Everyday Sociology Blog

How Do You Know What You Think You Know?

By Karen Sternheimer

One of the core principles of sociology is the idea that what we know about the world around us is socially constructed; in other words, the meanings we ascribe to our social worlds are mediated through collective cultural narratives. These narratives might come from our involvement with social institutions, such as education, religion, families, government, and the economy.

The task of sociology is two-fold: to learn about the world around us through collecting empirical evidence via systematic observation, and also to think critically about how we view and understand what we observe, based on our cultural narratives.

Kids These Days, Revisited

By Karen Sternheimer

Nearly 20 years ago, in 2006, my book Kids These Days: Facts and Fictions about Today’s Youth was published. The book focused on common concerns and complaints about kids in the late 1990s and early 2000s, mostly focusing on fears that young people were becoming overweight, rude self-centered bullies who weren’t interested in school. At the time, there were also concerns about kids being at increasing risk for being victims of violence, particularly by other kids. My conclusion then--and now--fear sells, especially fears about kids.

As the subtitle indicates, many of these concerns were based on fictions, and each chapter contained data to illustrate that despite dramatic headlines, the young people of the early 2000s were not uniquely problematic compared to previous generations.   In fact they were at less risk for many of the things that we were told to fear for them, or at least no more at risk than adults are as well.

What is Decolonization?

By Alyssa Lyons

The word “decolonization” is a word frequently mentioned on college campuses. As administrators and professors attempt to decolonize their institutions, their teaching, their curriculum, and their very classrooms—at least in the metaphorical sense. Courses at City College of CUNY promise to teach students to “decolonize mental health” while the University of Portland looks for ways to “decolonize the curriculum.” In addition to course offerings, foundations have incentivized decolonization efforts at the university level by offering competitive grants to decolonize course content or teaching practices.

Rural Living and the Decluttering Movement

By Michelle Janning, Professor of Sociology and co-designer of Human-Centered Design at Whitman College, and Elena Harris, professional declutterer based in Walla Walla, Washington

Does living in a rural area impact someone’s likelihood to declutter a home? Or even their desire to do so? The short answer is yes, and people have already written thoughtfully about this.

The longer—and more sociologically interesting—answer requires diving into ways that rural living may not fit into the typical categories of experiences related to how people deal with household stuff. And it also requires thinking about how a universal approach to decluttering can be limiting. In other words, it is useful to think about how decluttering is not just a project for an individual household; it calls to mind patterns that show differences between large groups of people. Decluttering is thus sociologically interesting.

Structural Mobility and the American Dream: Push and Pull Factors

By Karen Sternheimer

You are probably familiar with the concept of the “American Dream,” the idea that anyone who works hard in the United States has the chance to experience upward mobility. What factors make this more or less possible?

First, some history (which I write about in my book Celebrity Culture and the American Dream: Stardom and Social Mobility). The phrase “American Dream” was first used—ironically enough—during the Great Depression, when the dream was largely out of reach for most Americans (more on this in a moment).

Jail and Prison Education Programs

By Jonathan Wynn

In sociology, we read a lot about the criminal justice system, deviance, and policing. We also learn about education, the hidden curriculum, tracking, and similar topics. It’s a challenge to talk about the interconnections between the criminal justice and education systems in our Introduction to Sociology classes.

There has been some good research on policing in schools—what some call the school-to-prison pipeline. Aaron Kupchik’s Homeroom Security, for example, focused his work on “school resource officers” as a failed policy on preventing or limiting student crime, while increasing the chances that students will enter the criminal justice system. Yet we still need to expand opportunities for education for incarcerated citizens.

The Changing Status of Phone Calls

By Karen Sternheimer

I recently disconnected my landline. I feel the need to explain why I had a landline for so long: when I first moved to my home,  cell reception was unreliable in my location. I also had the same phone number for nearly 20 years, so it seemed like keeping a landline made sense for a while.

In recent years, cell towers were installed on my street and the landline became more of a nuisance, mostly used by robo-callers and scammers, until I set it to only ring if a number from an approved list was calling. When the phone would ring throughout the house, it became jarring, even intrusive. So, when the price doubled for the landline, it was time to cut the cord.

How the Moynihan Report Birthed Parental Engagement Policy in Schools

By Alyssa Lyons

While parental engagement has become a popular buzzword in political circles in recent years, the language of “parental involvement” didn’t appear in U.S. federal educational policy until 1965 with the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. 

Not without coincidence, this was the same year that academic and social scientist Daniel Patrick Moynihan published the Moynihan Report: The Negro Family, the Case for National Action. An incendiary racist, classist, homophobic, and sexist document, the Moynihan Report claimed that racial inequalities in wealth and education between Blacks and whites were the result of a broken and fractured Black family structure where Black matriarchs managed the household. Moynihan further suggested that establishing a stable Black family structure was central in alleviating poverty and inequalities.

Professor Period to the Rescue!

By Lisa Smith, Douglas College, Department of Sociology and Menstrual Cycle Research Group

“Does anyone have a pad? A tampon!? 50 cents?”

I was sitting in the stall of a women’s restroom during the intermission for a concert, when I heard the familiar refrain. As a menstruator (because not all people who have periods are women and not all women have periods), I could relate to the urgency in my fellow menstruators’ voice.

Community Development Studies in Sociology, and What Sociology Offers Students

By Colby King, Calvin Odhiambo, Associate Professor of Sociology, and Lizabeth Zack, Professor of Sociology and Department Chair, University of South Carolina Upstate

The recent decision by the Florida Board of Governors to exclude Introductory sociology from the list of courses that fulfill the social science general education requirements for Florida public college students has sparked discussions highlighting the vital role of sociology in academic curriculum. Stacy Torres wrote here about the life-changing role sociology course can play in students’ lives.