Featured Articles | The Socjournal – Part 3

Is it really possible to have 800 “friends.” Does connecting through FaceBook really mean you’re connected in life? Or does the proliferation of one-click social media really represent the emasculation OF human social contact? Like the reduction of human marriage to the consumerist frenzy of the marriage ceremony, new technologies do not necessarily mean a better life, better friends, or deeper connection. In fact, perhaps exactly the opposite. New social media elevate superficial social display to epic proportions and neuter the supportive and transformative potential of authentic human relations. Viva la revolution… NOT!

Tim Hutchcraft | Apr 24, 2011 | Comments 3

A sociologist looks at energy. Not oil, not nuclear, but renewable. Solar panels, wind, geothermal, these are all part of a decentralization of power generation. When every home has its own energy generating power plant we won’t be dependent on big power producers. This may mean less mega profits for a few, but the decentralization and democratization of energy needs to happen.

Timothy McGettigan | Apr 06, 2011 | Comments 2

Colonel Muammar Gadhafi’s days as Libya’s overlord are fast coming to a close. For an astonishing 41 years the people of Libya have been subjected Gadhafi’s abusive reign. However, seizing upon the revolutionary fervor that is sweeping through North Africa, the Libyan people have surged into the streets to demand an immediate end to the Gadhafi regime. Three cheers for the good people of Libya!

Timothy McGettigan | Apr 05, 2011 | Comments 0

This article discusses the relationship between God and Money with America as an example of how Money and God influences our daily lives. From Australia to Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland, there is an increasing number of people who identify themselves as “non-affiliated” with religion. However this […]

Anna Brix Thomsen | Mar 30, 2011 | Comments 6

In truth, Bill Gates probably isn’t an idiot. He did build one of the most successful software companies in the world after all. At the same time however his ability to prognosticate on post-secondary education seems questionable at best. The problems we, as university educators, face are well understood. We can’t do our jobs while the government is cutting our resources. This is like applying the logic of the assembly line to education. More product, less resources, more profit, less cost. Makes sense maybe in the business world but when we’re dealing with human minds does it pay to cut corners. If we want to remain competitive in a global economy, probably not.

Timothy McGettigan | Mar 02, 2011 | Comments 7

As a sociologist I often get heartburn listening to others talk about evolution. As every sociology student knows, from the time Herbert Spencer first coined his “survival of the fittest,” Darwin’s thoughts have been used, misused, and exploited in service of the status quo. You beat somebody down? You dominate another in business? You accumulate obscene wealth? You create a thousand losers for every winner? That’s the natural order of things. Like Darwin NEVER said, survival of the fittest. But times they are a changin. From over due behavioral corrections, fresh air research onthe stupidity of competition (ya I said it), to this provocative article that suggests that having “big winners” is bad for our general survivability, we scientists are starting to reclaim our truths from the social classes that have exploited it. Yay team!

Avi Schroeder | Jan 30, 2011 | Comments 0

Morality – Has it ever occurred to you how difficult it is to be a good person? In fact it seems that even the best people amongst us, cannot be good all the time – how many times have we not heard of priests, ministers, politicians or soccer moms, whom everyone around them, saw as […]

Anna Brix Thomsen | Jan 16, 2011 | Comments 5

Ever wonder how those grocery shelves at your Publix get filled with all the wonderful and lovely produce you and your family enjoy? Think it is the result of well paid craftsman farmers, hearty individualists sowing and tilling and harvesting with sweat on their powerful brows? Think again. In the service of increasing profit, capitalism requires the constant reduction of cost and this competitive dynamic eventually forces the use of cheap labor. And what’s cheaper than a child? In the value system of competitive capitalism, not much.

execatl | Dec 08, 2010 | Comments 5

So what determines human intelligence? Is it nature (i.e. genetics), nurture (i.e. socialization and education), or some combination of the two. This is not an easy question to answer but we all have our opinions. This survey aims to take a snapshot of our basic collective thinking on the determination of human intelligence. Take the survey and join the discussion! It takes only two minutes.

Dr. Michael Sosteric | Nov 18, 2010 | Comments 7

Here is an awesome article that questions the western view of Arab women, the Western view of women, the Westernized view of the family, the Western fetish with the Hijab, and even Western understandings of the politics of colonialism and occupation. A veritable sociological tour de force, but not from a traditional sociological source. A fascinating alternative to views common in the mainstream, and accepted without thought, by most.

William Hathaway | Nov 03, 2010 | Comments 0