The Mad Sociologist Blog

  • Political and Rhetorical Uses of Hitler!

    All right, I’ve had enough! In the past couple of weeks I could not help but notice just how often the specter of Nazism and Hitler have been used as rhetorical conventions. It appears that Nazism is alive and well…and living in the minds of policy wonks and desperate lobbying firms intent on perpetuating their… Read more

  • Africa, Women's Rights and Hillary Clinton

    If there is a miracle that could happen in Africa today that would go furthest in bringing this beleaguered continent into the twenty-first century it would be a spontaneous recognition of the inherent and inalienable rights of women. Of course, this is not going to happen.  If the rights of women are to be recognized… Read more

  • From The Mouths of Teens…

    Thirteen year old Declan Galbraith’s outstanding video.  He’s “asking why.” If a thirteen year old boy, whose voice hasn’t even dropped yet, can ask these questions, then why can’t we adults? More importantly, why can’t we, as adults, provide good answers? Read more

  • Lessons learned from the Beer Summit

      The so called Beer Summit was a learning experience for us. At least it should have been. We shall see. Of course we learned that the issue of race is alive and well in the United States, regardless of having elected a black president. Though the arrest itself might not have been motivated by… Read more

  • Gates/Crowley and the Sociology of Deference

    It’s hard to know just exactly what role race played in the well publicized arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr.  Race is one of those variables that so imbues life in the United States that rare is the sociological research that does not have to control for race.  We are socialized to see… Read more

  • Air Polution and IQ

    For a few years now I’ve suggested changing track when it comes to the hydrocarbon debates.  It’s not that I’ve changed my mind about Global Warming. Global Warming is very much a reality and may be happening even faster than experts have predicted. When it comes to the discourse, however, the lines are pretty well… Read more

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