The ‘New Right’ that emerged in the 1980s can trace its roots back to the so-called ‘Old Right’ of the 1950s and 1960s. Sociology, Social Commentary, and the Rise of the Right In the 1950s and early 1960s, most Sociologists believed that the era for ideologies had ended and was replaced by a rough consensus[…]
A native residence in the suburbs of Manila, 1899 / Wikimedia Commons Nativism in postcolonial theory comprises the discourse of the indigenous communities of a given state. This raises the question of what makes an indigenous or native community, what is its form and how does it function. This paper analyses nativism in indigenous postcolonial[…]
Photo by Anne-Lise Heinrichs, Flickr, Creative Commons Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 05.06.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Introduction In the late 1990s, Oregon had one of the highest rates of hunger among the 50 states, and a higher rate than would have been expected from its more average level of poverty. Sociologist Mark S. Edwards of[…]
Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 03.15.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief 1 – Deviance 1.1 – Introduction Merton’s Social Strain Theory: This diagram depicts Robert K. Merton’s Social Strain Theory. Deviance, in a sociological context, describes actions or behaviors that violate informal social norms or formally-enacted rules. Among those who study social norms and their relation[…]
Elegant Company Dancing, by Thomas Rowlandson / Yale Center for British Art via Wikimedia Commons Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 03.02.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief 1 – Types of Social Groups 1.1 – The Nature of Groups Social Identity Approach: The explanatory profiles of social identity and self-categorization theories. In the social sciences, a social[…]
Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 03.03.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Defining Social Psychology: History and Principles Introduction The field of social psychology is growing rapidly and is having an increasingly important influence on how we think about human behavior. Newspapers, websites, and other media frequently report the findings of social psychologists, and the results of[…]
Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 02.28.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief 1 – Introduction 1.2 – Overview In sociology, social interaction is a dynamic sequence of social actions between individuals (or groups) who modify their actions and reactions due to actions by their interaction partner(s). Social interactions can be differentiated into accidental, repeated, regular and regulated.[…]
Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief 1 – The Role of Socialization 1.1 – Introduction Socialization prepares people for social life by teaching them a group’s shared norms, values, beliefs, and behaviors. 1.1.1 – Overview The role of socialization is to acquaint individuals with the norms of a given social group or society.[…]
Creative Commons Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 02.15.2018 Historian Brewminate Editor-in-Chief 1 – Culture and Society 1.1 – Culture and Biology 1.1.1 – Overview Culture relates to nature (our biology and genetics) and nurture (our environment and surroundings that also shape our identities). Human beings are biological creatures. We are composed of blood and[…]
Detail from the Mandala of Jnanadakini, 14th century, Tibet. / Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York By Dr. Antonio Melechi / 02.19.2018 Honorary Research Fellow, Department of Sociology University of York The first decades of the 20th century saw a raft of psychological terms fall into popular usage. Freudian notions of ‘denial’ and ‘displacement’, ‘projection’[…]
Were U.S. diplomats at the embassy in Cuba stricken by a mass delusion? AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa Sociologists know what conditions make it more likely a mass delusion will take hold and spread through a group – whether adherence to a fashion fad or belief in a doomsday cult. By Dr. Barry Markovsky / 12.18.2017 Professor of[…]
By Dr. Dieter Duhm / 03.19.2017 Sociologist 10 Ways to Thrive Communally After a hundred years of failed community experiments since Monte Verità in Ascona, one is justified in asking: What holds a community together, what stops it from failing, and how is its power increased? Here are ten things that hold a community together:[…]
Photo by Kaori Brand, UNU By Dr. Robert Blasiak (left), Dr. Sana Okayasu (center), and Dr. Ikuko Matsumoto (right) / 08.13.2012 Blasiak: Research Fellow, Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo Okayasu: Associate Researcher, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies in Hayama, Japan Matsumoto: Associate Researcher, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies in Hayama, Japan Victor Hugo once wrote[…]
By Dr. Lauren Langman / 06.18.2016 Professor of Sociology Loyola University Chicago Marx and Freud have two things in common, first of all they both revealed what was behind appearances yet was kept from awareness. For Marx capitalism was an economic system that depends on the exploitation of labor and immiseration of the proletariat which[…]
The Multi-faith Chapel at Hebrew Senior Life / Newbridge On The Charles, Dedham, Massachusetts. Randall Armor, CC BY-NC-ND By Dr. Wendy Cadge / 04.26.2017 Professor of Sociology and Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies Brandeis University Congregational membership in the United States is slowly declining. Data from the General Social Survey show that 17 percent of[…]
Figure 9.1 What constitutes a family nowadays? (Photo courtesy of Michael/flickr) Edited by Dr. Sherry Cooke / 03.27.2016 Professor of Sociology Grayson College Introduction to Marriage and the Family Rebecca and John were having a large church wedding attended by family and friends. They had been living together their entire senior year of college and[…]
Figure 5.1 This house, formerly owned by the famous television producer, Aaron Spelling, was for a time listed for $150 million dollars. It is considered one of the most extravagant homes in the United States, and is a testament to the wealth generated in some industries. (Photo courtesy of Atwater Village Newbie/flickr) Edited by Dr.[…]
Photo by Isla Haddow-Flood, Wikimedia Commons Edited by Matthew A. McIntosh / 02.26.2017 Brewminate Editor-in-Chief Introduction Social Issues in the News “Cows With Gas,” the headline said. In India, cows are considered sacred by that nation’s major religion, Hinduism. They are also an important source of milk and fertilizer. It is no surprise that India[…]
The view from Wyoming County, Pennsylvania. Cropped from nicholas_t/flickr By Dr. Kenneth M. Johnson / 02.20.2017 Professor of Sociology and Senior Demography University of New Hampshire Rural people and issues generally receive little attention from the urban-centric media and policy elites. Yet, rural America makes unique contributions to the nation’s character and culture as well[…]
By Leslie Garrett / 02.22.2017 Is Addiction the Result of Nature or Nurture? If there’s one constant among addicts of all types, it’s shame. It’s what makes us lie and hide. It’s what keeps us from asking for help – though we don’t think we need it because we’re also good at lying to ourselves.[…]
By Melissa Bates / 02.06.2017 Surrounded by others yet alone We live in a very busy world. Too often, I find myself caught up in the day-to-day shuffle called “living.” I tend to get so preoccupied with the 101 things I have to get done that I find I’ve lost touch with those around me.[…]
Photograph of Karl Marx, by John Jabez Edwin Mayall, 1875 / International Institute of Social History, Amsterdam, Netherlands Lecture by Dr. Iván Szelényi / 10.01.2009 Professor Emeritus of Sociology Yale University Theory of Alienation Marx’s Early Life Karl Marx’s house in Trier, Germany / Atlas Obscura So now we move into the nineteenth century. It’s[…]
Fair State’s annual Co-Optoberfest brings Northeast Minneapolis together through beer, brats, and Bavarian-style merriment every fall. As rents rise and independent businesses in Minneapolis lose their leases to large national chains, a first-of-its-kind co-op found a solution. By Christa Hillstrom / 02.03.2017 After years of brewing at home, Evan Sallee and his partners at Fair[…]
By Dr. Jalaja Bonheim / 02.06.2017 Who Do You Accept and Who Do You Reject? We build walls, install security systems and wage wars. We cling to the belief that if only our tribe can destroy its enemies, then all will be well— a tragic misconception if there ever was one, for the stark truth[…]
Portrait of Adam Smith (the Muir Portrait, after the family who once owned it, probably painted posthumously, based on a medallion by James Tassie), c.1800 / Scottish National Gallery, The Mount, Edinburgh Lecture by Dr. Iván Szelényi / 09.24.2008 Professor Emeritus of Sociology Yale University Smith in a Historical Context Balliol College, Oxford University We[…]
Portrait of Jeremy Bentham, by Henry William Pickersgill / National Portrait Gallery, London Lecture by Dr. Ian Shapiro / 01.20.2000 Sterling Professor of Political Science Adjunct Law School Professor Director, MacMillan Center Yale University Enlightenment Tradition I: Classical Utilitarianism We’re going to start talking about classical utilitarianism, and we’re going to use as our point[…]
Coin fountain / Wikimedia Commons By Dr. Peter Wogan / 01.26.2017 Professor of Anthropology Willamette University Why do so many of us get pleasant, uncanny sensations when we throw a coin in a fountain and see it resting in the water below? What’s the cultural psychology here? What do such coins have to do, for[…]
Portrait of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, by Maurice Quentin de La Tour, late-18th century, pastel on paper / Musée Antoine-Lécuyer By Dr. Iván Szelényi / 09.17.2008 Professor Emeritus of Sociology Yale University Popular Sovereignty and the General Will Rousseau in a Historical Context 1714 View of Basel, Bale, Geneva / Village Antiques, Creative Commons Jean Jacques Rousseau[…]
Portrait of Montesquieu, 1728, oil on canvas / Palace of Versailles, Wikimedia Commons Lecture by Dr. Iván Szelényi / 0915.2008 Professor Emeritus of Sociology Yale University Montesquieu in a Historical Context Emblem from the Palace of Versailles of Louis XIV as the “Sun King” / Wikimedia Commons We move to eighteenth century France. We move[…]
Oil painting portrait of John Locke / Wikimedia Commons Lecture by Dr. Iván Szelényi / 09.10.2008 Professor Emeritus of Sociology Yale University Locke in a Historical Context Left: Charles II, by John Michael Wright c.1660–1665 / National Portrait Gallery, London Right: A 1656 Samuel Cooper portrait of Oliver Cromwell / National Portrait Gallery, London[…]