in the car, on the way to swim class

Mom, there sure are a lot of cars today. Yes, there are, sweetie. Did you know that when there is a lot of traffic at nighttime, it’s called a shower? Really? Yeah. It definitely is called a shower. You told me. [...processing...] OH! Rush hour!

you ask: it’s SO COLD. what should i do?

Stay inside with your good friend, the Web. While you’re there, click over to the Jay Is Games Best Causal Games of 2008 Interactive Fiction category and vote for Violet. I am Madison, which is lovely even when it’s like an early admissions cryogenics program. I wish they made thinner tubes of chapstick, so one could also [...]

my “first day” comments in a race class

In case it is useful, I posted my rough “first day” comments for teaching a race class over on my own blog. It seems too long and specialized to post here; it is how I try to set the tone for the class. This is a follow up to our earlier discussions on teaching about [...]

ask a scatterbrain: teaching methods

I’m posting this for New Soc Prof who raised the question in her own blog. What suggestions or advice do you have about teaching research methods and, in particular, what texts do you like, and why?  Have you had good success with particular approaches or syllabi? Do you want to warn people off books or [...]

bizarre dinner party

This weekend, we were lucky to attend a dinner party with some friends. We were having a great time, until that point half way through the dinner when the conversation unravelled to reveal irreconcilable differences among the guests. This, of course, is common in dinner parties, and we (we ladies, especially) learn early on to [...]

in search of alternatives.

Because inclement weather is a given around these parts during the winter, I’m having to switch up the first day of my social inequality class a bit. Because I’ve found scatterbrains so helpful with course related questions before, I thought it would be a good idea to pose this one here as well.

checking the constitutionality of polygamy

Canada has polygamists. Canada has criminal laws against polygamy. Canada also has laws that protect religious freedom. What to do? In British Columbia, a prosecutor has decided, after 20 years of debate and inaction, to enforce the polygamy law, arresting two leaders of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, or FLDS. [...]

puff the magic explanation

I don’t know exactly why, but trying to write a paper about theory always leaves me feeling vaguely unsettled. I know theory is important, I know empirical research can’t get us where we need to go all by itself, and I do have some ideas that I think are worth developing. But for some reason [...]

well i really don’t know what to say

We just got a glossy 10-page magazine-type advertisement addressed to my spouse from the alumni association of  the state university where I’m employed and he took a graduate degree.  Title: “Around the World By Private Jet.”  For only $57,000 a person double occupancy we can take a 24-day group tour in November by private jet [...]

we’re number eight

Careercast.com rates “the 10 best jobs in America today.” Sociologist clocks in at number eight. The basic gist of the list is either to be an academic or go into computing. BTW, like a paramecium, I’m also blogging at jeremyfreese.wordpress.com.

beauty, age, gender

These reflections were prompted by an interview with Renee Fleming in the Met broadcast of Massanet’s Thais.* She commented that Thais’s religious conversion is tied to her recognition that she is aging and will lose the beauty and sexuality that has defined her identity and personal power. Fleming commented that “we all” feel that way. [...]

asa ennui

Okay, I’ll just say it flat out: I am no longer certain what the point of submitting papers to the annual meeting is. Well, that’s not completely true. I get the informal purpose: we like to see friends who have migrated to other departments, the book sale is cool, it’s a great chance to network,* [...]

sociology news

From a section on concerns raised in the Annual Report of the American Sociological Association’s methodology section (Ross Stolzenberg of the University of Chicago, author): First, the American Sociological Review is widely believed by section members to have an explicit policy against publication of methodological articles, and to be further biased against papers with advanced [...]

resolution

I canceled my cable TV today. I couldn’t justify paying $120/month any more. I’m wondering if I’ll be sad about this later? I made a decision that I don’t need that much TV in my life. I suspect I will simply displace my TV watching with Netflix. I’m not one of those people who is [...]

pronouns

This is hardly a new observation, but I’ve been reflecting lately on how much easier and less painful many people’s lives would be if the gender dichotomy were not etched into our speech by the necessity of choosing between male and female pronouns when referring to a person. Not to mention all the other ways [...]