‘Too often progressives demonise or just ignore the political right. This new collection redresses this deficit with a series of extremely well informed snapshots of the right in action across Latin America.

Ah springtime. The gentle feel of the breeze, the light touch of government cutting, the horrible pain and suffering that results. There’s lots of money out there, trillions in fact, just not in the hands of the people who need it the most. Hey, gotta fund the government bailouts of the rich bankers somehow. Or not. We do live in a democracy after all and protest is an important feature. Here’s a sociological take on a growing world wide phenomenon.

“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
[continue reading...]

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.

A review of currently available social problems textbooks by Lutz Kaelber, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA.

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
[continue reading...]

Rebel Rank and File uncovers the hidden of the 1970s labour movement with thirteen cogent essays from labor historians, activists and writers. Topics range from the political economy of rank-and-file-rebellion to workplace feminism, in industries as disparate as agriculture, education, and mining. Aaron Brenner’s preface provides an introductory outline, while a forward by DRUM founder Mike Hamlin illuminates the specific conditions of revolutionary black workers. Excellent!

So you got some questions? Want to know why things are? Need to have answers? Don’t know where to turn?

Well then why don’t you ask a sociologist (reverb please).  Sociologist are smart, wise, funny, intelligent, good looking, fun, knowledgeable, sensitive, kind, great  with their hands, and just all around amazing, wonderful, and beautiful people more than willing to lend a hand and explain how the world works. Just ask your question and hang on to your brain cells because a member of our knowledgeable covey of craniates will be more than happy to answer your queries.

Think you got what it takes to be a writer? Wanna put that expensive social science education to good use? Wanna rev up that creative right brain? Wanna decouple academic pedagogy from stultifying classroom environments? Wanna poke your colleagues with a pointy stick? Wanna have some fun? Then crank it up a notch and write for the Socjourn. It’s better than beating yourself in the brain with yet another dry and dusty scholarly journal.

Feminism is Queer is an introduction to the intimately related disciplines of gender and queer theory. Whilst guiding the reader through complex theory, the author develops the original position of queer feminism, which presents queer theory as continuous with feminist theory. Whilst there have been significant conceptual tensions between second wave feminism and traditional lesbian and gay studies, queer theory offers a paradigm for understanding gender, sex and sexuality that avoids the conflict in order to develop solidarity among those interested in feminist theory and those interested in lesbian and gay rights.