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Archive for August 2011
The Political Economy of Football – Wyn Grant
In this talk from the SI’s Sociology of Sport seminar, Professor Wyn Grant, who we also interviewed on this topic some time ago, talks about the political economy of football. If you find this interesting you should definitely check out… Read More ›
“You can’t be too vain to gain if you want to swim the Channel” – Karen Throsby at the SI Seminar
A couple of months ago Sociological Imagination held its first seminar on the Sociology of Sport. Given quite how few people ever want to travel to the University of Warwick (it’s a bit of a hassle and the campus is… Read More ›
Response to George Monbiot’s Rant against Academic Publishers
In the US, we have the phrase ‘waving a flag and kissing a baby’ for somebody who plays to the gallery. And this is exactly what George Monbiot has done in his Guardian rant against academic publishing houses. Running neck-and-neck… Read More ›
Response to Mark Carrigan’s “The ‘prestige’ of journals in a social media age”
As it turns out, our new dept head has asked us to look over the new REF guidelines for comment this week, so this issue is fresh on my mind. What you say is interesting, especially if we’re talking about… Read More ›
The ‘prestige’ of journals in a social media age
Prestige: reputation or influence arising from success, achievement,rank, or other favorable attributes. distinction or reputation attaching to a person or thing andthus possessing a cachet Journals seen as prestigious have a reputation for possessing favourable attributes: they are well managed, have high editorial standards, publish good papers. In fact all these factors are, in practice, related. They’re also seen to be related –… Read More ›
Call for Papers for the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender Seminar Series
Call for Papers for the Centre for the Study of Women and Gender Seminar Series The Centre for the Study of Women and Gender at the University of Warwick would like to invite postgraduate students from any institution working in… Read More ›
Qualitative Longitudinal Methods: Research into Practice
Qualitative Longitudinal Methods: Research into Practice 17th October, University House The workshop is organised through the School of Sociology & Social Policy, in affiliation with Timescapes, an ESRC funded qualitative longitudinal study. Qualitative Longitudinal methods are used to reveal how… Read More ›
Boys Named Kip, Not Kim
There’s an episode of the American television show Seinfeld where Elaine has to hide from everyone the fact that she hated the Academy Award winning movie The English Patient. You can watch a clip from this episode here. For me,… Read More ›
Open Culture
It’s easy to be quite sceptical of a website which describes itself as ‘the best’ in its area of specialism. In the case of Open Culture it’s almost certainly true though. Seriously check it out: the range of audio books,… Read More ›
Do you want to be a news editor?
The Sociological Imagination is currently trying to recruit another news editor. This would involve identifying news stories relevant to the site, collecting pertinent links, writing a short commentary and e-mailing it in to be posted online. There would be no fixed… Read More ›
Picturing anarchy
A fascinating and graphically illustrated story on the blog of Verso publishers about the creative energy which emerged when Colin Ward, editor of Freedom Newspaper in the 1960s (a place where lots of friends of the SI editor used to… Read More ›
The Filter Bubble – How the hidden web is shaping lives
In this RSA talk the pioneering online campaigner Eli Pariser talks about a crucial and, as yet under-discussed, danger facing the the social media web: the expansion of filtering into every aspect of our online activity. Sites collect data on usage… Read More ›
The Quantified Self
In this fascinating TED talk, Gary Wolfe discusses a new hobby which digital technology is giving rise to – people collecting, reviewing and acting upon data about their own lives. With smart phones, as well as the innovative and evergrowing… Read More ›
Ken Plummer: Tales of a Critical Humanist
BSA Presidential Event Ken Plummer: Tales of a Critical Humanist Monday 17th October 2011 The British Library Conference Centre, London Book now: http://www.britsoc.co.uk/events/presidential The BSA President, Professor John Brewer, proudly announces the third of a series of Presidential events to… Read More ›
Do you want to be a news editor?
The Sociological Imagination is currently trying to recruit another news editor. This would involve identifying news stories relevant to the site, collecting pertinent links, writing a short commentary and e-mailing it in to be posted online. There would be no fixed… Read More ›
Add SI on Twitter and Facebook
This is a reminder that the Sociological Imagination has a presence on facebook. Please do add us as a friend and feel free to get in contact. We’re always open to ideas and suggestions so please don’t hesitate if there’s… Read More ›
Positive Psychology
In this fascinating talk Martin Seligman talks about the discipline he, more than any other, helped bring into the mainstream. There are lots of important theoretical, methodological and political criticisms to be made of positive psychology – check out Barbara… Read More ›
Making the Case for the Social Sciences: Crime
As part of the Campaign for Social Science, the Academy of Social Sciences is producing a series of booklets Making the Case for the Social Sciences. Check out their most recent publication on Crime and follow the campaign on Twitter… Read More ›
Call for Papers: what does the Sociological Imagination mean today?
It has been over 50 years since C. Wright Mills wrote the Sociological Imagination. In that time the world has changed beyond recognition: the Cold War ended, the Keynesian consensus broke down, a globalizing neoliberalism rose to the ascendancy and… Read More ›
Ken Robinson – Collaboration in the 21st Century
In this talk Ken Robinson talks about the possibility of making innovation a systematic habit through cultivating the social and cultural conditions for creativity and imagination. Though this is usually the terrain of vacuous management gurus, Robinson brings an enormous… Read More ›
Anthony Giddens on the value of Social Science
A contentious claim towards the end of his talk: it’s not enough to quote isolated examples about the impact of social science, we need systematic data. What do you think? Impact is a hugely contentious issue, particularly when construed in… Read More ›
UK Riots 2011 – A ‘social revolution’ yet to take place?
In the chapter titled “Third World,” the historian Eric Hobsbawm writes in his autobiography Interesting Times that, “Columbia was, and continues to be, proof that gradual reform in the framework of liberal democracy is not the only, or even the… Read More ›
Do you want to be a news editor?
The Sociological Imagination is currently trying to recruit another news editor. This would involve identifying news stories relevant to the site, collecting pertinent links, writing a short commentary and e-mailing it in to be posted online. There would be no fixed… Read More ›
The Intellectual’s Responsibility: the legacy of C Wright Mills
In March 2012 it will be the 50th anniversary of the death of C Wright Mills. In this special series, Sociological Imagination will be considering the life, legacy and ideas of this unique man and what they mean for Sociology… Read More ›
“Corporations are people too, buddy!”
An intriguing insight into the outlook of the American political class coming from Republican front-runner Mitt Romney:
Call for Papers: what does the Sociological Imagination mean today?
It has been over 50 years since C. Wright Mills wrote the Sociological Imagination. In that time the world has changed beyond recognition: the Cold War ended, the Keynesian consensus broke down, a globalizing neoliberalism rose to the ascendancy and… Read More ›
Communities Are Social
Note: All the names in this story have been changed. But the photograph above gives a clue to the identity of one of the towns mentioned. No matter how hard we labor to make our homes more permanent, more stable,… Read More ›
Discussion of the White Paper on higher education 19 August
Dear All, The Higher Education Research Group at the University of Southampton would like to invite you to a discussion of the recent White Paper on higher education on 19 August. These government proposals precede actions and legislation which will… Read More ›
‘Community self-defence’ in response to London riots
In Enfield, North London, hundreds of residents took to the streets, with disturbing reports from a journalist in the area: In Southall, West London, members of the Sikh community stand guard outside their temple: In Dalston, East London, Turkish shop… Read More ›