Showing papers in "Sociology Compass in 2010"
TL;DR: The concept of collective identity has been used extensively by social movement scholars seeking to explain how social movements generate and sustain commitment and cohesion between actors over time as discussed by the authors. But despite its wide application, collective identity is a notoriously abstract concept.
Abstract: The concept of collective identity has been used extensively by social movement scholars seeking to explain how social movements generate and sustain commitment and cohesion between actors over time. Despite its wide application, collective identity is a notoriously abstract concept. This article focuses on the use of the concept in the literature on contemporary social movements and offers a comprehensive theoretical overview. The central elements of collective identity in the social movement literature are developed, and some key differences in interpretations are highlighted. Finally, some contemporary debates around the continuing usefulness and limitations of the concept of collective identity are explored, with a special emphasis on the challenges of applying the concept to movements that define themselves in terms of heterogeneity, diversity and inclusiveness.
258 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors map the field of an emerging body of work that is critical of the dominant obesity discourse, and demonstrate that fat studies offers dynamic new possibilities for social scientists interested in using fat as an interrogative lens.
Abstract: An extensive body of literature concerning obesity already exists, but this paper seeks to map the field of an emerging body of work that is critical of that dominant discourse. Although it has been most recently mobilised by the rhetoric of an assumed global obesity epidemic, or moral panic around fatness, Fat Studies has an extensive history and interdisciplinary literature which questions and problematises traditional understandings of obesity and draws upon the language, culture and theory of civil rights, social justice and social change. Fat Studies enables the reframing of the problem of obesity, where it is not the fat body that is at issue, but the cultural production of fatphobia. Given the powerful commercial, ideological and institutional interest in maintaining dominant obesity discourse, such reframing is contested. Nevertheless, this paper demonstrates that Fat Studies offers dynamic new possibilities for social scientists interested in using fat as an interrogative lens.
187 citations
TL;DR: This paper explored the institutional and interactional dynamics that fuel women's drives to perform as "the good mother" and explored the "good mothering" ideology that places mothers at risk of guilt and shame.
Abstract: Even as research continues to explore mothering experiences and social psychologists consider the costs of guilt and shame, few empirical works have examined the relationships among mothering, guilt and shame. The idea that guilt and shame are necessary components of mothering is widespread. A few sources take seriously the emotions of guilt and shame nor has considerable thought been given to the social nature of guilt and shame. Rather than accept a purely psychological explanation of guilt and shame, I investigate the institutional and interactional dynamics that fuel women’s drives to perform as ‘the good mother’. In particular, I explore the ‘good mothering’ ideology that places mothers at risk of guilt and shame and then two social and institutional spaces where guilt and shame are likely to be prevalent.
138 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the invisible hand of social capital has been found to be more effective for white men than for minorities and women to perpetuate race and gender inequality in the labor market.
Abstract: To better understand persistent race and gender inequality in the labor market, this article discusses the informal processes by which social connections provide individuals with access to information, influence, and status that help to further people’s careers. Because social networks are segregated by race and gender, access to these social capital resources tends to be greater for white men than for minorities and women. To illustrate this point, research on the invisible hand of social capital is presented. In short, high-level job openings are commonly filled with non-searchers – people who are not looking for new jobs – thanks to their receipt of unsolicited job leads. Recent studies find that this process operates more effectively for white men than for minorities and women, demonstrating how the invisible hand of social capital helps to perpetuate race and gender inequality. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications of these findings and directions for future research.
109 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that social movements are composed of individuals and their interactions, and that rational-choice approaches recognize this, but their version of the calculating individual is too abstract to be realistic or helpful.
Abstract: Grand theories of social movements, relating them to History or Society, are being dismantled and reevaluated. In their place approaches are emerging that offer a cultural and emotional theory of action, allowing analysts to build from the micro-level to the macro-level in a more empirical way rather than deductively from the top down. Social movements are composed of individuals and their interactions. Rational-choice approaches recognize this, but their version of the calculating individual is too abstract to be realistic or helpful. Pragmatism, feminism, and related traditions are encouraging a rethinking of collective action.
100 citations
TL;DR: This paper reviewed the sociological and social gerontological research on multigenerational households and families and provided a snapshot of multi-generational coresidence in the US and discussed the primary theoretical perspectives used to explain these patterns: exchange theory, altruism, and norms and obligations.
Abstract: What motivates adult children, parents, and even grandchildren to live together? To answer this question, we review the sociological and social gerontological research on multigenerational households and families. We first provide a snapshot of multigenerational coresidence in the US and then discuss the primary theoretical perspectives used to explain these patterns: exchange theory, altruism, and norms and obligations. Structural conditions including economic crises tend to facilitate adult children moving in with parents (often with dependent children in tow), while spousal loss and declining health act as catalysts for parents moving in with adult children. Furthermore, economic struggles often facilitate the formation of grandparent-headed families where the middle generation parents may or may not be present. We suggest that the current economic recession and housing crises will have profound effects on multigenerational households and may also encourage more coresidence. Changes in social welfare policies, increases in coresident grandparenting, and changes in the racial and ethnic composition of the US also have implications for multigenerational households’ economic and social security.
97 citations
TL;DR: A survey article on punitiveness in public opinion as discussed by the authors focuses on some of the most influential explanations for variations in punitiveness within individuals and across groups and concludes with the observation that as methodologies continue to improve and the literature in this area continues to grow, so too does our understanding of punitive public opinion.
Abstract: The punitive turn in criminal justice policy, epitomized by policies like three-strikes, truth in sentencing, and mandatory minimums, is often attributed in part to demand for harsher criminal justice responses from an increasingly punitive public. It has been argued that public opinion, known to be both largely uninformed and often misunderstood, might both indirectly and directly affect policy. This survey article on punitiveness in public opinion opens with a discussion of competing depictions of the nature of the relationship between a punitive public and increasingly punitive criminal justice policies. The article then focuses on some of the most influential explanations for variations in punitiveness within individuals and across groups. A review of what we know about public attitudes toward punishment and a brief explanation of how we know what we know (e.g. the methodologies by which we gauge public opinion) follow. The article concludes with the observation that as methodologies continue to improve and the literature in this area continues to grow, so too does our understanding of punitive public opinion in all of its complexity.
95 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors describe the development of gender and migration research and its theoretical underpinnings and highlight the key contributions that feminist migration scholars have made to our knowledge of labor migration, migrant families and social networks, transnationalism and citizenship, sex trafficking, and sexuality.
Abstract: In approximately three decades, gender and migration scholarship has moved from a few studies that included women immigrants or included gender as a dichotomous variable to a burgeoning literature that has made significant contributions to understanding numerous aspects of the migration experience. The larger field of migration studies, however, has not yet fully embraced feminist migration analysis and theory. In this article, I describe the development of gender and migration research and its theoretical underpinnings. Afterward, I highlight the key contributions that feminist migration scholars have made to our knowledge of labor migration, migrant families and social networks, transnationalism and citizenship, sex trafficking, and sexuality. Considering these important contributions, I explore the reasons why feminist migration research still lies largely outside the mainstream of the broader field and how it might achieve better integration.
87 citations
TL;DR: Whether feminization is changing the significance of gender to health care employment is considered, as women’s participation is expanding in traditionally male-dominated professions.
Abstract: Within health care, there has long been a gender division of professional labor: men have predominated in higher-status, higher-paying professions like medicine and dentistry, while women’s health care work has been clustered in so-called support occupations such as nursing. Historically, health care professions were gendered, and beliefs about gender came to be embedded in professional work. Recently, however, traditional gender divisions of labor are being challenged by the feminization of professions in the United States and Canada. Women’s participation is expanding in traditionally male-dominated professions. This article explores the nature and causes of this feminization and considers whether feminization is changing the significance of gender to health care employment.
78 citations
TL;DR: The authors reviewed the intersection of journalism and globalization by considering the communication field's approach to "media globalization" within a broader interdisciplinary perspective that mixes the sociology of globalization with aspects of geography and social anthropology.
Abstract: Like every other social practice, journalism cannot now fully be understood apart from globalization. As part of a larger platform of communication media, journalism contributes to this experience of the world-as-a-single-place and thus represents a key component in these social transformations, both as cause and outcome. These issues at the intersection of journalism and globalization define an important and growing field of research, particularly concerning the public sphere and spaces for political discourse. In this essay, I review this intersection of journalism and globalization by considering the communication field’s approach to ‘media globalization’ within a broader interdisciplinary perspective that mixes the sociology of globalization with aspects of geography and social anthropology. By placing the emphasis on social practices, elites, and specific geographical spaces, I introduce a less media-centric approach to media globalization and how journalism fits into the process. Beyond ‘global village journalism,’ this perspective captures the changes globalization has brought to journalism. Like every other social practice, journalism cannot now fully be understood apart from globalization. This process refers to the intensification of social interconnections, which allows apprehending the world as a single place, creating a greater awareness of our own place and its relative location within the range of world experience. As part of a larger platform of communication media, journalism contributes to this experience and thus represents a key component in these social transformations, both as cause and outcome. These issues at the intersection of journalism and globalization define an important and growing field of research, particularly concerning the public sphere and spaces for political discourse. The study of globalization has become a fashionable growth industry, attracting an interdisciplinary assortment of scholars. Journalism, meanwhile, itself has become an important subject in its own right within media studies, with a growing number of projects taking an international perspective (reviewed in Reese 2009). Combining the two areas yields a complex subject that requires some careful sorting out to get beyond the jargon and the easy country‐by-country case studies. From the globalization studies side, the media role often seems like an afterthought, a residual category of social change, or a self-evident symbol of the global era‐CNN, for example. Indeed, globalization research has been slower to consider the changing role of journalism, compared to the attention devoted to financial and entertainment flows. That may be expected, given that economic and cultural globalization is further along than that of politics, and journalism has always been closely tied to democratic structures, many of which are inherently rooted in local communities. The media-centrism of communication research, on the other hand, may give the media—and the journalism associated with them—too much credit in the globalization process, treating certain media as the primary driver of global connections and the proper object of study. Global connections support new forms of journalism, which create politically significant new spaces within social systems, lead to social change, and privilege certain forms
75 citations
TL;DR: A great deal of the ethnographic and qualitative research on international marriage migration focuses on women's agency, the patriarchal and heteronormative underpinnings of marriage and incongruous gender relations, as well as the dynamics between local transformations and the global political economy as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: In the last two decades, the growth of intra-regional marriage migration in Asia has stimulated scholarly interest in destination countries. Marriage migration led to social, demographic, and cultural transformations of current and future generations in these countries, and raised new issues in relation to race, ethnicity, gender, class, and nationality. Recent scholarly work on international marriage migration has moved beyond the so-called mail-order bride discourse and has critically examined various aspects of the experiences of women marriage migrants in affinal families, communities, and societies. Influenced by the postcolonial feminist perspective, a great deal of the ethnographic and qualitative research on international marriage migration focuses on women’s agency, the patriarchal and heteronormative underpinnings of marriage, and incongruous gender relations, as well as the dynamics between local transformations and the global political economy.
TL;DR: The authors provide an introduction to cultural intermediaries as an entry point for the study of media and cultural production, and make a case for the utility of "cultural intermediaries" as a way to think about cultural production.
Abstract: This article provides an introduction to, and makes a case for, cultural intermediaries as an entry point for the study of media and cultural production. We offer a strategic parsing of the conceptual foundations provided by Bourdieu with regard to cultural intermediaries and the media, loosely organized in terms of where they are located (working in media); the means of accomplishing their role (working with media); and their economic role in promoting consumption (the work of mediation). We then follow the translation of the concept from Bourdieu to a cultural economy approach that is concerned with the material practices involved in the formation of value. A review and comparison of substantive findings from a range of cultural economic case studies of cultural intermediary occupations serves as an introduction to a three-fold approach that might guide future studies of occupations in cultural industries, in terms of: historicizing occupations, material practices, and assessments of impact. Finally, we conclude with a claim for the utility of ‘cultural intermediaries’ as a way to think about cultural production, and highlight areas in which work remains to be done.
TL;DR: There are four main approaches to the study of organizational aesthetics: (i) the archaeological approach which privileges the symbolic dimension of aesthetic understanding; (ii) the empathic-logical approach which seeks to grasp the pathos of organizational life; (iii) the artistic approach which examines flow, creativity, and playfulness as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: The aesthetic dimension of work and organizational life attracted the attention of organization scholars during the 1980s and 1990s, and its study burgeoned at the turn of the new millennium. There are today four main approaches to the study of organizational aesthetics: (i) the archaeological approach which privileges the symbolic dimension of aesthetic understanding; (ii) the empathic-logical approach which seeks to grasp the pathos of organizational life; (iii) the aesthetic approach which emphasizes the negotiation of organizational aesthetics; (iv) the artistic approach which examines flow, creativity, and playfulness. They all engage in an intellectual controversy with approaches to the study of organizations which privilege the mental, cognitive, and rational dimension of social action whilst neglecting the material, sensible, and emotional dimension of work relations in organizations. This article will illustrate and discuss these approaches by paying particular attention to the topics of the emancipation of people at work and the style of work and organizational practices.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review the kinds of perks, and penalties, people receive from being deemed beautiful and show that visually appealing traits greatly impact our lives, in matters of modest importance (friend selection) to great importance (e.g. getting a job and career mobility).
Abstract: The presence of aesthetically based cultural goods and their ever-increasing influence in modern society may pose a new conceptual opportunity to sociology. Specifically, how can the discipline forge an understanding of how value associated with beauty returns forms of individual wealth? A new term, i.e. aesthetic capital, might be an answer. Such a concept, we maintain, covers the privileges and wealth people receive from aesthetic traits, such as their face, hair, body, clothes, grooming habits and other markers of beauty. The purpose of our paper is to review the kinds of perks, and penalties, people receive from being deemed beautiful. Our review shows that visually appealing traits greatly impact our lives, in matters of modest importance (friend selection) to great importance (e.g. getting a job and career mobility). Thus, the promise of an aesthetic capital concept lies in enabling sociology to better understand inequality and the socially based forms of wealth available to individuals in modern society.
TL;DR: A snapshot of the work that those over 50 years of age in the UK currently do is provided and the question of whether the authors want to work for longer or whether a culture of early retirement prevails is posed.
Abstract: Older workers are becoming an increasing topic of research interest and policy concern as the populations of Europe, the United States and many other countries age. Some commentators argue that living longer means that there will be an ‘unavoidable obligation’ to work for longer as well. This article considers the reasons for concern about an ageing workforce. It then looks at the different literatures, which seek to research and understand the position of older workers. It provides a snapshot of the work that those over 50 years of age in the UK currently do and poses the question of whether we want to work for longer or whether a culture of early retirement prevails. It concludes by arguing for a more fine grained understanding of the composition of the older worker cohort, differentiated by class, gender and race and for more research on flexible work, gradual retirement and managing health at work.
TL;DR: The study of memory straddles a wide range of social science disciplines including sociology, psychology, anthropology, and geography as discussed by the authors, and the literature on collective memory and commemoration is rich and diverse.
Abstract: The study of memory straddles a wide range of social science disciplines including sociology, psychology, anthropology, and geography. Within sociology, reviews of the literature have already been carried out, but these are now somewhat dated. This article takes the measure of recent prior research on the sociology of collective memory and commemoration by (1) proposing a classification of collective memory research; (2) organising the literature under the headings of theoretical developments, methodological strategies, and methodological challenges; and (3) offering suggestions for maximising the internal cohesion and external utility of the sub-field.
TL;DR: A review of the current state of the research on mobile cultures by situating it within the sociology of mobility, or mobilities, is presented in this paper, focusing on empirical research on the social and cultural aspects of transportation.
Abstract: This article reviews the current state of the research on mobile cultures by situating it within the sociology of mobility, or mobilities. The review focuses in detail on empirical research on the social and cultural aspects of transportation. The study of transport in daily life, or the study of mobile cultures, is reviewed with a particular attention to issues of time and space, as well as the social problems and social inequalities generated by dominant patterns of mobility. It also discusses the mobility turn in sociology and the growth of a new mobility paradigm influencing important shifts in sociological theory and research methodology. It defines the field of mobilities as the study of the social aspects of movement, including the movement of people, material objects, information, and capital – both in the material and the virtual sense. Mobilities for instance may include phenomena as migration, transport, travel and tourism, wireless and portable communication technology use, the social organization of transportation and communication infrastructures, and regional and transnational flows of capital and material things.
TL;DR: The Propaganda Model (PM) was developed by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky and published in Manufacturing Consent in 1988 to explain the behaviour of the mass media in the United States.
Abstract: The Propaganda Model (PM), developed by Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky and published in Manufacturing Consent in 1988, sought to explain the behaviour of the mass media in the United States. Analysing the function, operation and effects of the media are essential to any understanding of contemporary societies and the article begins by sketching out the contours of the liberal-pluralist vs. critical-Marxist debate about the role of the media. The article then presents an overview of the PM, locates it within the field of media and communication studies, considers its reception, discusses a number of complementary methodological and theoretical approaches, and argues that the PM, more than 20 years after its formulation, continues to provide an invaluable tool for understanding the media within contemporary capitalist societies.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine the social context within which these laws were passed and the assumptions behind the three most common sex offender laws, mandatory registration, community notification, and residence restrictions.
Abstract: Since the mid-1990s legislators have enacted a series of laws regulating convicted sex offenders who have returned to communities. Policymakers crafted these laws to appease a worried public, but they were based on assumptions about sex offenders’ behaviors that were not well supported by research evidence. In this paper we examine the social context within which these laws were passed and the assumptions behind the three most common sex offender laws – mandatory registration, community notification, and residence restrictions. Next we review the research that has been conducted so far to evaluate the effectiveness of these laws and their unintended consequences. We conclude with a discussion of the lessons learned from these sex offender laws for both policymaking and future research.
TL;DR: It is argued that while these models are based on the work of Bourdieu and his concept of habitus, they nevertheless overlook the importance of power and symbolic dominance in relation to the construction of ‘healthy’ and the understanding of lifestyles.
Abstract: Strategies for the prevention of disease and the promotion of health have a long history of individual-level interventions with the promotion of ‘healthy lifestyles’ being the primary target. The focus at an individual level devoid of social context has provoked a sociological critique of the prevailing healthy lifestyle discourse. This critique emphasises the social causes of health-related attitudes and behaviours in society, and the ideology of individual responsibility and ‘victim blaming’ that an individualist approach entails. At the same time, the prevailing notion of ‘health’ has been scrutinised within the framework of health promotion stressing a definition emphasising well-being and quality of life. This ‘positive’ definition of health broadens the possible reach of ‘healthy lifestyles’. Theoretical models emphasising structural aspects of the lifestyle construct have been produced. In this article, it is argued that while these models are based on the work of Bourdieu and his concept of habitus, they nevertheless overlook the importance of power and symbolic dominance in relation to the construction of ‘healthy’ and the understanding of lifestyles.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors focus on the emergent literature on transnational families in the context of migration to the United States and show how global structures of inequality at macro-level affect the everyday lives of transnational family members, as well as how individual action reproduces or challenges these broader social inequalities.
Abstract: Over the past two decades, interest in the transnational lifestyles of contemporary migrants has grown significantly. In this article, we focus not on transnational identities, processes or structures, but rather on the emergent literature on transnational families in the context of migration to the United States. Transnational family studies broadly fall into two thematic camps: 1) those that describe transnational households as cooperative units in the face of economic, political and legal constraint and 2) those that show how the conditions that lead family members to live apart exacerbate and create new sources of conflict within families. Whether highlighting family conflict or cooperation, contemporary transnational family studies differ theoretically from prior research on immigrant families. Instead of focusing on immigrant incorporation, this literature demonstrates how global structures of inequality at the macro-level affect the everyday lives of transnational family members, as well as how individual action reproduces or challenges these broader social inequalities.
TL;DR: This paper reviewed sociological research on glass ceiling effects at work and discussed the current state of the glass ceiling, methodological and theoretical concerns with research in this area, and a number of the key factors that contribute to the creation and maintenance of glass ceiling effect, including selection effects, cultural capital, homophily, networking, gender stereotypes, gender discrimination and occupational segregation.
Abstract: The glass ceiling is a popular metaphor for explaining the inability of many women to advance past a certain point in their occupations and professions, regardless of their qualifications or achievements. In this article, we review sociological research on glass ceiling effects at work. We discuss the current state of the glass ceiling, methodological and theoretical concerns with research in this area, and a number of the key factors that contribute to the creation and maintenance of glass ceiling effects, including selection effects, cultural capital, homophily, networking, gender stereotypes, gender discrimination and occupational segregation, and characteristics of organizations. We conclude with a discussion of research that is aimed at lessening gendered glass ceiling disparities in the workplace.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors examine how producers and marketers authenticate their products to differentiate them in an increasingly saturated global market, meeting consumer demand for products that appear "true" or "real".
Abstract: I review the processes surrounding consumption in the arts and leisure activities, through which consumers, producers, and marketers construct products as authentic. I examine how producers and marketers authenticate their products to differentiate them in an increasingly saturated global market, meeting consumer demand for products that appear ‘true’ or ‘real’. Such authentication creates value for products, which promotes consumption. I delineate what generic forms of authentication people favor, along with how individuals and organizations use various cultural resources to promote products as authentic. These forms include what I term otherizing and traditionalizing. Every time we look to make a purchase, we must decide on one product by differentiating between many. In an age filled with mass production, we often desire products that seem real, unique, or high quality, instead of plastic or fake. We might view products as ‘real’ because they seem to represent a true culture, rather than the mass produced or contrived culture of the mainstream. People may look for this realness at the store around the corner, across their country, or beyond international borders. However, the products that seem authentic are marketed as any other and must be constructed to appeal to these consumer desires. In this article, I look at the processes by which marketers and producers construct the authenticity of products and how consumers, in turn, construct definitions of authenticity by which they judge products. These processes broadly relate to those involved in the consumption process – even large corporations like Starbucks and Coors attempt to fulfill consumers’ desires for authenticity. These processes are important to understand, as consumers’ construction of authenticity can affect products’ market success. Consumers take consumption decisions seriously and personally not only for financial reasons, but because they view purchases as reflecting their senses of self. Thus, when consumers desire authenticity in their products, they will disregard products perceived as fake. Additionally, we must realize that product images are manufactured, reflecting our biases, perceptions, and what marketers believe we find, or should find, important.
TL;DR: The authors argue that cognitive sociology provides a useful generic framework with which to look at specific issues in racial classification, the social construction of race, and to racist cognitions, while critical race theory and other sociology of race frameworks can compliment cognitive sociology by addressing issues of power and domination in cognitive frameworks.
Abstract: In this article, we argue for cognitive sociology as a framework for studying the sociology of race. Cognitive sociology concerns itself with classification, identity construction, meaning and collective memory and is thus centrally concerned with generic issues that apply well to racial category construction and maintenance. We, first, outline the cognitive sociology framework. We then elaborate on traditions in the sociology of race and racism that have implicit affinities to cognitive sociology. We argue that cognitive sociology provides a useful generic framework with which to look at specific issues in racial classification, the social construction of race, and to racist cognitions, while critical race theory and other sociology of race frameworks can compliment cognitive sociology by addressing issues of power and domination in cognitive frameworks.
TL;DR: A survey of the uses, approaches, and contributions of critical race theory in the field of migration can be found in this article, where the authors identify emerging themes generated by this approach by highlighting research questions and operationalization of the CRT framework and highlight areas of distinction to mainstream sociology in US scholarship.
Abstract: This article reviews the recent literature that has incorporated critical race theory to study migration. It includes a survey of the uses, approaches, and contributions of critical race theory in the field of migration. Immigration studies have historically ⁄traditionally focused on demographic aspects of population movements, leaving virtually outside of its analysis social processes at the core of migration, like the social construction of race and citizenship. This disconnect is troubling in the current context of globalization, where specific migrant populations have become target of specific forms of violence on the basis of their racialization. Workplace raids, midnight searches, city ordinances, and changes in social services legislation, to name a few, are consistently used against specific groups to perpetuate their oppression and subordination, becoming in a sense new forms of state sponsored violence. This article begins by outlining major CRT concepts and frameworks used in legal scholarship on immigration. Next, we identify emerging themes generated by this approach by highlighting research questions and operationalization of the CRT framework. Thirdly, we highlight areas of distinction to mainstream sociology in US scholarship.
TL;DR: This paper examined the way in which reality TV personality Jade Goody's dying illustrated how it can be commodified, and examined the role and status of celebrity deaths in popular culture and public mourning.
Abstract: Abundant in books, on television, in film, on the internet, and in newspapers and magazines, in the twenty-first century death is hugely accessible. Within recent years, sociologists have responded to this visibility by examining death in the media, including its role and status in popular culture and ‘public mourning’, seen for example following the death of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997. This article considers a third strand of death in the media that requires sociological attention: public dying. Drawing on the extensive media coverage of reality TV personality Jade Goody’s dying and subsequent death in early 2009, the article examines the way in which Goody’s dying illustrated how it can be commodified.
TL;DR: In this article, the relationship between music and social movements through four foci: collective identity, free space, emotions, and social movement culture is discussed, and music is part of this culture and serves as an important mechanism for solidarity when participants move beyond free spaces to more contested ones.
Abstract: Music is a key component of social movements. This article addresses the relationship between music and social movements through four foci: collective identity, free space, emotions, and social movement culture. Collective identity is developed and nurtured within free spaces through the use of music. These spaces are often rife with emotions that are instrumental in development of collective identity. A social movement culture may develop as these processes unfold. Music is part of this culture and serves as an important mechanism for solidarity when participants move beyond free spaces to more contested ones. Examples of song lyrics demonstrate these processes. Research on music and social movements, it is argued here, can be enhanced by addressing technology and popular culture.
TL;DR: The authors comprehensively reviewed existing literature on immigrants' perceptions of the police and summarized findings regarding how immigrants perceive the police, what factors shape their perceptions, and the effects of both universal factors and factors unique to immigrants on their perceptions.
Abstract: Despite a fast growing immigrant population and the recent intensive debate over immigration law enforcement, research on police-immigrant relations in general and immigrants’ perceptions of the police in particular remains limited. This article comprehensively reviews existing literature on immigrants’ perceptions of the police. It starts with the value and timeliness of studying immigrants’ attitudes and expectations of the police in today’s multi-racial, multi-cultural society. Then the article summarizes findings regarding how immigrants perceive the police and what factors shape their perceptions. Evidence about the effects of both universal factors and factors unique to immigrants on their perceptions of the police is presented. The article concludes with a brief discussion of future research.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors suggest a culture war framing of the debate and delineate the contrasting historic ideologies of racialism and antiracialism that inform the divergent racial worldviews of each academic camp.
Abstract: Dozens of Brazilian universities recently adopted racial quotas for negros, read Afro-Brazilians, in higher education. Anyone familiar with the Brazilian context will recognize this step as a paradigm shift in the state’s approach to ‘race’. State discourse in past decades touted a mixed-race population not beset by overt discriminatory practices. In response to this new approach, two well-defined clusters of professors in Brazil’s universities authored several dueling manifestos supporting and opposing race-based affirmative action. This article suggests a ‘culture war’ framing of the debate and delineates the contrasting historic ideologies of racialism and antiracialism that inform the divergent racial worldviews of each academic camp. It then explores four points of contention from the manifestos that characterize their conflicting perspectives. They differ in terms of (1) their images of the Brazilian nation, (2) their diagnoses of the mechanisms behind non-white underrepresentation in Brazilian universities, (3) their prognoses for a remedy via racial quotas, and (4) their motivations for entering the debate. At the same time, the article locates some possible common ground.
TL;DR: In this paper, it is argued that gender exerts pervasive influence on every aspect of social movement activities and that the patterns of mobilisation, political and cultural opportunities, framing process and intra-movement dynamics are all gendered.
Abstract: Although it is widely acknowledged that many aspects of social life are gendered, only relatively recently have feminist researchers begun to address the ‘gender blindness’ of the social movement theory. Integrating findings from multiple studies, the article considers how gender affects social movement dynamics. It is argued that gender exerts pervasive influence on every aspect of social movement activities. The patterns of mobilisation, political and cultural opportunities, framing process and intra-movement dynamics are all gendered. It is argued that although ample evidence demonstrates that protest is gendered, we do not yet know whether there is any general pattern of influence of gender on social movements, a pattern that enables a systematic explanation of the effects of gender on social movement dynamics. In conclusion, I will examine the reasons for this and suggest avenues for research.