Author Archive for Dr. Michael Sosteric
I'm a sociologist at Athabasca University where I coordinate,amongst other things, the introductory sociology courses (Sociology I and Sociology II). FYI I did my dissertation in the political economy of scholarly communication (you can read it if you want). It's not that bad. My current interests lie in the area of scholarly communication and pedagogy, the sociology of spirituality and religion, consciousness research, entheogens, inequality and stratification, and the revolutionary potential of authentic spirituality. The Socjourn is my pet project. It started as the Electronic Journal of Sociology but after watching our social elites systematically dismantle the potential of eJournals to alter the politics and economies of scholarly communication, I decided I'd try something a little different. That something is The Socjourn, a initiative that bends the rules of scholarly communication and pedagogy by disregarding academic ego and smashing down the walls that divide our little Ivory Tower world from the rest of humanity. If you are a sociologist or a sociology student and you have a burning desire to engage in a little institutional demolition by perhaps writing for the Socjourn, contact me. If you are a graduate student and you have some ideas that you think I might find interesting, contact me. I supervise graduate students through Athabasca Universities MAIS program.
And V for Victory it is…
V is for victory and that’s what this was. Thousands of websites, millions of people, billions of voices all around the world spoke out loud and clear against a piece of American legislation that would wipe out the Internet as we know it. Good for the rich Hollywood producers, bad for all the millions of democratic content generators that have sprung up all around the world. After a decade of declining progressive politics, the will of the people is getting a much needed jolt to the fibrillating fibers. And the moment has come none too soon if you ask me.
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.
Smashing the Boundaries of Science
Science is as science does, but science isn’t infallible. In fact, as global information democracy trundles on we can start to see just how fallible the scientist really is. Neither our methods, nor our ontology, nor our epistemology provide us with a privileged preview of the truth. The capital “T” truth is, we are subject to political, economic, sexual, even class based bias just like everybody else. The only difference between us and the priests discredited by the scientific revolution? We admit our bias…. Sometimes….
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.
To Student Loan or Not to Student Loan – That is The Question
Thinking about going to university? What a great idea that is! Post-secondary education opens doors and increase income. But hold it. Not sure if you’re smart enough? Not sure if you’ve got the IQ, or the talent, or the ability? Idea of massive student loans weighing your emotional systems down? Take a deep breath and relax. Ignore the nonsense about IQ and intelligence and focus on the master within! You have it within you to succeed.
Stock in Trade: Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work
Did you know that what you get depends on who you are? It is true. Females get different things than males, and the lower classes get different things than the upper classes. No where is this more evident than in the education you get. Working class, professional, or ruling class, it’s not who you know but who your parents are (i.e. their social class) that makes all the difference.
Business, Technology, and a Life Without
Here’s an essay posted by a student in my Sociology 460 Class at Athabasca University. It is a very insightful view of the disconnecting effect that technology has. If you grew up with social media you might think that it connects in better ways than ever before, but to somebody like me who grew up before computers, it is nothing but an invasive disconnect. Let it in and it fills your life space with triviality and meaningless social soundbites that, because of their hopeless superficiality, can never fulfill our deep, almost spiritual need, for connected, and meaningful social relationships. Technology good for business? Maybe, but as a social lubricant maybe it promises more than it can offer.
Awakening
Here is a story, not by a sociologist or a sociology student, by a high ranking computer geek. It may not be coming from a Sociologist, but it sure points to how sociology can transform our perceptions of the world. One moment we are comfortable focusing at the surface of social phenomenon, put at ease by our redolent illusions, and the next we are thrust beneath the surface to a reality that may not be as pleasant as had originally seemed. What was once “obvious” and straightforward is now obtuse and complex. The world has been turned on its head! The Sociological perspective. Is it a blessing, is it a curse? Only you can decide.
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.
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. [
Sociology for the revolutionary in you. 