SOC413 – Firearms in America (Guest episode)

Abstract

Guns are a hot button topic. They are imbued with politics, religion, masculinity, danger, safety, emotions, and more. Ellen was lucky enough to sit down with Dr. Benjamin Dowd-Arrow, Visiting Assistant Professor of Public Health at Florida State University, and talk about the role firearms play in American society today. A trained medical sociologist, Dr. Dowd-Arrow helps us break down why guns are seen as a public health concern, and explains how the values we attach to firearms have evolved over the past 50 years. Tune in here to learn more!

Keywords

Firearms, guns, culture, America, public health

Sources

SOC412 – Student Loans (Guest Edition)

Abstract

Ahh, student loans… who doesn’t have ‘em nowadays? Today, we’re diving into the complex world of education-based debt with the help of our guest, Sam. How does student loan debt influence major life decisions, like starting a family or buying a house? What role does financial literacy play in all of this? And will president-elect Joe Biden really cancel student debt?! (Pretty please, Joe– we could all use a little help right now.) Sam is here to break it down for us using findings from her own qualitative research. Tune in here!

Keywords

Student loans, academia, higher education, debt, financial literacy

Sources

  • Follow Sam here on Twitter!
  • Ellen mentioned the book Diploma Mills by AJ Angulo
  • Wanna learn more about calls to cancel student loan debt? Check out this article from Inside Higher Education
  • Here are some opinions about student loan forgiveness published in the New York Times.
  • Sam recommended the following books and articles:
    • Lower Ed: The Troubling Rise of For-Profit Colleges in the New Economy by Tressie McMillan Cottom
    • Indebted: How Families Make College Work at Any Cost by Caitlin Zaloom
    • “Sick of our loans: Student borrowing and the mental health of young adults in the United States” by Katrina M. Walsemann, Gilbert C. Gee and Danielle Gentile. Social Science & Medicine (2015). 
    • “Student debt spans generations: Characteristics of parents who borrow to pay for their children’s college education.” by Katrina M. Walsemann and Jennifer A. Ailshire. The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Social Sciences. (2017). 
    • “Neither a Borrower Nor a Lender Be: The Relative Importance of Debt and SES for Mental Health Among Older Adults” by Patricia Drentea and John R. Reynolds. Journal of Aging and Health (2012). 
    • “Where Does Debt Fit in the Stress Process Model?” by Patricia Drentea and John R. Reynolds. Society and Mental Health. (2014). 
    • Sam also mentioned scholar Rachel Dwyer who has some great things to say about student loans. Here is one such article!
    • “Predatory Inclusion and Education Debt: Rethinking the Racial Wealth Gap.” by Louise Seamster and Raphaël Charron-Chénier. Social Currents. (2017). 

SOC411 – Intro to Disability Studies: Who is deserving of a childhood? (Guest Edition)

Abstract

Me Before You? The Fault in Our Stars? Chicken Soup for the Soul? Popular culture representations of disability and the disabled community have shown us the dramatic sides of the disability status. How can we better understand disability? Guest star future-Dr. Hillary Steinberg joins us today to talk about the sociology of disability as well as her working in a children’s hospital. We outline the three conceptual models of disability, critique the popular culture and disability porn representations, and untangle labels such as ‘neurodivergent’ and ‘differently abled’. Join us to learn more about a field of sociology that isn’t often talked about!

Keywords

Disability studies, popular culture, charity, sociology of disability

Sources

Follow our guest, Hillary Steinberg, and her work!

  1. American Disabilities Act (ADA)
  2. The three models of sociology of disability are medical, social, and crip politic.
  3. Feminist, Queer Crip by Alison Kafer 
  4. The Rejected Body: Feminist Philosophical Reflections on Disability by Susan Wendell
  5. “Barriers to Cross-state Movement for Disabled People and Their Families: A Social Problem” by Brian R. Grossman 
  6. “Becoming Disabled” by Rosemarie Garland-Thmson
  7. Chicken Soup for the Soul book series
  8. Disability and Society section of the American Sociological Association
  9. About the Institutional Review Board
  10. “People in Places” by Robert Zussman
  11. The Fault in Our Stars by John Green
  12. ‘I’m not a thing to be pitied’: the disability backlash against Me Before You
  13. RJ Mitte of ‘Breaking Bad’ is Busting Stereotypes About Cerebral Palsy
  14. “Everything’s Gonna Be Okay” TV show 
  15. ‘Everything’s Gonna Be Okay’ Shows Getting Autism Right On TV Is Actually Pretty Simple
  16. Developmental Disabilities Heighten Risk of Covid Death (NYT)
  17. Dalton Stevens, graduate student at Syracuse University
  18. Jennifer Brooks, graduate student at Syracuse University
  19. Brittney Miles @ Twitter – Sociology of Black Girlhood
  20. The Private Worlds of Dying Children by Myra Bluebond-Langner
  21. Feminist disability scholar, Laura Mauldin
  22. “Race and Disability: From Analogy to Intersectionality” by Angela Frederick and Dara Shifrer
  23. “Life-Course Transitions Among Adolescents With and Without Disabilities: A Longitudinal Examination of Expectations and Outcomes” by Carrie Shandra
  24. “The First Sexual Experience Among Adolescent Girls With and Without Disabilities” by Shandra & Chowdhury
  25. “When Getting a Job Is Mission Impossible” (University of Toronto Magazine) featuring the works of David Pettinicchio and Michelle Lee Maroto
  26. “Barriers to Economic Security: Disability, Employment, and Asset Disparities in Canada”by Maroto and Pettinicchio
  27. “‘Like, Pissing Yourself Is Not a Particularly Attractive Quality, Let’s Be Honest’: Learning to Contain through Youth, Adulthood, Disability and Sexuality” by Kristy Liddiard
  28. The Palgrave Handbook of Disabled Children’s Childhood Studies
  29. “Oregon becomes the first state to decriminalize small amounts of heroin and other street drugs” (CNN)

SOC410 – The Political Economy of the Music Industry (Guest Episode)

Abstract

The music industry is a fascinating setting to understand the power of pop culture AND political economy. (Yup, like that Karl Marx kinda of political economy!) So Dr. David Arditi joins us to explore how power and institutions influence the music we listen to, and the art that musicians create. We discuss self-censorship, Soundcloud, commercialization, Bhad Bhabie, and more! Tune in here, and go check out Dr. Arditi’s book ‘Getting Signed: Record Contracts, Musicians, and Power in Society’!

Keywords

Popular culture, music industry, political economy, commercialization

Resources

SOC409 – PhD’s Guide to Getting a Non-Academic Job

Abstract

Are you a newly minted or almost PhD graduate? Have academic job prospects been stressing you out? Look no further – we may have the solution for you! The academic job market isn’t looking too hot right now, so here we are with a PhD’s Guide to getting a non-academic job! We draw from our personal experiences of navigating the non-academic job market and give you all the practical deets on what search terms to use, what job sites to scour, how to revamp your CV into a resume that’s not 15 pages long, and much more!! Tune in to see if there’s a non-academic job in your future!

Keywords

Non-Academic Job market, employment, PhD’s Guide

Sources

  1. The depressing reality of the current Sociology academic job market
  2. Why doing a PhD is often a waste of time (The Economist)
  3. The Ph.D.’s Guide to a Nonfaculty Job Search (The Chronicle of Higher Education)
  4. What Can I Do With a Ph.D. in My Discipline Outside Academe? (Inside Higher Ed)
  5. Word searches to use:

Evaluation researcher
Statistician
Evaluation research/analyst
Project manager
Principle investigator
Research and evaluation manager
Social scientist
Social science researcher
UX research
Consumer research
Grant writer

  1. Job sites we like:
  2. Eye tracking study shows recruiters look at resumes for 7 seconds (HR Dive)
  3. PhD transferable skills (University of Michigan)
  4. PhD Transferable Skills (Michigan State University)
  5. 9 Skills PhDs Have That Others Don’t (LinkedIn)
  6. Get your face on a mask
  7. Where to Buy Clear Face Masks With Windows for Lip Reading
  8. Quibi Is Shutting Down Barely Six Months After Going Live

SOC408 – Gentrification Through Food (Guest Edition)

Abstract

The way neighborhoods are transformed as investors, capital, and newcomers arrive cannot be understood without talking about cafes, lattes, food security, avocado toast, and race. Dr. Alison Alkon and Dr. Joshua Sbicca join us this week to discuss how food is both a gentrifying force and gentrified itself. The conversation was initiated by a new edited volume by our guests (and Dr. Yuki Kato who could not make it) titled, A Recipe for Gentrification! Tune in to learn more about how neighborhood foodscapes change, and how these changes warrant sociological analysis. All you food and environmental justice peeps, this one’s for you!

http://thesocialbreakdown.libsyn.com/soc40-gentrification-through-food-guest-episode

Keywords

Food, gentrification, sociology, class, race, neighborhoods, urban, food justice, environmental, community gardens

Sources

SOC407: Deinstitutionalization and Politics (Guest Edition with Jacquie Esser)

Abstract 

The Social Breakdown Team has been busy the last several weeks and we were able to get a guest interview with Hawai’i Deputy Public Defender Jacquie Esser. Esser recently ran for State Prosecutor and continues to be a key player in the struggle to bring fundamental change to the criminal legal system in Hawai’i and throughout the nation. As we head into the final moments of one of the most important presidential elections in recent memory, the stakes could not be higher in understanding the future impacts of deinstitutionalization, police, and criminalization in U.S. society.

Keywords

Politics, deinstutionalization, criminal justice, mass incarceration, police, criminalization

Sources

  1. Follow Jacquie Esser online!
  2. Deinstitutionalization Explained (Brief Overview)
  3. Deinstitutionalization and Jails in Hawaii 
  4. Alternatives to American Jails and Prisons?: North Dakota and the Experiment in Norway
  5. What is LEAD? See what your state is up to…
  6. CAHOOTS the Crisis Assistance Program
  7. Jacquie Esser refers to “OHA” which is the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, a public agency in Hawaii. OHA is responsible for “improving the well-being of Native Hawaiians.”

SOC406 – Pre-election Special: The Politics of Higher Education

Abstract

Over the past three years, those of us in higher education have become more and more aware of the role politics play in academia. And on July 6th 2020, things came to a head when the Department of Homeland Security announced that international students who take only online courses in Fall 2020 were required to transfer schools, find in-person classes to take, or leave the country. Roughly a week later, DHS rescinded the order. So, we have our friend and colleague, Nathalie Rita, with us to discuss the role of politics in the academy, the role of the academy in politics, and the precarity of international students in the United States. Tune in to listen to our special pre-election episode, and please GO VOTE!

Keywords

Higher education, politics, election, international students, immigration

Sources

SOC405 – The Political Spectacle 2: GO VOTE!

Abstract

We’re continuing our trek into the world of politics and spectacles a la Murray Edelman this week in preparation for the upcoming election. We review what Edelman means when he says, “politics is a spectacle,” and how spectacles can lead us to vote against our own interests. Why is it that people targeted by Trump’s policies voted for him in 2016, and may still vote for him in 2020? How do politicians carefully craft (or impulsively create) spectacles that serve their own good? Tune in here to learn more, and be sure to go out and VOTE!

Keywords

Political spectacle, politics, symbols, material politics, symbolic politics, go vote

Sources

SOC404 – Manifesting Masculinities (Guest Edition)

Abstract

We’ve talked about femininity, feminism, and feminist criminology, but we have yet to tackle masculinity! So, we have a fabulous guest, Dr. Dan Cassino, a professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University, with us this episode to explain what hegemonic masculinity is, how there are masculinities (plural!), and how they manifest themselves in our society. Join us for a timely discussion about what it means to be a “man” today, and how masculinity has influenced and continues to influence our politics today.

Keywords

Masculinity, masculinities, gender identity, politics

Sources