I’ve become obsessed with “Un village français.” No, it’s not an idyllic town in Provence. It’s a French television series set during World War II. The show follows the residents of one French town as they navigate the German occupation. I tell myself that I am already into the 6th season (thank you, Netflix) because […]
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From French Resistance to hashtag activism: How our obsession with the extraordinary masks the power of the ordinary
Is Facebook just another paperboy with bad aim?
“Facebook Is a Bigger Source for Political News than CNN, Fox” headlined a Mashable article last week. Oh, really? This provocative phrase kept showing up on my Twitter feed. The article was one of many that splashed news headlines after the Pew Research Journalism project issued a report on the news habits of Americans. But […]
The Digital Activism Gap – where social class, social media and social movements collide
The Pew Internet & American Life Project released a report today on social media and politics. It’s no surprise to sociologists that their findings reflect structural inequalities. Perhaps it was a bit of a jolt to digital utopianists, though. Aaron Smith, the author of the Pew report, finds social class divisions with political activity in […]
Will Academic Digital Publishing Make You Perish?
I just got back from our annual American Sociological Association Conference, and the Twitter feed (#ASA2012) was particularly snarky. As I read expletive-filled tweets from (tenured) faculty and sarcastic tweets from graduate students, I was both bemused and intrigued. Some simply contained nerdy references, such as one thread about The Game of Thrones, which I […]