Books

The Arab Spring

A refreshing, thoughtful and historical reading of the dramatic changes sweeping the Arab world.’ Marwan Bishara, senior political analyst, Al Jazeera

Decolonizing Methodologies

To the colonized, the term ‘research’ is conflated with European colonialism; the ways in which academic research has been implicated in the throes of imperialism remains a painful memory. This essential volume explores intersections of imperialism and research – specifically, the ways in which imperialism is embedded in disciplines of knowledge and tradition as ‘regimes of truth.’ Concepts such as ‘discovery’ and ‘claiming’ are discussed and an argument presented that the decolonization of research methods will help to reclaim control over indigenous ways of knowing and being

The Lightning Strike

Take the reader survey…

Please help the Socjourn and take our reader survey. It is anonymous and we won’t share any information with Big Brother. Most important, some decent reader statistics will help us approach Athabasca University for support of this resource, thereby ensuring that it remains free for all to see. Pause for the cause. It won’t take more than a minute.

Airlines to Charge Passengers by the Pound

On the heels of Allegiant Airline’s plan to charge up to $35 per carry-on bag, other major airlines have begun considering plans to charge passengers by weight.”It’s simple math,” stated Howard Fine, a spokesperson for Universal Airlines. “Heavier passengers cost more to ship from point A to point B.” In response to questions about consumer backlash over
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Socjourn Demystifies Sociology

The Socjourn was recently featured in the publication Open AU. I’m reposting the article here but if you want to see the original article, visit this link. As a side note, the statistics they report are a bit off. In January of 2012 the Socjourn received close to five million webserver hits, not one million as I originally suggested. Not bad for a discipline that has been, up to now, confined to the dank basements of academic inquiry.

A Book Review: Railroads in the African American Experience: A Photographic Journey (2010)

History is written by the winners, that is certainly true. Living in a nation of “winners” we never hear the stories of those who lose. We exalt those who are triumphant, tell their stories, and forget the pain and the suffering that has resulted from the struggle. But not always. Dr. Owen Brown of Medgar Evers College, CUNY introduces us to a pictorial history of America where the story isn’t about the winners, it is about the colonial disenfranchised and their epic struggles to survive and thrive in a hostile and racist world. It is a story, told in pictures, that is both enlightening and, we hope, inspiring.

Good Science Trailer

Here’s a little advertising video for the book Good Science. It’s a great little book if you ask me and its message, that scientist always look to find out the truth of things, timely and important, especially considering the collapse of POMO theory. But it’s also a challenge. As Tim points out, accessing the truth of things is not always so straightforward. What’s more, in order to get to the truth, scientists often have to be revolutionaries. We never take the world “as it is” but always challenge ourselves, and others, to work towards the truth. Some might call it a calling, I just call it bloody hard work.

National Academy of Science

Science, science, science. Has there ever been a thing more wondrous and beautiful, terrible and ugly, than science? From acetylsalicylic acid to atom bombs, Prozac to Pontiac, it is impossible to deny that science is at least partially responsible. So find out more about it, and teach your students well. Make Good Science a textbook in your methods, theory, or even introductory class.

Definition Indigenous – The Politics of Indigeneity

Definition Indigenous – The Politics of Indigeneity – A book where the authors go and talk to native people around the world. Looks interesting to me, but the publishers need to write better ad copy otherwise the usefulness of books that help us see and define what it means to be indigenous, or aboriginal, will be submerged behind an ugly sea of EPMO.

Good Science for Social Research Methods

Interesting, innovative, and fun, Good Science is an important new text for Social Research Methods courses because of its novel analysis of science, empirical facts, and the evolution of scientific truth. Accessible epistemology. Critical ontology! A must for any discerning instructor. Check it out.

Debt, debt, debt, the problem is debt.

The world is in turmoil, the Euro in crises, and now the heathen masses are occupying Wall street and demanding change. But what kind of change to demand? What to do to alleviate the suffering? How to fix the current crises? Well, first step is to figure out what the problem is, and that’s easy.

Policing Sexuality

In a moment when state policies seeking to regulate sexual expression have emerged under many cultural and religious banners, affecting a wide range of sexual subjects, Julian Lee gives us an invaluable map to understand this moral policing more clearly and comprehensively.  Policing Sexuality is exceptional among recent works on sexuality, gender and public policy
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