“You take the good/You take the bad/You take them both/And there you have/The Facts of Life” Usual disclaimer: this may meander. I was born short and never really grew out of it. I also spent all my years as an only child in a relatively stable, quiet little household. We didn’t always have a televisionRead More “The Twitter Facts of Life”
Tag Archives: Digital Sociologies
Public Sociology at ASA14
Like a good sociologist, I joined my tribe in San Francisco this week for the annual American Sociological Association conference. In addition to my usual fare, I conducted a pair of sessions/workshops on public sociology and digital media. I have three social media maxims: be deliberate, be useful, be interesting. Each comes with risks andRead More “Public Sociology at ASA14”
Round-up of Berkman Center Notes and Reflections
I have to thank the entire crew at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard for hosting me yesterday. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CJzIXG0T1A&w=560&h=315] The room was quite full and the audience brought it. We talked about debt, identity, space, place, platforms, policy, and culture. It kept me on my toes while the incredible support of myRead More “Round-up of Berkman Center Notes and Reflections”
Democratizing Ideologies and Inequality Regimes – Berkman Center Primer
I’m very excited to speak at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society tomorrow. The talk is open to the public (with RSVP) and streaming online. I used to post references and slides for my talks but somewhere along the line I either talked too much or posted too little. But, I am synthesizing quiteRead More “Democratizing Ideologies and Inequality Regimes – Berkman Center Primer”
Twyllabus: Labor, Machines, and Undeniable Futures
There’s a great batch of reading and writing happening mostly online right now about the labor, inequality and the machines that are coming for our jobs. Much of the public debate is coming from a series of recent books and research articles on how machines will displace a significant portion of human labor in theRead More “Twyllabus: Labor, Machines, and Undeniable Futures”
Digital Sociology: Conference, Call to Action
It’s no secret that I have some thoughts on U.S. sociology’s intersection with digital methods, praxis, and domains. I have spent about two years now interviewing students, administrators, policy makers, and teachers in for-profit colleges. It has been impossible to discuss the for-profit sector without engaging the technocratic idealism of its branding and the techRead More “Digital Sociology: Conference, Call to Action”
Writing in Public: Social Media, Identity, and Getting Er Done
I’ve been working on a larger project about social groups and digital media. At some point a few dozen people suggested I use data from my blog. And so I’ve been coding comments, content and mapping media relationships for a couple of months now. This weekend I posted a draft paper I workshopped with myRead More “Writing in Public: Social Media, Identity, and Getting Er Done”
Reparations: What the Education Gospel Cannot Fix
I promise you I don’t know Coates from Adam’s cousin Leroy. I stopped attending the Thursday night Black People Meetings ™ ages ago when gas crossed $2 a gallon. But, I know that Coates has written a thing at The Atlantic making the case for reparations. This is good. When I teach my inequality courseRead More “Reparations: What the Education Gospel Cannot Fix”
Inequality and Technology Syllabus
I am fascinated with U.S. sociology’s casual and sporadic engagement with digital spaces, technologies and trends. This year, the federal government enacted one of the most sweeping public policy initiatives we’ve seen since the Great Society programs. The healthcare exchange may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but no one can argue that it isn’tRead More “Inequality and Technology Syllabus”
The Trigger Warned Syllabus
Apparently universities are issuing guidelines to help professors consider adding “trigger warnings” to syllabi for “racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, cissexism, ableism, and other issues of privilege and oppression,” and to remove triggering material when it doesn’t “directly” contribute to learning goals.” One example given is Chinua Achebe’s “Things Fall Apart” for its colonialism trigger. ThisRead More “The Trigger Warned Syllabus”