Raiding the inarticulate since 2010

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A directory of sociological multi-author blogs (a work in progress)

The Sociological Cinema is edited and published by Valerie Chepp, Paul Dean, and Lester Andrist, a team of three graduate students in the Sociology Department at the University of Maryland.

The idea of The Sociological Cinema came to us over the course of several conversations in which we repeatedly found ourselves discussing our use of video clips in the classroom. While teaching we found that videos were highly effective at illustrating course concepts and theories, supplementing analyses found in course texts, and keeping students more engaged. At the same time, we were each teaching new prep courses and had many other competing demands, so we commiserated over the time-consuming nature of finding useful video clips to show our students. Then, suddenly, the idea hit us—“Wouldn’t it be great if there was a website for sociology instructors that tagged video clips by sociological themes so instructors could easily search and find clips appropriate for various lecture topics?” Since then, we have committed ourselves to creating precisely that kind of resource and locating it here on The Sociological Cinema.

Ethnography Matters: Exploring what it means to be an ethnographer today

This blog will be a place for conversation between academic and applied ethnography, for listening to and thinking about people’s stories, and for analysis and theory focused on the social patterns and contexts of technological (re)use, rejection and  (re)construction.

In the specific frame of technology research and design, ethnography matters because the practice of telling user stories, exposing how technology makes us and how we make technology, can help to direct information tools in the service of human values like empathy, global solidarity, surprise and joy. Ethnography matters because it provides a mechanism for evaluating theories of “revolutionary” technology as grounded in the lived experience of people and communities. Ethnography matters because it helps to keep technology development real.  Through ethnography we can delve into what we have in common and where we diverge to better envision human possibilities. When we understand this we can, in turn, get a better grasp on why technology matters.

We are four ethnographers in different stages of our careers. In the months that follow, we will be showcasing the work of other ethnographers and of those using ethnographic practice. If you have something interesting to share, please contact us. We look forward to going on this ethnographic journey together.

The Everyday Sociology Blog

What if sociologists ran the world?

Okay, that’s probably not going to happen any time soon, but what if they commented on everything from politics, religion, race, and inequality to pop culture on a colorful, fun, website?

That’s more like it.

Welcome to Everydaysociologyblog.com, a site that features interesting, informative, and most of all entertaining commentary from sociologists around the United States. Come to this site regularly to get a sociological take on what is happening in the news (and on what should be in the news).

Although this site was created primarily for people taking or teaching classes in sociology, we are all really students of sociology, aren’t we? Whether we know it or not, we all generate ideas about social groups, about why things happen and about what should be done to address some of the challenges our society faces (like terrorism, health care and education). Issues like war and peace, gay rights, and what is on the news are things that many people try and make sense of.

ABOUT SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGES

Sociological Images: Seeing is Believing is designed to encourage all kinds of people to exercise and develop their sociological imagination by presenting brief sociological discussions of compelling and timely imagery that spans the breadth of sociological inquiry. Please friend us onFacebook or follow us on Twitter.