Tagged: philosophy

Gender & Sexuality / Political & Economic Sociology / Sociology of Culture

Working our way to Symbolic Gender Equality?

nmccoy1 The New York Times recently reported that gender relations are completely changing due to the shift in the number of highly educated and highly paid women in the workforce as well as the high rates of unemployment among men.  Aside from the fact that a majority of these women are white and middle to upper class, this article fails to acknowledge that gender relations are only partially structured economically.  Twenty years ago the media declared that women were finally...

Opinion

Virtual Conference Report: Day Two (20 Oct, 2009)

The second day of the conference has been filled with three more interesting and innovative papers. David Crystal’s (University of Bangor) keynote lecture entitled ‘Language Death: A Problem for All’ highlights the troubling statistics that ‘96% of the world’s languages are spoken by just 4% of the people’. Given the interdisciplinary nature, and the methodology of this virtual conference, Crystal’s paper draws attention to the use of language as a way to ‘break down barriers’. The two other papers presented...

Opinion

Virtual Conference – 6 days to go

For anyone who has not registered, you can do so for free at https://compassconference.wordpress.com/ and enjoy. – Virtual Delegates Pack – 20% conference discount on EVERY Wiley book! – 60 days free access to over 200 Wiley-Blackwell journals – Win a year’s subscription to a Compass Journal of your choice with post-conference feedback!

Class & Stratification / Science & Technology / Sociology of Culture

Is Evolutionary Psychology Just Sociology in Disguise?

by theoryforthemasses A recent book written by philosopher Dennis Dutton draws from the burgeoning field of evolutionary psychology to explain the biological foundations of creativity.  Dutton attempts to synthesize Darwin’s theory of evolution with culture, suggesting that creative capacities have been passed on from one generation to the next as a mode of survival.  Storytellers, for example, would have been able to work out “what if” scenarios through making up stories, a practice that would keep them from risking their...

Sociology of Law, Crime and Deviance

Prison: An Unlikely "Beacon of Hope"?

by paulabowles The Longford Prize for outstanding work in the area of social and penal reform has recently been announced. Although the award has been running since 2002, honouring diverse organisations and individuals, this year is the first time the prize has been awarded to a prison. HMP Grendon was chosen for its unique approach to tackling recidivism, described by the Longford Trust as offering a “beacon of hope”’ for its inmates. Since its creation in 1962 the prison has...