Our brains try to save effort by drawing quick conclusions. These associations are sometimes useful, but often wrong. Learn more about system 1 thinking (quick or seemingly automatic mental effort) and system 2 thinking (slow and analytical thinking). Continue reading Fast and Slow Thinking
On Sociology at Work, a not-for-profit that I run, Scott Burrows writes about his work addressing youth unemployment in picturesque Illawara, in regional New South Wales, Australia. Scott works a sociologist and research consultant for private industry.
Continue reading “Research Consultancy to Improve Civic Participation”
Societies make many negative assumptions about the types of young people who are forced into criminal activity, and why this might occur. Yet, as Sociology professor Randy Blazak points out, youth voices are often missing from these discussions. Professor Blazak talks about the problem of labelling at-risk youth “gang members.” He notes that not listening to these youth’s experiences can become a “self-fulling prophecy.” He explains: “People don’t get better when you focus on the bad stuff.” In sociology, we know this as labelling theory.
Continue reading “Including Youth in Community Consulting”
Indigenous dancers from Peru. An old photo from my family Continue reading Peruvian Dancing
Social psychologist Efrat Tseëlon is interested in feminist readings of fashion and culture. Tseëlon argues that while the English dictionary might define the practice of wearing masks and disguise as an attempt to conceal and misrepresent, masquerade is something different. Masquerade is not about portraying something false, but rather it is a way to understand the intricacies of identity. Masquerade draws its meaning through historical context, as the way in which we present our ideal selves in public changes over time.
Continue reading “Social Science of Masquerade”European holiday friends. Continue reading European friend
I urge people not to hitch the wagon of trans rights to the idea of inborn, dyadic, neurological differences. Brains are extraordinarily complex and shaped by culture and experience over time. Gender identities are multiple, gender roles constantly evolving, and … Continue reading Trans Rights
The Conversation recently featured a new study that finds that Aboriginal people who are incarcerated are in dire need of mental health support services. Aboriginal people make up 26 percent of the prison population in Australia, despite the fact that they comprise less than three percent of the general population.
Continue reading “Aboriginal People, Incarceration and Mental Health”
The intellectual was rejected and persecuted at the precise moment when the facts became incontrovertible, when it was forbidden to say that the emperor had no clothes. Via Michel Foucault. Continue reading Michel Foucault on The Intellectual
A question from a reader: Hi there, would you happen to know where I can find a good definition of victim blaming, be it online or a book. Hey hommedelamachine. It depends on what you’re studying. William Ryan popularised the … Continue reading Victim Blaming
Social Science Insights 