Archive for February, 2011
Better writing through intent
As a rule academics are not trained to write well. You might even say academics are trained to confuse, hiding their thoughts behind walls of pretentious gobbledygook. It is not our fault. It is part of our training. From the moment we step into our first 100 level class to the the time when we finally hand in our dissertation and head out for a celebratory libation, our only goal is to impress somebody else and make ourselves look smart. It is the nature of the academic beast I suppose but it does not contribute to communication, connection, or education. If we want to change that we have to intend a different result and practice a different approach.
Demography and Democracy: Essays on Nationalism, Gender and Ideology
“In stunning readings of culture, politics, identity, gender and ethnicity, Bannerji exposes the grave dangers lurking in demographic politics of blood, soil and ethnic fundamentalism. But in the interstices of this lifeworld, Bannerji also locates alternative ways of seeing and becoming that suggest new projects of democracy—radical, popular, and socialist—that might take us beyond oppression [...]
Miracles in the Making: Information Technology and Middle East Populism
As Bob Dylan once sang, times they are changing. Finally it does appear to be that way. The Middle East has boiled over with grass roots, ground up revolution! It’s too soon to tell what’s going to happen, and the installation of a military dictatorship in Egypt doesn’t bode well for democracy, but things are certainly on the move. What will the powers that be do to contain the nascent democratic leanings. Only time will tell.
What’s on your mind? Facebook, voluntary surveillance, and the global panopticon
As a sociologist I’ve always been interested in surveillance. Jeremy Bentham, Foucault, Orwell. Like it or not surveillance is an aspect of the industrial and post-industrial world. It’s been talked about for centuries and dystopian authors like Orwell, sociologists like Foucault, and others have worried about the future directions and the implications of total surveillance and control. Well, almost 30 years after 1984 is the Ministry of Truth finally here and right under our noses? Don’t be shy. Show us your face and tell us “what’s on your mind” today.
R.I.P. Daniel Bell
Sociology mourns the passing of one of its own. Daniel Bell died in January after a long life of passionate engagement with many of the most important political and cultural issues of the 20th century.
The State of the Art: A Comprehensive Review of Textbooks in Social Problems
A review of currently available social problems textbooks by Lutz Kaelber, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.
Conscious Peace: World Peace Depends upon Our Collective Consciousness
We live in a materialist universe, or do we? Scientists chant a materialist mantra but gravity, a concept present at the very birth of Science, is an invisible force that nobody has ever seen–in other words, immaterial. As sociologists our ontology (what we believe to be the nature of existence) is important. Do we limit ourselves when we buy into a scientific materialism? Is there something more we should be considering? Inquiring minds want to know.
R.I.P. David Noble
David Franklin Noble died of a sudden illness in Toronto on December 27, 2010. Noble was an internationally acclaimed scholar and courageous activist, most recently on the faculty of York University in Toronto. Born in New York City, he held positions at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the Smithsonian Institution and Drexel University, as well as [...]
What to know about the nature of money, the value of money, and money's role in our modern economies of exchange, then download The Rocket Scientists' Guide to Money and the Economy and let the truth set you free. [download]
Statistics for the rest of us. Afraid of math? Not sure how you're going to get your social statistics credit without permanent damage to your mental health? Consider Sociology 301: Social Statistics from Athabasca University. This course is designed for you, as a grounded and thorough introduction to social statistics. Learn everything you need to know in a sophisticated, well designed, and gentle package. Credit in Sociology 301 is fully transferable.
