Contexts

Humorist Dylan Brody weaves together personal, social, and political commentary in his writing and performances. Here he discusses television and political humor, the state of heroes today, and the transformative nature of storytelling.

Attributing poverty to individual failures cannot explain the mountainous gap between the rich and poor in this country. Instead, the author argues, Americans must realize that structural constraints cause there to be “winners” and “losers.” In the end, we all pay the price for poverty in the U.S.

Looking at science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields across countries challenges the assumption that women in more economically and culturally modern societies enjoy greater equality. Rather, freedom to choose a career may paradoxically cause women in affluent Western democracies to construct and replicate stereotypically gendered self-identities.

The anti-immigrant sentiment in America in the 1920s, exemplified by the case against Sacco and Vanzetti, provides a pertinent reminder of the power of nativism as an establishment faces threatening social changes.

A “real utopia” isn’t an oxymoron or a figment of the imagination. Erik Olin Wright writes, instead, that real world examples of functioning social alternatives can help us find ways to improve the human condition. When history provides an opportunity to effect such changes, a familiarity with real utopias will provide a roadmap.

Armed with methodological skills and a healthy sociological imagination, a quarter of advanced-degree holding sociologists find work outside of the ivory tower. Sociology, as a whole, can benefit from increasing support and dialog across the academic/applied divide.

Fat stigma and size discrimination are big issues in a culture that’s more and more overweight, but less and less tolerant of obesity. The authors consider how the legal system has regarded these discrimination claims and how they might evolve in the future.

In her time as a researcher in Abdijan, Jordanna Matlon explored the African city’s peripheral economies and the men who make their livings and identities in these spaces.

Brian Conway examines the decline in vocations in Ireland and the U.S., and considers what it means for the future of international Catholicism.

In Eat Pray Love, the film adaptation of author Elizabeth Gilbert’s tale of travel and self-discovery, we see American consumer culture on display. Lucrative industries are ready to help women navigate crises of identity, but these solutions might be nothing more than salves.

For over half a century, magazines aimed at teens have been teaching girls how to inhabit stereotypical gender roles. Surprisingly, though the celebrities on the covers have changed, the messages have remained the same.

Facebook was established to help students keep in touch after graduation, but now it’s being credited with major roles in everything from domestic elections to international uprisings. In its no-longer-insular world, Facebook transforms the private into the public.

The Tea Party trumpets itself as a movement of the people. But who is included in “We the People”? Ruth Braunstein tries to answer.

While the Tea Party Movement has emerged as a true player in American politics, it has not yet come to be identified with a set of core beliefs. The authors use survey data to discuss the opinions that make up the movement.

The future of higher education is up for grabs. Diane Pike finds, in two recent books, a call to action for social scientists and academics in the liberal arts.

The hit series Twilight replicates gender stereotypes that sociologists have been debunking for decades. Rebecca Hayes-Smith highlights the gravity of making light of harmful gender messages.

While globalization has expanded the flow of goods, environmental movements have worked to constrain these flows by constructing local-based networks. Conover traces four routes of globalization, while Berry and Mollard shed light on the environmental challenges these routes create.

Rosie the Riveter wasn’t always a feminist icon. Her roots lie in inspiring Westinghouse workers toward the war effort, and it wasn’t until the 1950s and ‘60s that women’s rights movements reframed the way we see Rosie.

It’s going to take more than smart ideas and good will to combat poverty; smarter policies and a political battle are necessary to disrupt politics as usual.