Everyday Sociology

By Monica Radu I have been waiting years to write this. Tell Me Lies has wrapped after three seasons; For those unfamiliar, the TV series follows a group of college students as they navigate relationships, friendships, and identity over several years, with a central focus on Lucy and Stephen’s complicated and increasingly destructive relationship. The main timeline begins in 2007, when Lucy start…

By Karen Sternheimer When I was in high school, I watched Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Years later, I didn’t remember much about the movie, other than the computer Hal’s monotone voice when speaking to Dave, the astronaut, who must “kill” Hal to save himself after Hal killed the rest of the crew. Read more: The Robots are Taking Over: Low Wage Work and the FutureAs a twentieth century…

By Monica Radu Motherhood comes with a whole set of cultural expectations about what it should look like, feel like, and even who is seen as a “typical” mom. I was reminded of this recently during a quick doorstep conversation with a delivery driver. I mentioned how much I rely on their services with four little ones at home, and she said, “Oh, wow. You don’t look like you have four kids.” I thin…

By Wendy Leeds-Hurwitz, Professor Emerita, University of Wisconsin-Parkside, associate faculty at Royal Roads University (Canada), and Director of the Center for Intercultural Dialogue One of the concepts Erving Goffman wrote about was “impression management.” He was interested in the control people have over what others learn about them. Sometimes the impression one gives is quite … Continue rea…

By Alyssa Lyons When my daughter, my partner, and I walked into the large high school gymnasium that crisp fall Saturday, we were immediately overwhelmed. It was our very first high school fair, and my eighth-grade daughter was exploring her options. As we walked around the gym, we were surrounded by schools. Glossy brochures, shiny … Continue reading From the Inside Out: Education is Still Big B…

By Karen Sternheimer According to a recently published study of older adults at risk for cognitive decline, increased social engagement was one of four factors that led to cognitive improvement during a two-year period (the others were exercise, healthy diet, and cognitive challenges). In other words, beyond physical and mental exercise, we need “social exercise” … Continue reading Social Exercis…

By Karen Sternheimer Do you remember your first taste of pizza? I don’t because I’ve been eating it all my life, as you probably have been too. Pizza is practically universal food; it’s one of those words that remains the same in multiple languages, although pronunciations might vary a bit. Why is pizza something you … Continue reading How Pizza Became International Cuisine

By Karen Sternheimer Recently, I took a hiking trip to the Alps, spending time in Chamonix, France, and Courmayeur, Italy. These two alpine towns are connected by a tunnel through Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps. The tunnel is just over 7 miles, and it took us less than an hour to get … Continue reading Understanding Social Construction: What Makes a Country a Country?

By Karen Sternheimer A common question that comes up in my research methods class has to do with conducting research on topics that we are interested in, and maybe even groups that we are part of. Can we do research on issues close to our experience while still maintaining objectivity, or does our membership in … Continue reading Drawing the Line Between Research and “Me Search”

By Karen Sternheimer I had a really cool social studies teacher in high school, and he taught a sociology class as an elective. I didn’t take it. Why? It could have been the age-old “didn’t fit my schedule” or someone mentioned it was “hard.” I took his psychology class instead, maybe because I thought I … Continue reading Getting into Sociology: Advice for High School Students

By Joey Colby Bernert, Graduate Student, Michigan State University The first time I fell off my longboard, I learned something about pain. The second time, when I got back up in front of all my friends, I learned something about performance. Longboarding, for me, has never only been about rolling downhill. It has been about … Continue reading Longboarding Towards Social Interactionism

By Karen Sternheimer You have probably seen news of protests in Europe about overtourism—locals upset about their hometowns being overrun with crowds, often pricing them out of local housing markets. Cities like Barcelona, Florence, Venice, and Paris have experienced problems with overwhelming summer crowds. While the rebound after the COVID shutdowns of 2020 kept people … Continue reading Overto…

By Karen Sternheimer During a trip to Milan, one of the first places I visited was the Cimitero Monumentale, a cemetery famous for its ornate sculptures. We noticed a lot of funeral homes on our walk to this famous landmark, and flowers for sale for visitors to place on graves. This wasn’t surprising. But what … Continue reading Are we Being Replaced? Fertility, Mortality, and Demography