SocProf

I am always suspicious of broad generalizations about entire populations or generations. So, I am not entirely sure what to make of this argument by sociologist Sophia Mappa. Something to think about. It is in French, so here is the gist of it in English. The starting point of her argument is that Angela Merkel’s inflexibility is incomprehensible to ordinary Greeks. The reason is that such inflexibility is rooted in the protestant culture of the 16th century, something well-known thanks to... Read Full Story

I got this thanks to Bob Ertishek , founder of the shiny new Profology network, and it’s actually more of a defense of liberal arts education than sociology per se: “As the new year begins and humanities and social science undergraduates across Canada return to campus, they will face the usual robust combination of academic pressure, parental anxiety over their future employability, nervousness over mounting debts and the inevitable recitation of that tired and toxic mantra: “How many... Read Full Story

Sorry about the lack of recent posts, guys. Between the beginning of the term and the massive amount of academic writing I have foolishly and irresponsibly agreed to do, I will be swamped until February 15th. That being said, while taking a break from The Writing, I watched this film , scifi fan that I am: The movie was directed by Andrew Niccol who also directed Gattaca (which I really loved) and Lord of War (ditto). Now, the main plot is rather stupid and the main characters were poorly... Read Full Story

See? (Not that anyone who is interested in reality and data would be surprised by this): The policy implications should be obvious to anyone, including people who do not like abortions. But we all know this is not about abortion per se, it is about patriarchal control and denial of women autonomy. Therefore, women in poorer countries will continues to have more numerous and unsafe abortions while the antichoice crowds will continue to make access to safe abortion less and less likely in... Read Full Story

Look at all this sharing … for free! (H/T Jim King on Google +) Read Full Story

While I am busy with academic writing (under deadline!), enjoy this great song – Little Dolls – and video from the latest Indochine album, La République des Météors: Read Full Story

This has already made the rounds : “Dozens of workers assembling  Xbox  video game consoles climbed to a factory dormitory roof, and some threatened to jump to their deaths, in a dispute over jobs that was defused but highlights growing labour unrest as  China ‘s economy slows. The dispute boiled over last week after contract manufacturer Foxconn Technology Group said it would close the production line for  Microsoft Corp’s Xbox 360 consoles at its plant in the central city of Wuhan and... Read Full Story

Oh, let me see… WOMEN ! Women who work in this field and visit CES: “Some women at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas have expressed their frustration at the scantily-clad “booth babes” hired by some companies to promote their stalls.” Video at the link for the full misogyny of it. The assumption is that only men will go to such events, and therefore, no one will notice the objectification and will assume that this is what they will want to see. That !@#$ is... Read Full Story

Because that is what it is, right? A form of hedging. Again, I have blogged multiple times about the murders of albinos in Tanzania. Here is a more recent example of this, with some connection made to the gold mining business from the excellent Aljazeera : As noted in the film, “Over the last five years in Tanzania, however, the situation has become much, much worse, with albinos increasingly subjected to murder and mutilation because of a completely spurious myth that albino body... Read Full Story

This song is, in my not so humble opinion, the best from the all-around excellent new album from Julien Clerc: Read Full Story