Over the last few years, it’s become something of a cliché to argue that the modern web (a.k.a. web 2.0) is transforming the way we interact. This happens to be one of those clichés which is, to a large extent,… Read More ›
Archive for September 2011
The Mad Men You Love To Hate
Have you ever noticed that sociologists seem to have the same taste in TV? Or at least that they all seem to love the Wire and Mad Men. Last year a first year undergraduate observed this to me which, given… Read More ›
Are you writing the ‘I’ into your research?
It was a surprise and somehow a welcome relief when my supervisor at the University of Nottingham, Prof Carol Hall, encouraged me to ‘write the I’ into my MA dissertation about emotional intelligence in teaching and learning. The six (long,… Read More ›
Chavs author Owen Jones returns to Stockport
In this video Owen Jones, author of the superb Chavs which was reviewed on SI here, returns to his hometown of Stockport to investigate views on ‘chavs’.
Zygmunt Bauman documentary
The Trouble of Being Human These Days, a forthcoming Zygmunt Bauman documentary we highlighted a couple of months ago, is now in its post-production stage. The production team hope to release the film in October this year with a DVD… Read More ›
BSA annual conference 2012 THEORY stream
The BSA annual conference will be held in Leeds in April 2012. The general theme of the conference is Sociology in an Age of Austerity. The Theory stream welcomes abstracts in all areas of theory that colleagues are currently working… Read More ›
Social Media in the Third Sector
Can social media deliver social returns? This is the question asked by Sarah Dyer, director of new media at charity Beatbullying. Within the academy, it can be easy to assume that understanding of social change is something which results form… 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 ›
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 ›
Studies in Social and Political Thought
Studies in Social and Political Thought General Call for Papers – Fall 2011 Studies in Social and Political Thought is soliciting papers from graduate students and scholars working in the areas of social and political thought broadly construed. SSPT is… Read More ›
Is gender studies sexist? This person certainly claims to think it is
A scandal is brewing at the LSE. Tom Martin was a 39 year old student who signed up to do an MA in Gender, Media and Culture at the LSE. Six weeks later he quit. He has recently initiated legal action… Read More ›
‘You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become the villain…’
In 1986 DC Comics published a four issue mini-series called Batman: The Dark Knight Returns. While few would have predicted it prior to its publication, this work of Frank Miller was soon regarded as one of the touchstones for the… Read More ›
Neuromania? The possibilities and pitfalls of our fascination with brains
In this great talk, Raymond Tallis, perhaps our last genuine polymath – check out his website and career if you think we’re exaggerating – draws a distinction between neuroscience and neuromania. While he’s all in favour of the former, which… Read More ›
New REF guidelines penalise female academics – send us your views
UCU warned on Tuesday that proposed new guidelines for university research as part of the 2014 REF will penalise female academics. Under the draft proposals, female researchers who take maternity leave will still be expected to produce the same number… Read More ›
A round up of recent articles on academic publishing
There’s been a lot of argument recently about the sustainability of traditional models of academic publishing and possible alternatives to them. Here’s a round up of posts on the subject either connected to SI or ones that we liked: Academic… Read More ›
We-First Capitalism?
As much as it’s easy to be cynical about former advertising executives who have mid life crises and then begin to express lofty social concerns, this is a genuinely intriguing talk by ‘social brand specialist’ Simon Mainwaring about what he… Read More ›
UCU keeps pressure up on for-profit companies
Thanks to a UCU tip off, the Times Higher ran with the news that Education Management Corporation, the second largest for-profit company in America, is being sued for $11billion by the US government on charges of fraud. UCU drew attention… 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 ›
New column! “Visual Sociology” call for reader submissions
For all professional and/or novice visual researchers out there: the Sociological Imagination is pleased to announce its new column dedicated to “Visual Research”. To celebrate its beginning, we are launching a continuous call for reader submissions. The call is open… Read More ›
Books Like Sociology
The idea of studying modern social problems in a methodical way emerges in the late 19th, early 20th century through the writings of scholars such as Karl Marx, Max Weber, Sigmund Freud and especially, Emile Durkheim and W.E.B. Du Bois…. Read More ›
The Legacy of 9/11
A former Sociological Imagination author, Leon Moosavi, appears in a documentary about the legacy of 9/11: For more of Leon’s media work on similar issues see here. We’re going to be interviewing him next month about his experience of working… Read More ›
With Ten Dollars
I couldn’t have invented an ethnographic field site more perfect than the Winnipeg River. With Clark’s Corner at its center, it was every bit as iconic as William Foote Whyte’s Cornerville, Elliott Liebow’s Tally’s corner or Elijah Anderson’s a place… Read More ›
Privilege & Oppression, Conflict & Compassion
Privilege & Oppression, Conflict & Compassion Meg Barker & Jamie Heckert The political project of learning to recognise and name patterns of oppression has been, and continues to be, an important one. It has helped us to recognise that our… Read More ›
Behind the UK Riots
Sociologists living and working in the areas affected by rioting in August 2011 examine the causes and consequences of the unrest in this series of Guardian articles. In case you missed them first time round, here’s some of SI’s coverage… Read More ›
UK Riots: Sociological Perspectives and Civic Responses
Saturday 15th October, 2011, Birmingham Midland Institute £10 waged, £5 unwaged The recent civil disturbances across a number of English cities have provoked much commentary and debate. However, there has been little sustained analysis of the events, their causes and… Read More ›
Providing meaning: give a little bit of the Sociological Imagination….
I was once asked by Mark Carrigan, editor of The Sociological Imagination, what I have learnt from studying Sociology, this was my brief response: “In a nutshell, Sociology has given me specific tools that have become invaluable to me personally… Read More ›
Jean Baudrillard on ‘The Violence of the Image’ (video)
In 2004, Jean Baudrillard gave an open lecture on ‘The Violence of the Image’ at the European Graduate School, EGS Media and Communication Program Studies Department, Saas-Fee, Switzerland. He talks about the violence of the image,aggression, oppression, transgression, regression, effects… Read More ›
Seafarers’ fatigue: new research by Cardiff University
The Seafarers International Research Institute (SIRC) in Cardiff have concluded a large-scale study of fatigue among seafarers and have produced a 30-minute movie which summarises their questions and findings. The SIRC team studied merchant mariners and fishermen. As Andy… 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 ›