Everyday Sociology Blog

Interpreting Numbers in Context

By Karen Sternheimer

In the age of big data, one of the most important—and overlooked—skills that training in sociology provides is the ability to interpret numerical data. Being statistically literate is important for so many reasons, not the least being that it ultimately can help you find a job. Even if you aren’t a statistician or data analyst, knowing how to understand numbers can give you a leg up among the math phobic in many professions.

You don’t have to fall in love with equations or mathematical theory to become skilled at interpreting data. The most important thing to keep in mind is that numbers tell a story, and your job as an interpreter of data is to figure out what story they are telling, and share that story with others.

Cats, Dogs, and #metoo

By Sally Raskoff

There seems to be an emerging awareness of sexual harassment and sexual assault as more “open secrets” are exposed as some powerful men have recently been fired from their jobs.

The hashtag #metoo has recently been circulating on social media to encourage women to share if they have experienced sexual harassment and/or sexual assault. Alyssa Milano’s tweet suggesting it created this current wave of #metoo’s across the Internet. However, the term was first used by Tarana Burke to support and empower African American women and girls who experienced sexual assault and exploitation. The idea of the current Twitter and Facebook firestorm is to show highlight how many people have dealt with this issue.

Be Social When you Study!

By Jonathan Wynn

It’s midterm time! I wrote a blog post a few years ago about how to take notes and the issues surrounding using laptops in the classroom, but in the spirit of the midterm season, I thought I would share some ideas about how to study.

In some way, I am sure that some of you are thinking, “I’ve gotten this far, so I must be doing something right.” In a way, that’s true. If you are a first-year student, however, the collegiate experience is a different magnitude than what you have experienced before. You will no longer just be consuming information like you may have done in high school. You will now be expected to rehearse and use what you know.

Eating and Identity

By Karen Sternheimer

An acquaintance recently told me a joke: “How can you tell if a person is vegan?” “I don’t know,” I responded, “how can you tell?” “Don’t worry, they’ll let you know.”

The food we eat is a core component of culture; our customs, celebrations, and restrictions shape and are shaped by our shared values, beliefs, and our resources. It also helps shape our sense of self and identity by the groups that we belong to and who we are as individuals.

Place Character, DIY Place Branding, and the Yinzernet

By Colby King

How do you describe the place that you live? Is your neighborhood friendly? Is your campus cool? Is your city hip?

The way we talk about the places we live both reflects and contributes to their place character. This concept is often a little tricky to understand at first, but my students come to appreciate how it helps them make sense of how we socially construct meaning about the places in our lives.

Good Bones and Good Policy

By Karen Sternheimer

As I blogged about several years ago, I have a weakness for programs on HGTV. I enjoy watching people house hunt and remodel, even with the knowledge that most of these shows are likely staged. At their core, they are programs about consumption, and advertisers hope their shows inspire viewers like me to want to buy home-related products. For me, and I suspect many other viewers, part of the pleasure of watching is vicarious consumption, watching other people make decisions and choices and perhaps getting ideas for my own purchases.

I recently binged-watched the first season of a new (to me) HGTV show, Good Bones. The show features a mother/daughter-run renovation team who buy mostly abandoned houses from the city, fix them up, and sell them.

What caught my interest in this show was that the stars’ company, Two Chicks and a Hammer, targets homes in their own neighborhood and a nearby neighborhood near downtown Indianapolis, with the goal of revitalizing the once struggling community. “I don’t want to build crappy homes for my neighbors, I just don’t,” says Karen E. Laine, the mother of the duo, during each show’s opening.