The Vera Institute has recently published a study on stop and frisk practices in New York City based on survey interviews with about 500 young adults. The full report can be downloaded at
What about those of us who belong to more than one subordinate group? For example, are you perhaps, black, poor, and female? This relates to the concept of "intersectionality." Check-out this great information graphic by Miriam Dobson that appeared several months ago in The Sociological Imagination: http://sociologicalimagination.org/archives/12975.
As discussed in this NPR story, Congressional Republicans have seized upon this FOX News video in their attempts to generate support for cutting back the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). See the entire collection of FOX News' "Great Food Stamp Binge" at http://youtu.be/rXoTX1sP-jo.
PhDs in many fields face significant obstacles to gainful employment in academia. This information graphic defines the problematic nature and scope of the current exploitation of adjunct professors.
The BBC has published this interactive calculator allowing readers to determine their class position. The tool was developed by a team of sociologists based on recent survey data of the adult UK population (N>160,000). Seven categories were derived from the study which presumably reflects the contemporary class structure more accurately than previous definitions.
Today's NY Times mentions a provocative new study by a team of economists from Harvard on the correlation between place of residence and intergenerational income mobility. The study suggests substantial variability across the U.S. in the likelihood of rising substantially in income. Among notable findings is that mobility among those in the South and Midwest appears to be generally lower than for those living elsewhere. The Times piece also includes some great interactive graphics.
Former Secretary of Labor, Robert Reich, stars in a new documentary, Inequality for All, about growing economic disparities in the U.S. The full hour and one-half version is available for rental on YouTube. The video premiered at the Sundance Festival earlier this year...
This post was contributed by SOC 3013 student, Jessica Raasch.
Before becoming employed at Haven for Hope, my thoughts about the homeless population were pretty much like those of the average American. I firmly believed that we are fully responsible for ourselves, and that if we worked hard, we would get what we wanted out of life. The homeless were therefore likely deficient in important ways as human beings. Since working with Haven for Hope, I have come to see that homeless people, like all other people, defy easy stereotypes. If nothing else, the above video asks us to see the homeless population as comprised of real people who have confronted incredibly difficult life challenges. It illustrates that those without housing are not of one race, sex, personality type, or common story. In these tough times, for example, one could lose a job and soon be out on the street, or living on the street might be far better than continuing to live in an abusive home. Those in the video admit to the world the mistakes they have made, but also suggest the compassion, empowerment, and transition brought in their lives.
The following post was contributed by SOC 3193 student, Roxana Guerrero.
Rape in the Fieldsaddresses the experiences of immigrant farm-worker
women who have been raped by their supervisors. These women come to the United
States with hopes of a better life for themselves and their families, and they are
mainly undocumented. They risk much to cross the border, and the risk of losing
their jobs and being deported makes speaking out about this crime extremely
difficult. Although so ashamed, they also fear reprisal so much that they may continue to bear repeated assault. Most of the U.S.-grown
food we eat has been touched by women like these who work long, difficult hours
for poverty wages. Field labor is physically hard and exposes workers to
dangerous equipment and the elements, as well as pesticides. These hazards and
hardships are compounded by criminal victimization. Female workers endure
sexual coercion and are consistently in fear. Their supervisors see them as
easy, disposable targets. There are always more women behind them desperate for
work. The value of machismo
tends to amplify the problem. Men dominate women, and women are submissive to men.
This leads men to see women as objects they can use whenever they want without
a thought to their feelings.
My father supervised many
undocumented immigrants years ago in the orange groves across the Rio Grande
Valley of Texas. He typically had about fifteen people working for him. Most
were men, but wives often worked alongside them. I told him about this
documentary and asked him if he knew of instances in which women were
assaulted or harassed while on the job. He told me that he could see how
assault could happen. Orange groves are often located on the outskirts of
town, isolated from the population, and stretching for miles on end. If
she yelled at all, a woman’s cry for help would be hard to hear. Many women in
these jobs were in such need that they would have endured almost anything. The fact
that only a few women spoke out is not hard to believe. Although my dad said he
never witnessed such behavior, he did say he heard verbal abuse at times
that would lead to scuffles between men.
This documentary helps to give voice to women all over the country who fall victim to assault at the hands of their bosses. Obviously, all women, documented or
undocumented, should have the right to work without fear of harassment or
violence. At present, the only federal agency that is pursuing this
problem is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Victims are
reluctant to come forward, but as they do, this will empower others to do the
same. I admire these women for their strength and courage, and hope that more
will be done to protect them should they continue to labor in the fields.
You are invited to create a post or submit a comment on this video. Should you want to write a post, be sure to include your ideas about how the video could be employed for teaching and learning purposes, particularly as related to the study of social stratification. Send your post to me at michael.miller@utsa.edu. I reserve the right to edit post submissions.
Frank Ocean - Super Rich Kids from dustin sussman on Vimeo. This post was contributed by SOC 3013 student, Brittany Nicole Cannan.
In my opinion, Frank Ocean is one of the best rap artists of our time. He recently came out with an album, Channel Orange, and "Super Rich Kids" is one of its feature songs. I've posted the lyrics below along with the video so you can better visualize what he is saying. The song is a play on children who grow up in families with lots of money, but with parents who are neglectful due to over-involvement with careers. These kids then are often unsupervised and have plenty of time to mess around. I really relate to this as much of my childhood and teen years was also spent at home alone, and although I didn't get into too much trouble, plenty of other children in my neighborhood did. There were parties thrown every weekend, kids getting arrested, and cops always seemed to be circling the neighborhood. This song includes drug references as well, such as "too many bowls of that green, no lucky charms" and "too many white lies and white lines." In all, Ocean provides vivid insights about some of the struggles facing children who grow up in otherwise privileged homes.
This post was contributed by SOC 3013 student, Rebekah Miller. Austerity is supposed to be a miracle fix for the economy, but the promises made when cuts are proposed often do not come true. Political power goes hand in hand with those holding the most money. When political control is concentrated among a small elite, austerity programs will likely work against the masses, and particularly those classes with the least power.
This short video by Workers Uniting summarizes the issues that working-class and poor people are now facing across the country: lowered wages, unemployment, and welfare cuts. Canadian economist Armine Yalnizyan makes a statement at 4:41, "You can't cut your way into growth..." She later refers to these cuts being made as a "fiscal fantasy"--that cutting programs will magically solve budget deficits and help redistribute wealth. This logic is a bit backwards. If it were this easy to solve economic problems, would it be right to cut those programs that assist our "have-not" citizens? At 7:07 Robert Kuttner suggests that we end politics that bring austerity, and elect those who will bring "possibility". Government needs to find alternatives to grow the economy, and in turn slash deficits without cutting programs that help the under-represented 99%.
Detropia, last year's acclaimed doc on the disintegration of Detroit, is now joined by a companion film providing a graphic description of the city's ongoing physical destruction from the standpoint of firefighters battling the problem of arson there. Read this article by Jones for a review of Burn.
