is socializing with higher-status people good or bad for mental health? A recent study of the same title starts with this question. People often believe that socializing with higher-status alters is beneficial by leading to access valuable resources. It seems true that individuals are able to obtain useful information and resources if they know people in higher positions, by providing useful resources that the individuals could have not accessed without such relationships. However, it is also probable that socializing with higher-status alters...

Class & Stratification / Gender & Sexuality / News / Political & Economic Sociology / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Welfare / Sociology of Culture

Collection on Populism: Free Content Collection

With the rise of populism across the globe in recent decades comprising distinct political styles, we invite you to read a collection of recent articles and chapters across the social sciences including sociological and social, political, geographical and cultural perspectives focusing on: Support for the concerns of ordinary people Relations between state, society, and citizens Power relationships within and between social groups How social inequality between groups (class, race, gender, etc.) influences politics All content is free until 31st December 2017!...

Opinion / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Health & Illness / Sociology of Media & Communication

Health and new normals

A recent article in The Conservation – To be ill is to be human: why normalising illness would make it easier to cope with – authors Gill Hubbard and Claire Wakefield argue that sickness remains the great unsaid, an object and state of denial, a source of fear and cause of stigma. Because of this, we tend to stay quiet when we fall ill, often keeping it hidden and coping alone.  This may make it far harder to cope when...

Gender & Sexuality / Opinion / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture

Silence Does Not Equal Siding with the Oppressor: Why I Decided Not to Attend the March

Aside from disliking huge crowds, there are many reasons why I decided not to attend the Women’s March this upcoming Saturday (January 21st, 2017). This inauguration is scary and telling of times to come. It has been a while since I have been this scared, especially after moving to a red state. Up until now, I have been steadfast in my sociological training. Many professors tell budding sociologists they need to be (p)olitical as opposed to (P)olitical because objectivity is...

Opinion / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Dear Progressive Friends: Do You Actually Care About Criminal Justice Reform?

  My Facebook newsfeed is filled with petitions to remove Judge Perksy, “the Stanford Rape judge”, off the bench. And I am pissed. Here is a judge who listens to a criminal defendant’s story and considers it in sentencing – doing exactly what a judge should do, and progressive America is up in arms about it! Not only did Judge Perksy order an individualized sentence that considered mitigating factors, he offers the same, holistic consideration to the accused in his...

Opinion / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Organizations & Work

Responsibility in Recognition

Officials need to be held responsible for recognizing and acknowledging systems of inequality and injustice within their organizations. As leaders, as deans, as CEOs, as presidents, as the heads of operations for companies, educational institutions, governments, etc. individuals and teams of individuals holding leadership positions should be held accountable for the systems of inequality that are allowed to persists under their leadership. A now infamous example of such an instance is the University of Missouri’s former president Timothy Wolfe. Wolfe’s...

Social Movements / Social Change / Sociology of Culture

Can green norms cross borders? The experience of Chinese students in the UK.

Much academic literature has been written about behaviour change. The traditional, ‘common-sense’ view is that attitudes precede behaviours, as stated in Azjen’s Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). This model has influenced policy-makers to seek to change citizens’ behaviour by simply providing information or providing feedback about the impacts of behaviour – on outcomes like our health, personal finances, the wellbeing of others, or the environment – and then hoping that enlightened citizens will do the rest. But this ‘ABC’ model...

Books and arts / Gender & Sexuality / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication / Top stories

Star Wars: A New Hope Awakens…

With all the Star Wars hype this past month the fandom seems to have awoken once more. The newest installment of Star Wars not only reinvigorates long-time fans but inspires a plethora of new comers to the franchise. Star Wars: The Force Awakens gives the world a new hope in representation as it showcases two of its main characters, a British woman as its protagonist and a Nigerian Brit as the deuteragonist. From the many hours of fan-made footage to...

Books and arts / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Media & Communication

Prize Winning Fictions

On Tuesday, Marlon James’ A Brief History of Seven Killings was awarded the Man Booker Prize for 2015 at the City of London’s Guildhall (an institution about which I wrote for Sociology Lens last year). James’ book is an imagined retelling of the attempt made on Bob Marley’s life in 1976, and the first novel by a Jamaican writer to win the Prize, which now comes with a £50,000 cheque, having been introduced with a purse of £5,000 in 1969....

Gender & Sexuality / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Social Identity / Social Psychology & Lifecourse / Sociology of Culture / Sociology of Organizations & Work

Selected Politics Concerning Natural Hair

The term “natural hair” is used in the African American community to differentiate between hair that has been left in its natural state and hair which has been permed (which is to permanently straighten the hair follicle with chemicals). African American hair in its natural state appears tightly coiled or kinky and is often socially stigmatized. Social stigmas are any idea that individuals associate with negative connotations. Many individuals would agree that hair is a prevailing symbol of one’s self...

Gender & Sexuality / Race & Ethnicity Studies / Sociology of Culture

The Symbolics of Sexuality

One of sociology’s main critiques revolves around neoliberalism, and its implications on everyday life in a capitalistic society. Yet, individuals do not comprehend what these implications are for those who identify as LGBTQ. As of recently, there are a plethora of articles illustrating some of the consequences that occur in this new neoliberal society. For example, John P. Elia and Gust A. Yep stated in their article, “Sexualities and Genders in an Age of Neoterrorism:” Read more about neoliberalism and...