What makes you a sociologist? Is it a degree? A title? A job? Are there certain books you need to read? Is there a test you need to pass? Must you freely use jargon and esoteric language? Do you need access to a password or a secret handshake? Despite what you may think or what you may have learned, I believe that being a sociologist requires none of these things.
Perhaps you’ve seen the award-winning film, Argo, which tells the improbable-yet-true tale of a CIA officer, Antonio Mendez, who, in 1979, pitches an incredible story to the Iranian government—that he is a filmmaker wanting to scout a location to film a sci-fi movie in Iran—to successfully smuggle six U.S. embassy workers out of the country. (You can read the full story here.)
The film received some criticism, however, since its release. On the one hand, the film downplays the role of the Canadian government and the heroics of the Canadian Ambassador to Iran, Ken Taylor. On the other, Ben Affleck has come under fire for choosing to portray Mendez. Although his surname is briefly mentioned in the film, Mendez’s real-life ancestry and ethnicity is downplayed. As others have noted, while meticulous care was taken to present “aesthetic accuracy” for most of the cast, this was not the case between Affleck’s Tony and the real-life Mendez. This can be seen during the final credit roll, where the audience is shown an image of the real Tony Mendez shaking hands with President Jimmy Carter.
Continue reading "Argo, Whitewashing, and Race at the Golden Globes" »
On January 11, armed assailants entered a Nordstrom Rack store in the Los Angeles area just after closing time. The police were called and surrounded the building, and the assailants held 14 people hostage for about two hours.
Despite the heavy police presence—a SWAT team was at the scene—the assailants escaped. Police later arrested five people, three suspects and two accused as accessories for allegedly aiding the suspects.
This was a shocking event for both the victims and members of the community. The store is located in an upscale shopping area with a state-of-the-art Cineplex and many shops and restaurants in an area with a relatively low crime rate.
National holidays such as Thanksgiving provide a wonderful opportunity for us to apply many of the themes related to sociological mindfulness. It is useful to think about the role that holidays play in society, the values and beliefs these holidays instill, and the extent to which we can deconstruct the “facts” and assumptions of these holidays. Consider some of the myths and realities of Thanksgiving taken from sociologist James W. Loewen’s national bestseller, Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong.
Is racism funny? This question may seem outrageous. In fact, I can hardly believe I’m asking it because no one with even the slightest amount of sociological insight would ever entertain such a thought. Let’s face it: There is nothing funny or amusing about racism or any other form of oppression such as sexism, homophobia, or ableism.
Robertson is a citizen of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation,and a PhD candidate at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
The Massachusetts Senate race between incumbent Scott Brown and Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren took an unexpected sharp turn this week. Shades of racialized language (reminiscent of the 2008 Presidential campaign) seeped in. This actually started in April, when Brown’s staffers uncovered that Warren claimed she was a minority, implicating her as committing ethnic fraud because she lacked proof of a Native American ancestry.
During their first political debate, Brown went straight at this issue in a prepared remark, saying, “Professor Warren claimed she was a Native American, a person of color — And as you can see, she’s not.” With this statement, Brown contends he can identify Native Americans—and other people of color—just by looking at them.
By Janis Prince Inniss
I'm amused when I see Sherri Shepherd and Elisabeth Hasselbeck of "The View" strut out onto their set in their neutral shoes. Indeed, Hasselbeck's legs do look lengthened. Shepherd? She looks like she stepped in a big vat of Pepto-Bismal. We share the same fate...neutral in the context of the U.S. looks like neither of us.
By Janis Prince Inniss
Although race in the U.S. Census is based on self-identification, Hispanic is not among the official racial categories. Therefore, no matter how many people refer to the shooting of Trayvon Martin as one of an African American teenager by White or Hispanic George Zimmerman, they are still mixing-up apples and oranges. No matter how much speculation there is regarding Zimmerman’s race, one thing is sure: His race is not Hispanic.
By Janis Prince Inniss
Want to make some quick cash? $250 to be exact. Easy money. What would you do for that kind of money?
This proposition is completely legal. All you have to do is make one telephone call. (Operators are probably standing by!) In order to qualify, all you have to do is have the city and state, name of a school, name of a person, age or grade level of a child, a second address, know how long the person has lived there—and with whom. Add some information about how you know whether the person in question does not live in a particular home and $250 is yours.
Continue reading "Past Meets Present: Education, Housing, and Segregation" »
This year marks the twentieth anniversary of what is commonly known as the 1992 Los Angeles riot, events triggered by the acquittal of four LAPD officers charged with beating suspected drunk driver Rodney King. Here in Los Angeles, there have been many reflections on the events that took place over a six day period, which ended with the deaths of 54 people, thousands of injuries, and estimates of $1 
Typically, the events are called riots, but some refer to what happened as a rebellion, uprising, or civil unrest. Do all of these terms apply? While it might just seem like semantics, sociologists who study collective behavior can help us understand the differences between these concepts and help us better understand what happened twenty years ago—and many other times throughout history.
Continue reading "Civil Unrest, Riots, and Rebellions: What's the Difference?" »
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