We are the cultural and political elite of this world. We believe our society is the pinnacle of evolutionary development (what is better than “democracy” after all), we believe our products and services and capitalist ethics form the basis of our emerging technological utopia, in short we believe we are God’s gift to this earth, developing the lands and bringing culture and prosperity to the unwashed spiritual and scientific heathens. But is that really so? Not according to this commentator who points out that behind our subtle (and sometimes not so subtle) airs of intellectual, spiritual, cultural, and scientific superiority lies a brutal and greedy imperialist reality. Exaggeration or brutal truth? You be the judge. Imperlialism in Action

So what’s with professional athletes and violent behaviour? Are these individual just “thugs” or is something else going on. In this short article Earl Smith traces some of the social, class, and economic roots of questionable athlete behavior showing that even the seemingly random nature of some types of social behavior can in fact be understood and explained by some simple, sociological analysis.

One of the first things the sociology initiate learns is about the “sociological imagination.” This concept is used to illustrate, the power of sociology. Sociology can help you, you are told, if you just use its concepts to understand your life. Here is an example of what it means to apply the sociological imagination. Drawing on research in gender, criminology, sentencing biases, and a number of common sociological themes, this author examines his own life through a sociological lens, applying the “sociological imagination” to explode a common bias and blind spot in our modern cultures. Think you can do the same? You’re welcome to submit.

Truth, justice, and the North American way? Not for these children. In fact, globally one child dies of hunger related illnesses every 15 seconds and one in six children are involved in some form of child labour or child exploitation. Not our concern? Next time you buy your Egyptian cotton, sheets, eat your banana, drink your tea, kick a soccer ball, or watch those Disney fireworks, consider where that product might have come from and who harvested/produced it for you.

Classroom controversies are short and provocative articles designed to encourage classroom debate. They revolve around current, often hot button issues, and are likely to generate considerable classroom dialogue. Please feel free to print as many copies of these articles as you need. To submit a paper or proposal, visit our contact page.

The view propogated by the media companies and sellers of technology is that technology is freedom. From early dishwashers to the recent spate of ads hawking the latest social phones, technology leads to utopia. But does it? Does being connected 24/7 through multiple devices really lead to quality of life, or does it degrade life and provide one other way for us to be monitored, controlled, and over worked?

In this article William Hathaway, renowned peace author and activist, discusses the tenor of our times, revanchism, which refers to a global attempt by the elites to “turn back the clock” and reinstate a social order characteristic or earlier, more imperial, times. Do you agree? Is he correct that our countries are now operating as imperialists in a global prison, sweatshop, and war zone environment?

Classroom controversies are short and provocative articles designed to encourage classroom debate. They revolve around current, often hot button issues, and are likely to generate considerable classroom dialogue. Please feel free to print as many copies of these articles as you need.

Functionalism has long had a bad name in sociology as the handmaiden of elite interests, justifying all manner of inequality and power abuse by implying (and sometimes suggesting outright) that these things are “functional” for our society. As this article demonstrates however, this need not be the case. Functionalism can provide a useful rubric for understanding modern society and need not be the handmaiden of conservative thought.

While traveling recently, I stopped at a fast food restaurant with my 6-year-old daughter. When we sat down at the table to eat, she disappointedly pulled a pink care bear out of her cheeseburger meal. When I asked her what was wrong she asked why the woman had given her a care bear when she wanted a transformer. She went on to explain to me that she liked boy’s toys because she was a tom boy. Why did the fast food worker assume that my daughter wanted the care bear? Why is the transformer considered a boy toy?