Everyday Sociology Blog

Community Building and Women’s Activism

By Teresa Irene Gonzales

As I’ve discussed in previous posts, affordable housing in urban areas, particularly places like New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and increasingly Chicago, is scarce and oftentimes inaccessible. Movements for access to housing have mobilized around expanding or implementing rent controls (for instance, in Chicago through the Lift the Ban coalition), while others have focused on training people how to advocate for policies that support equitable access to housing (such as the Resident Access Project or RAP in Washington State). As is the case with RAP, many housing activists aim to increasing residents’ knowledge and skills through leadership development and empowerment.

As scholars of both social movements and organizational studies have noted, some of the most effective leaders provide skill building, work to build self-confidence among followers, create opportunities for personal development, and understand when to move from a leadership to follower position.

Hurricane Maria and U.S. Failure

By Teresa Irene Gonzales

In September 2017, the Caribbean and southeastern parts of the United States experienced two devastating hurricanes: Hurricane Irma and Hurricane Maria.

Hurricane Irma – a category 5 storm with winds upwards of 175 mph – caused physical destruction, flooding, and loss of life (~134 total) throughout Barbuda (95% destruction), Puerto Rico (1 million without electricity), Florida (6.5 million homes without electricity), and elsewhere.

Two weeks later, on September 20, Hurricane Maria – a category 4 storm with winds of 150 mph – followed a similar trajectory through the Caribbean. Already reeling from the effects of Irma, Maria further devastated Puerto Rico, where it made landfall; the majority of phone lines (cell and landlines) and internet communication was down (85% inoperable), the agricultural sector was destroyed, 230,000 homes were damaged or destroyed, and the Guajataca Dam, holding 11-billion gallons of water, failed. In addition, the entire island lost power.

The U.S. government’s limited and slow response to Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico highlight the second-class status of commonwealth entities. Although U.S. citizens, Puerto Ricans have limited access to the rights of citizenship.

The Social Laboratory

By Teresa Irene Gonzales

If you’ve taken a research methods class, you know that some sociologists use the scientific method to conduct research. There are variations to how we employ the scientific method, particularly between quantitative and qualitative studies. While quantitative questions often draw on large datasets, qualitative research often (though not always) requires the researcher to go out and interact with people.

Just as students in the natural and computer sciences research questions in scientific or technical labs, social science students often research their questions in what we can understand as a social laboratory.

A Strangeness in My Mind: Rural Poverty and Isolation

By Teresa Irene Gonzales

I generally spend my spring break visiting friends in Oklahoma, reading novels, playing board games, and taking a much-needed break from teaching and research. This past March, in an attempt to read something entertaining, I picked up a translation of Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk’s A Strangeness in My Mind.

The story chronicles the life of Mevlut as he migrates between his rural village of Anatolia to the city of Istanbul for work. We read about his school-age games and schemes to make money, his tireless work with his father as a street vendor selling yogurt and boza (a slightly alcoholic Turkish drink), his conscription into the army, and, in a comically sad twist, his elopement to the seemingly wrong woman.

From At-risk to At-Promise: Social Capital and Adult-Youth Relationships

By Teresa Irene Gonzales and Marilyn Barnes, recent graduate, Knox College

Every year, seniors at Knox College engage in a year long research project. In the fall term, students come up with a topic, write a literature review, refine their research question(s), and draft their IRB submission. During the winter term, the students collect data through ethnographic observations, interviews, surveys, and/or content analysis. In the spring students write their final research paper and present their findings to campus.

Children and Global Gentrification

By Teresa Irene Gonzales

I recently gave a talk to the newly formed chapter of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Campus Initiative at Knox College. Founded by the United Nations in 1946 to provide aid to Children affected by World War II, UNICEF works in countries across the globe to improve the lives of children through research, health care, access to clean water and sanitation, and emergency relief, to name a few.

Their campus initiatives encourage college students to promote the mission of UNICEF, engage in fundraising, and organize educational panels. Like many clubs and organizations on college campuses, and especially at Knox, there is a component of philanthropy, volunteerism, and community engagement that underlines the work students do with UNICEF. At the same time there is a training component, where students learn how to become civically engaged in projects that they are passionate about.

Latin History for Morons: Ethnic Studies, Student Achievement, and Eurocentrism

By Teresa Irene Gonzales

During spring break, my husband and I went to see John Leguizamo’s latest one-man show “Latin History for Morons” at the Public Theater in New York City. Performing as a slightly disheveled, professorial version of himself, Leguizamo tells the story of his efforts to educate his young son on the importance, contributions, and legacies of Latin@s/x, only to find that his own knowledge is lacking. He attributes his limited knowledge to a Eurocentric education and cultural industry that consistently glorifies whiteness and Euro-American history. This perception that Europe and Anglo histories and cultures are superior to others is a form of ethnocentrism. If we only view the world and others around us through our own cultural lens, then we miss the complexities, contributions, beauty, and struggles of groups that are all around us.

Love and Sociological Theory

By Teresa Irene Gonzales

Earlier this term, I used Larson and Tsitsos’s (2013) “Speed Dating and the Presentation of Self” activity to get students to think about impression management and impression formation. The activity requires that half of the class stay seated, while others are tasked with switching seats/partners every three minutes. During each segment, students talk about anything they want. The activity enables students to practice analysis, participant-observation, and symbolic interactionism.

Partway through the activity, I modified the exercise and, after they switched partners, asked students to stare at the person across from them for one minute before talking. After about 30 seconds of nervous laughter and glances around the room, the students settled into staring. We then proceeded to finish the exercise without additional modifications.

Upon completion, and during our discussion component of the activity, several students mentioned that although staring at another classmate was “weird” and “made them uncomfortable,” it also created a connection between some of the participants. Students said that they felt closer and more trusting of the person they stared at. This trust enabled them to engage in deeper conversation and to feel an instant friendship with their staring partner.

What’s the Difference Between Growth and Local Development?

By Teresa Irene Gonzales

In my Community (Economic) Development course, students are often confused by the differences between economic growth, local economic development, and community economic development. Because these terms help to explain similar process of development, they can seem like the same thing. As with most things, these terms are in flux and scholars often disagree about the definitions, adding to the confusion. Understanding the differences between these terms helps us analyze the impact of various economic development plans on residents and the environment.

Early definitions of economic development focus on growth as the standard. According to Malizia & Feser, and Wolman & Spitzley, we can understand growth as an increase to outputs (per capita income, jobs, a country’s gross domestic product, et cetera). This form of economic development focuses on increasing national wealth through improvements to the local business climate. Some examples of this approach include tax subsidies to keep or attract businesses to a certain locale. The idea is that a friendly business climate will lead to more jobs, increase competition, attract more businesses, and in turn yield greater wealth for the area. Some examples include the Boeing deal in Chicago, and the more recent Carrier deal in Indiana.

Sanctuary Policies and States Rights

By Teresa Irene Gonzales

With the election of Donald Trump, some faculty and students on college and university campuses are particularly worried about what a Trump presidency will mean for the safety of undocumented students. Trump has vowed to reverse President Obama’s executive orders (including DACA), “end sanctuary cities,” and restrict federal funding to locales that do not comply with federal immigration agents. This is particularly troubling for young people with DACA-status (see my previous post for an explanation of DACA here). Given growing concerns over undocumented students’ safety, several colleges and universities have proclaimed themselves sanctuary campuses.