Everyday Sociology Blog

Asking Sociological Questions

By Peter Kaufman I often tell students that I hope they leave my classes with more questions than answers. This statement may seem counterintuitive. Our typical model of education is based on the idea that students’ heads should be fill

The Most Important Sociological Lessons

By Peter Kaufman As a reader of this blog you must have some idea about the major themes that sociologists study. You also know that sociologists write about a lot of topics. If you were asked to identify the most important lessons that on

What is Sociological Research?

By Karen Sternheimer We do research all the time, or at least we use the word research regularly. Trying to figure out where to stay on a vacation? “Research” it online! Choosing a restaurant? Do some “research” by asking your friends abou

Doing Sociology

By Peter Kaufman When students begin studying sociology one of the first questions they always ask (or have someone ask them) is: “What do you do with sociology?” What’s really being asked here is: What jobs can you get with a sociology d

An Applied Sociological Perspective on Design

By Michelle Janning, Professor of Sociology and co-designer of Human-Centered Design at Whitman College Do you ever find yourself feeling frustrated when an airport security line seems to be moving too slowly? How about when restaurant ta

Asking Sociological Questions

By Janis Prince Inniss If you’ve been a long-time visitor to our site—welcome back and thanks—you’ve hopefully gained some sociological insights into several topics. But you may still wonder what sociologists do. The main reason that I lo

Sociology vs. the Obvious

By Karen Sternheimer What is sociology? This question may seem obvious (especially—I hope—if you have taken or are taking a sociology class), but when I asked this question on a midterm years ago, I observed a troubling pattern. While th

Research Questions: Less is More

By Karen Sternheimer Robin (not her real name) is a student of mine who came to my office to discuss her research paper for my class, due two weeks from the day she came to see me. She is very excited about her topic, which she selected

Maintaining Order

By Karen Sternheimer I like a certain amount of orderliness in my life. I make lists and have rather predictable patterns when it comes to what I eat and how I spend my time at work as well as my leisure time. As I blogged about two years

Thinking Sociologically About Holidays

By Karen Sternheimer Did you or anyone you know find this last holiday season stressful? Sociology can help us understand some of the reasons why holiday celebrations might be difficult—and why people keep doing things the same way eac