Can democracy survive when large segments of the population no longer have faith in it? And what happens if one of the two major political parties actively works to undermine that faith as a strategy to achieve their political goals? Is this where we now find ourselves? One of my favorite programs for news and […]
If only seeing the world with the sociological perspective was this easy! Click here or on the image below to watch a classic scene from The Matrix, then take the poll to record which pill you would take.
Here is a “sneak peek” episode from my soon-to-be launched “After Class Podcast“. This episode is on a timely topic given it’s election day. So give it a listen, leave some feedback, then go vote! If you are undecided about who to vote for, check out the platform based voters guide I posted here I […]
In our political system, deciding who you should vote for is pretty simple: 1) read the Platform for both major political parties, 2) consider whose priorities and policies you agree with most, and 3) vote for the candidates from that party. But few voters ever read the platforms. Instead they base their decisions on the […]
Here are four segments this week from National Public Radio that struck me as particularly relevant to some of the topics we are discussing in my courses. Why More Men Don’t Get Into The Field Of Nursing Story illustrating the power of gender roles and gender as a social institution. New Book Looks At Why […]
Here are some videos I’ve compiled on the topic of political beliefs and ideology in the United States. Given our politically divided times, this seemed like a relevant theme to explore. The goal of the playlist is to give some historical context, highlight key philosophical and moral differences, and show how liberalism and conservatism relate […]
Next week four thousand ISU students wearing long gowns and funny hats will walk across a stage and receive an empty red diploma cover in a ritual marking the end of a successful college career. The mood at the various commencement ceremonies on campus is festive. At the one I participate in each year as […]
Ever wonder why income inequality in the U.S. is so extreme? Here is one big reason why: This graphic compares the portion of income received by the richest 10% and the portion of the workforce who are union members. Note that those at the top earners take a larger share of the nation’s income when […]
Less than an hour before it began, I posted a last-minute announcement on Facebook to alert my local friends about a rally to support immigrant rights and religious freedom in opposition to Donald Trump’s recent orders. No big deal, right? Well, maybe it was. My announcement about this local rally in our medium-sized Midwestern town, […]
Those of us in the bottom 90 percent rarely get to see, much less interact with, the 3 million members of the top 1 percent. This explains why it may be difficult for us to wrap our heads around what life is like for them, and how dramatically their everyday lives differ from our own. What […]
Today marks the 14th anniversary of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 when 2,977 Americans lost their lives. As we pause to remember the tragic events of that day, and the senseless loss of life associated with it, now may be a good time to reflect on some of the losses suffered since then […]
On a recent trip to the grocery store my daughter spotted a colorful Kool-Aid display, strategically placed at the eye level of a five-year old. I generally resist her demands to buy everything she sees at the store but the product placement professionals are much better at this game than I am. In any case, […]
A while back I was listening to the Ted Radio Hour. The guest was Harvard psychologist, Dan Gilbert, an expert on happiness. He wrote a widely-read book, Stumbling On Happiness, and was describing a common experience he has after people find out about his research: they want to know the secret to happiness. Listen […]
Here is a statement lifted from the Harvard University website which beautifully captures the larger goal of a college education — and not just for those lucky enough to go to Harvard. It has since been removed from the site but it remains a forceful and articulate defense of the liberal arts and a vision […]
On Labor Day I took my daughter to the parade. It’s an event full of meaning but for her it was mainly about the candy. She was not disappointed. In a scene resembling feeding time at the barnyard candy was thrown like chicken feed from passing floats. Children scurried, pecked at the ground, pushed and […]
The following post was written in 2014 during a controversy on our campus involving the resignation of a recently-hired University president, Timothy Flanagan. In just seven months in the position Flanagan had engaged in a series of unprofessional and abusive behaviors. The Board of Trustees paid him $480,000 to leave quietly and provided virtually no […]
Here is a link to a guest column I wrote for our campus newspaper. It deals with, among other things, the way that powerful actors are able to insulate themselves from accountability. In this case the Illinois State University Board of Trustees paid a half-million dollars to its 18th president following his resignation after only […]
I recently had a chance to visit an old friend who moved to Scotland several years ago. He and his wife now have two beautiful children and, as happens in life after kids, our visits now entail more parenting activities than the pub-related kind. One day we went to pick up their seven year old […]
I’m currently writing a book that examines the disconnect between popular beliefs about what a four-year college education is all about and what it actually means. My goal is to help close this “college knowledge gap” so that students can get the most from their education.
I live in a part of the country where it’s common to see billboards and bumper stickers proclaiming that: “Guns Save Lives!”. Recently, as I pulled into my local gun club where I practice before every season, it was emblazoned on the back bumpers of nearly half the vehicles in the lot. I’ve long been […]
Most of us are too busy scrolling social media and binging Netflix to read poetry, but NPR’s resident poet Kwame Alexander has made me a believer in the power and potential of verse. In this short segment he shares a poignant poem by @JerichoBrown “Bullet Points” about the killing of unarmed black men in our […]
As I struggle to move my three courses and 400 students from face-to-face instruction to distance learning I have been thinking a lot about how to go about it and what the implications are for different approaches. I am wrestling with issues like a desire to maintain academic integrity of my courses while being mindful […]
China took a lot of heat for its handling of the Coronavirus outbreak —being slow to acknowledge its existence, minimizing the risk it posed to public health, and suppressing information all to avoid embarrassing the ruling party. These are actions we would expect from an authoritarian government like China’s. Contrast that with the response of […]
www.nytimes.com/2019/10/19/business/economy/workers-strike-economy.html
www.bls.gov/web/wkstp/annual-listing.htm
One of my favorite podcasts is the “Hidden Brain” (it’s also a show heard on National Public Radio). It’s not only extremely well-produced but it’s a good example of how social science can shed light on important issues. As a public sociologist I respect host Shankar Vedantam‘s effort to bring social science to a wider […]