Office Hours

Heading into a new presidential election cycle, we reconnect with 2008 guest Dr Andrew Perrin to talk about changes in the American political public. In his new book, American Democracy: From Tocqueville to Town Halls to Twitter, Perrin brings a uniquely sociological approach to the study of democracy. More than polls, candidates, and institutions he shows how major elections become about the performance of certain […]

In this episode, University of Colorado sociologist Sanyu Mojola discusses her work on HIV rates among young African women. She discusses social mechanisms – specifically the entanglement of love and money – that lead to higher rates of HIV death among African females compared to African males. She also considers why money holds a value for […]

In this episode, we step into the global market for surrogate mothers with University of Texas sociologist Sharmila Rudrappa. She explains why India has become an increasingly popular destination for American couples searching for affordable pregnancy assistance. She also considers why most Indian women who become surrogates come from working class backgrounds, and how their […]

Because they suffer from an invisible affliction, people with migraines are sometimes suspected of “making up” their disease in order to avoid performing unwanted duties. Even within psychology, women were once suspected of self-inducing their own migraines as a result of their inability to cope with the chaos of daily life. These days, neurobiological research […]

In this episode, Colorado State professor emeritus Peter M. Hall drops in to talk about his forthcoming memoir, “Growing up Red, White, and Jewish: the Personal and the Political”. We discuss the potential of memoir as a sociological method, and we consider how telling one’s life story helps to reshape identity in the context of […]

It’s no secret that shifting economic winds have driven American workers to take on more work and more job changes today than in previous generations. But what does this shift mean in a culture where so many invest so much of their identities in their jobs? In this episode, guest host Lisa Gulya interviews professor […]

Diversity is one of those concepts that is all but taken for granted as a good and desirable quality in American social life. However, as professor Ellen Berrey explains, the actual institutions and practices designed to promote diversity can sometimes obscure real inequalities and limit the ways we think about social justice. Her new book, […]

The University of Toronto’s Erik Schneiderhan drops by to chat about his brand new book, The Size of Others’ Burdens: Barack Obama, Jane Addams, and the Politics of Helping Others. In it, Dr. Schneideran delves into the seemingly parallel biographies of Obama and Adams in order to understand the cultural pressures facing public servants in […]

In this week’s episode, guest host Stephen Suh interviews Dr Lisa Cacho, who is an associate professor of Latina/Latino studies and Asian American studies at the University of Illinois. Together, they discuss Dr Cacho’s recent book Social Death: Racialized Rightlessness and the Criminalization of the Unprotected. In it, Dr Cacho explains the sociological concept of […]

University of Michigan professor Greta Krippner offers a sociological perspective on changes that have made the American economy dangerously dependent on credit and speculation in recent decades. Her book, Capitalizing on Crisis, describes the government’s role in supporting this system, even as it continues to spiral through periodic disaster. Download Office Hours #109

Professor Michaela DeSoucey drops in to chat about consumer culture and the many political projects that shape our tastes for cuisine ranging from foie gras to craft beer. She discusses some of the challenges facing ethnographers who study taste, and we also consider how the industrial scale of modern food production may have leveled cultural […]

Professor Susan Terrio of Georgetown University discusses her new book, Whose Child Am I? Unaccompanied, Undocumented Children in U.S. Immigration Custody. In it, Dr Terrio considers the fraught relationship between the American government and the thousands of child detainees placed under both its care and prosecution. Her work reveals how the immigration system shapes the boundaries of […]

In this episode, professor Joyce Bell explains the legacy of activists in community organizations that emerged as a result of the Black Power movement in the 1960s and 70s. Her work demonstrates both the resources and tensions that radical social movements bring to institutions in civil society. Her new book is called The Black Power Movement and American […]

Guest host Sarah Shannon interviews Victor Rios, professor of sociology at the University of California at Santa Barbara. In his recent ethnography, Punished: Policing the Lives of Black and Latino Boys, Dr. Rios searches for ways that police and a culture of punishment cause boys of color to internalize fatalistic attitudes about class and race. His book is the […]

In this episode, Wellesley College professor Hahrie Han discusses some of the findings from her book, How Organizations Develop Activists: Civic Associations and Leadership in the 21st Century. In it, Dr Han explores how modern political organizations employ new strategies to inspire action and enthusiasm in the digital age. Download Office Hours #104

In this episode, we talk to Tim Pippert, Associate Professor of Sociology at Augsburg College in Minneapolis. In his recent co-authored paper, “We’ve Got Minorities, Yes We Do: Visual Representations of Racial and Ethnic Diversity In College Recruitment Materials“, Pippert explores the over-representation of students of color on college brochures throughout the United States. In this […]

In this episode, award winning journalist Leta Hong Fincher drops by to discuss her new book, Leftover Women: The Resurgence of Gender Inequality in China. The Society Pages’ Anne Kaduk asks her to explain the reasons behind increasing marginalization of women in China, both in state policy and public discourse. Download Office Hours #101  

In this episode we speak to Emily Bazelon. Emily is former senior editor at Slate, a New York Times Magazine staff writer, and the Truman Capote Fellow for Creative Writing and Law at Yale Law School. We asked Emily to join us today as she is one of the most visible translators and disseminators of […]

Famed sociologist Michael Burawoy visits to share his thoughts on the common character of social movements happening throughout the world today. Michael is the former president of both the American and International Sociological Associations, and he is widely credited as a master of placing everyday life in the context of global and historical forces. Our own Erik […]

In today’s episode, Furman University professor Ken Kolb joins us to discuss his new book Moral Wages: The Emotional Dilemmas of Victim Advocacy and Counseling. Ken explains a rich case study, in which he finds workers motivated by emotional rewards rather than money or status. We discuss the strengths and drawbacks of a public service […]