Everyday Sociology Blog

Sociology on the Autobahn

By Karen Sternheimer

The German autobahn is the subject of much lore in the United States. Images of an open road with no speed limits, allowing high-end performance sports cars to drive as fast as their engineering can take them permeate popular imagination.

The reality is rather different from the fantasy, as I found out while on a few short road trips in Germany recently. While just mention of the word autobahn suggests something exciting, possibly scary, and exotic to a foreigner, it literally translates to “highway.” Here are some realities of driving on the autobahn for my fellow American visitors (with some sociology thrown in, of course).

Gender Under Construction

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

In May 2023, Phyllis arrived at Broadway-City Hall Station--a transit hub not too far from downtown Vancouver, Canada. Phyllis is one of two tunnel-boring machines (Elsie is the other one) hard at work as ­­­part of a major public transit upgrade that will expand the existing network considerably. Tunneling under the city streets was a must; enter Phyllis and Elsie.

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.

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.

Place Matters: Inequality and Geography

By Karen Sternheimer

The history of the places we live matters. From the infrastructure that provides access to roads, water, sewer systems, and utilities, often built long before we live someplace, to things like nearby schools and hospitals, where we live is a window into our life chances.

In their recently published book, The Injustice of Place: Uncovering the Legacy of Poverty in America, Kathryn J. Edin, H. Luke Shaefer, and Timothy Nelson examine the factors that lead to “deep disadvantage.” They define this as having an income of less than half of the poverty rate, health disadvantages, and limited opportunities for children (p. 4). These spaces are mostly rural, and often overlap with places of enslavement in the past (p. 10). Throughout their book, they explore the link between past injustices and the lack of opportunities in the present.

The Irony of Tiny Houses: Commoditizing Rebellion

By Alice Wilson, PhD Student, University of York (UK)

Capitalism is amazingly good at devouring the things that would seek to challenge it, then packaging that same thing up and selling it back to people through its own market tendrils. It is somewhat of a superpower.

Tiny houses are one of the more recent examples of this. (I did a TEDx talk about people's motivations for living in a tiny house and what your life might be like if you lived in one.)

A tiny house is a compact living space, often ranging from 100 to 400 square feet, designed to provide all the essentials for daily living. These homes, which can be stationary or mobile (like those on trailer foundations), prioritize minimalism and efficient use of space. They've gained popularity as a response to rising housing costs and a desire for simpler living and reduced environmental footprints.

Public Transportation and Global Citizenship

By Karen Sternheimer

In addition to travel itself, I enjoy travel planning. One of the first things that I usually do is figure out when to go, how to get there, and how to get around once I am there.

When planning my most recent trip to Germany and Austria, I was excited to get what I thought was a great deal on a rental car, which would amount to about $20 a day. After reading so much about rental car shortages while making plans, I was particularly excited about this, and moved on to figure out lodging for the trip, about 9 months in the future.

Selling Old Towns: Consumption and Hyperreality

By Karen Sternheimer

I’m a sucker for an old town when I’m traveling, and based on the crowds I regularly find on these visits, I am not alone.

Old towns hold out the promise of a walk into history and a chance to see something that we seldom get to see in our daily lives. They feel like they represent the most “authentic” aspect of a place, one that might distill the essence of what it means to visit this locale. In contrast to the mundane, everyday nature of most places, old towns seem like they offer something special.

Beer, Identity, and Place

By Karen Sternheimer

I recently visited what is arguably the beer capital of the world, Munich, Germany. I’m not a beer drinker, even casually, but the cultural meanings people create surrounding beer interest me. Through many ads and signs, it was clear that part of what beer makers advertise is its connection to a particular place.

First, a brief history: Munich, called München in German, literally translates to “Monks” in English. Augustinian Monks brewed beer at least as far back as the fourteenth century, as the alcohol made safer to drink than water. Claims that the first brewery was near Munich help solidify the historical connection, and of course Oktoberfest, a two-week long festival each fall that celebrates beer (among other things) continues the tradition.

Creating Downtown LA

By Karen Sternheimer

Last summer, the American Sociological Association (ASA) held its annual meeting in downtown Los Angeles (DTLA). “We’re right in your backyard!” an out-of-town colleague said, and while only about 20 miles away, this area is in many ways a world away from where I live in Los Angeles. I seldom go downtown, despite it being a mere 2 miles from my workplace, mostly because I prefer open spaces to commercialized zones. (Yeah, traffic and parking issues are a deterrent too).

The conference took place at the city’s Convention Center, near the crypto.com Arena (formerly known as Staples Center) and LA Live, a complex of sports-themed restaurants, hotels, and performance spaces. My colleague, Leland Saito, studied the development of this area in his book, Building Downtown Los Angeles: The Politics of Race and Place in Urban America. He explores how low-income people of color were systematically displaced over the last five decades—mostly within the last twenty-five years—to create this commercial area. He argues that the meanings of race are intertwined with geographical spaces, and that displacement isn’t just an effect of race, but creates meanings of race itself (pp. 3-4).