Towards a Public Sociology
I recently published a book review of The Souls of White Jokes: How Racist Humor Fuels White Supremacy by Raúl Pérez in the journal Ethnic and Racial Studies. It is much needed addition to the critical study of how racist jokes do the dirty work of constructing racism and racially hierarchical environments.
For a limited time you can download a free .pdf of the review using this link:
https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/EH3RNV2CKUGD3XFNXHV3/full?target=10.1080/01419870.2022.2152360
Enjoy!
Listen to this cool podcast by my sociology colleague JR Woodward interviewing Bones Brigade skateboarder Tommy Guerrero–and they cite my skateboarding research. https://www.oursociallandscape.com/post/talking-culture-with-tommy-guerrero
I recently reviewed Music, Youth and International Links in Post-War British Fascism: The Transformation of Extremism, by Ryan Shaffer. He offers an interesting analysis of how punk as a cultural form was co-opted by British fascists after World War II as a strategy to keep what many thought was a dead ideology on life support. Shaffer’s work gives insight on the resurgence of fascist authoritarianism in the forms of Brexit, MAGA, and the Proud Boys. Here is the link to the book review recently published in the Journal for the Study of Radicalism.
In this radio interview with Cindy Kamp on Catalyst WYCE, we discuss the recent work Strangers in their Own Land by Dr. Arlie Hochschild and the significance of using environmental problems as keyhole issues to work across political difference. We also discuss the history and significance the Community Leadership Program has on the Grand Rapids, MI area in giving students and communities hands on tools to work across political, identity, and emotional divides. We were then able to meet and have deep discussions about this issue when Dr. Hochschild came to deliver her Women’s Studies keynote lecture (pictured above).
https://grcmc.org/wyce/node/37307/catalyst-radio-environmental-sociology
In this radio interview with Shelly Irwin on WGVU, Tim Ramsay and I discuss the impacts of studying abroad in Ireland on the Wild Atlantic Way.
In early February, I gave a presentation of some of my research on how breweries attempt to “do” environmental sustainability. My focus is on water issues, but I am drawn to all the ways breweries attempt to do this important work. Most of my research to date has been on Michigan breweries, but my talk at Auburn University Montgomery allowed me to meet many brewing professionals and others interested in brewing and sustainability in the Montgomery area. One take away from the talk occurred during Q&A where we identified that most brewers are business people looking for a return on investment and that injecting a need to account for environmental and social impacts to the surrounding communities is often missed. In areas that are beginning to dabble in the brewing tourism economy, they have an opportunity to develop best practices that have been tried in other regions. It was also great to meet the robust home brewing community in Montgomery. Sláinte!
On February 13, 2019, I had the pleasure of meeting and talking with Tony Porter. Tony is the CEO of A Call to Men. He is an author, educator, and social justice activist, who is working to prevent violence against women and inspire men to actively fight against rape culture. Tony began the talk by claiming, “hurt people, hurt people.” We can only start to heal as men and as a culture if men struggle to get out of “the man box.” Men only have their humanity to gain if they step out of that box. If we as men don’t respond to the heterosexist comments of other men, then we are complicit. It was great way to start the day and reflect on what healthy, respectful manhood should look like. Here is Tony’s Ted talk from 2010:
In this edited collection, I offer a chapter about Kona Skatepark in Jacksonville, FL. I focus on how skateboarding connects generations of skaters and how they make meaning with this social practice.
https://www.routledge.com/Skateboarding-Subcultures-Sites-and-Shifts/Lombard/p/book/9781138829824
In this recent book, I coauthored the introductory chapter titled “Chicago: Neoliberal City” laying out the parameters of neoliberalism and then in chapter 4 “Urban Sustainability and the ‘Greening’ of Neoliberal Chicago” I present the challenges of enacting sustainable, socially just, solutions in this context. Here is the publisher link for more information:
https://www.press.uillinois.edu/books/catalog/47cbh4ct9780252040597.html
Below is an interview of one of the editors and one of the contributors to this research on the radio show “Live from the Heartland” on WLUW 88.7fm in Chicago.
Melissa Ross, host of “First Coast Connect” on WJCT community supported public radio in Jacksonville, FL, interviewed me about a recent article I co-authored where we dive into hardcore punk as a technology of the collective. I have also linked to the article in the Journal of Contemporary Ethnography.
http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0891241612465652
Michael J. Lorr 