One Step Forward, but Now What?

March 6, 2015 By Jerry Park

Repost from Patheos Public Square: March From Selma In 1965, participants of the American Civil Rights Movement from around the country gathered in Selma, Alabama to walk fifty-four miles to Montgomery, Alabama. The purpose of the walk was to make a statement: to voice the need for protection of non-violent protest marchers and a federal law ensuring the right of all citizens, regardless of race, to vote in all levels of government. For those not familiar, the 14th and 15thAmendments of... Read more

What Tenure at Marquette University Means?

February 21, 2015 By George Yancey

According to a recent article, Marquette University is on the verge of stripping Professor John C. McAdams of his tenure and then relieving him of his job. This prospect should strike fear in every professor in the country, but it will not. Instead, I am concerned that many academics will attempt to find ways to justify this firing because they do not approve of the political policies of Dr. McAdams. I am certain that he has political stances that I... Read more

The Nature and Consequences of Christianophobia

February 10, 2015 By George Yancey

Okay. I know I am being lazy in not writing a full blog entry. But I just put up a video with some of the themes I have blogged about before and so I will just share it here. I do not respond to comments on YouTube but as you may know I sometimes respond to comments at my blog. So if you want to dialog about my claims in the video then you need to put your comments here. Read more

Saving the Market: Harry Potter, Churches, and Globalization

February 5, 2015 By Amy Reynolds

Harry Potter fans made the news recently for their political victory. Due to four years of advocacy work, all Harry Potter chocolates produced by Warner Brothers are guaranteed to be fairly traded or ethically produced. As I have mentioned in an earlier blog, chocolate is commodity where how its traded makes a difference, with significant amount of the chocolate sold by popular vendors being linked to child slavery, especially in parts of West Africa. This line sums up the key argument... Read more

What Vanderbilt Says, What Vanderbilt Does

January 25, 2015 By George Yancey

Most Christians know about what has been called the “5 love languages.” If you have not heard of it, I suggest you look it up, whether you are Christian or not, as it is a good way to help us understand our relationships. My love language is acts of service. You can tell me how much you care about me all you want but if you are treating me badly then I will never believe you. Love languages do not... Read more

Charlie Hebdo’s Cartoons, Piss Christ and the Associated Press

January 13, 2015 By George Yancey

The tragedy of Charlie Hebdo produced a generous amount of commentary. If I were to write directly about that particular event then I would probably just regurgitate some of what has already been said. In my blogs my preference is for arguments that have not been previously enunciated. So instead of directly discussing that horrible event, I want to focus on another occurrence that happened soon after the shooting – the removal of Andres Serrano’s “Piss Christ” photo by Associate... Read more

Jonathan Gruber knows what is best for us.

January 11, 2015 By George Yancey

Usually people do not pay attention when academics talk. Well, students in our classes may pay attention, but I wonder if even that is true. We go to conferences to discuss the latest theories, innovative methodologies and/or new data sources. I enjoy that interaction and the new information but know that most working in the social sciences do not care. I cannot blame them. I once went to a dissertation recital for a graduate music student. When she talked about... Read more

Disrespect, Intimidation and Prejudice at the University of Colorado

December 21, 2014 By George Yancey

Sometimes social scientists unexpectedly find out about data that was collected for reasons other than peer-review social research. That was the case when I found out about the 2014 Social Climate Survey conducted at the University of Colorado. The survey was commissioned by the University of Colorado’s Board of Regents. It was conducted on all four of the campuses in the University of Colorado system. Several questions assessed whether students felt welcomed, respected, discriminated against and/or intimidated due to their... Read more

Ferguson, Staten Island, What’s Next?

December 13, 2014 By George Yancey

So when will we have our next racial controversy? We know that there will be more after Michael Brown and Eric Garner. We will see another issue of racial conflict, confusion and miscommunication again. It may not involve the police but it will happen. Activists of color will flock to the area where it occurred. Conservatives will minimize the racialized component of it. We will argue. Fox News will take the side of white conservatives and moderates while MSNBC takes... Read more

If Physicians Acted Like Sociologists (or, Why We’re Mostly Irrelevant)

December 4, 2014 By Bradley Wright

Imagine a physician seeing a patient who has been diagnosed with cancer. If that physician approached matters as sociologists do, the physician would sit the patient down in their office and start by presenting several general theories regarding why cancer occurs. For example, maybe one theory might explain why cancer rates have changed over the decades. Another might link cancer to environmental factors, such as air pollution. Still another might link cancer to lifestyle choices, such as smoking and diet.... Read more