18 September 2012

Tenure-Track Position in Sociology at Memorial University


DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
POSITION#: VPA-SOCI-2012-001

The Department of Sociology at Memorial University in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, invites applications for a tenure-track position in the areas of deviance, law, and criminology. The person appointed will be able to demonstrate excellence in both teaching and research and will have a strong record of scholarly achievement. The successful candidate will be prepared to teach undergraduate,   honours and graduate students. Please forward a letter of application, a curriculum vitae, a teaching dossier, and the names and addresses of three persons who can supply a letter of reference, as well as two examples of written work (either published or unpublished, but at least one example must be single authored) to: Dr. Karen Stanbridge, Head, Department of Sociology,   Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, Canada,  A1C 5S7; Phone (709) 864-7457;  Fax (709) 864-2075;  Email: kstanbri@mun.ca.

The position will commence July 1, 2013, subject to budgetary approval, and will be made at the rank of Assistant Professor. The positions normally require a completed doctoral degree in the appropriate discipline. A completed earned doctorate (or recognized terminal qualification in the discipline) is required for the appointee to receive the rank of Assistant Professor and to be in a tenure-track position.  (If a successful candidate has not completed an earned doctorate, he/she shall be appointed to a regular term, non-renewable three-year appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor.  If the candidate completes all the requirements for the doctorate during the first 24 months of the term appointment, he/she shall begin a tenure-track appointment following completion of the requirements of the degree.). The application must provide evidence of excellence in teaching and research. 
Applications should reach the Head no later than October 26, 2012.


07 September 2012

Sociologists in the news: Theda Skocpol

… and how the Globe and Mail gets things wrong.

In her column in today's Report on Business section of the Globe and Mail, Chrystia Freeland uses Theda Skocpol's work, and interviews her, about the different situations faced by Obama and FDR.  But, confusingly, the article keeps referring to “his essay” and “he describes.” A look at Freeland's blog post shows that it was not her error (she did interview Skocpol after all), as she always refers to “Dr. Skocpol”: an editor at Report on Business changed some of them to the masculine pronoun. Like the Harper government, the Globe and Mail seems intent on marching us back to the 1950s.

Sadly, Freeland refers to Skocpol as a political theorist, not a sociologist. A Globe article in the past year called Erving Goffman a psychiatrist — we just can't get any respect.

Send me your Sociologists in the News items if they pertain (even loosely) to CNSIMC's agenda.

09 August 2012

Mayer N. Zald (June 17, 1931 – August 7, 2012)

Mayer N. Zald, whose seminal work is familiar to all readers of this blog — his name will always be associated with resource mobilization theory — passed away on Tuesday August 7.
There is an interview here, and an appreciation by Jeff Goddwin here

11 June 2012

"Greece's 'potato movement' grows in power: A growing group of grassroots activists are cutting out agricultural middlemen and connecting farmers and shoppers"


Read about them here: aljazeera.com
Robert Michels returns - in The Nation. Christoper Hayes observes "The Iron Law of Meritocrcy."


"And we might ask what a society that has been corrupted entirely by the Iron Law of Meritocracy would look like. It would be a society with extremely high and rising inequality yet little circulation of elites. A society in which the pillar institutions were populated and presided over by a group of hyper-educated, ambitious overachievers who enjoyed tremendous monetary rewards as well as unparalleled political power and prestige, and yet who managed to insulate themselves from sanction, competition and accountability; a group of people who could more or less rest assured that now that they have achieved their status, now that they have scaled to the top of the pyramid, they, their peers and their progeny will stay there.
...It would, in other words, look a lot like the American elite in the first years of the twenty-first century."
Read the rest: Why Elites Fail

09 June 2012

Rick Salutin "What we owe the striking Quebec students"


What we owe the striking Quebec students
BY RICK SALUTIN | JUNE 8, 2012

… We owe them for taking a shot at saving our national honour in the eyes of the world.
… We owe them for striking a blow on behalf of public discourse. I'm thinking here of the term entitlements, which has replaced rights in the discussion.
Read more on rabble.ca

Tenure-track positions in Sociology at Saint Mary's University

Social Movements, Social Change and Political Economy
The Department of Sociology and Criminology at Saint Mary’s University invites applications for a tenure-track position in Sociology at the rank of Assistant Professor. A strong record of research and teaching in Social Movements, Social Change and Political Economy is required. The successful candidate will hold a PhD in Sociology and by way of a teaching portfolio must demonstrate ability and effectiveness in teaching core undergraduate courses in qualitative methods. The appointment will begin on July 1, 2013. Read the full advertisement here

Prisons and Punishment
The department is also advertising a position in Criminology, specializing in Prisons and Punishment.  Read the full advertisement here

04 June 2012

16 May 2012

Kathleen Rodgers & Willow Scobie on criminalizing legitimate political dissent

Excellent letter to the Toronto Star by Kathleen Rodgers and Willow Scobie, on the Conservative government's backing for a bill aimed at masked protesters:
http://www.thestar.com/opinion/letters/article/1176566--bill-masks-vindictive-intentions

and an Op-ed in the Ottawa Citizen:
http://www.ottawacitizen.com/opinion/op-ed/Intentions%20of%20anti-mask%20bill%20must%20be%20revealed/6630804/story.html

07 May 2012

Howard Ramos on temporary foreign worker program

He's too modest to mention it, so I will: Howard Ramos was quoted in today's Globe and Mail article “Does temporary foreign workers program create second class of labourers?”:
Howard Ramos, who studies social justice and equity at Dalhousie University, says he is “really worried that Canada as a country is beginning to move away from immigration.”
If the commitment to bringing in people who are not bound to a particular job and have more rights really is being eroded, he says, the change in direction is unprecedented and will have an impact that is “bad for the long-term future of Canadian nation-building.”  
Good work, Howard!

15 April 2012

Cuts to Canadian Civil Society

Howard Ramos and James Ron
The 2012 federal budget has put Canada’s social justice groups on notice: the era of government-supported good deeds is over. Over the short term, many state-funded groups will shrink or disappear, while those that survive will lose their autonomy. If you care about critical thinking and social justice, this is bad news. Over the long term, however, the Conservatives may have done Canada a favour.”

Short version (“Funding cuts could unshackle Canadian civil society,”Toronto Star, April 14 2012) 

Long version (“Revolutionizing the Canadian social justice sector,” Open Democracy, April 15, 2012)

12 April 2012

New book: Seeing Politics Differently by Karen Stanbridge and Howard Ramos


Seeing Politics Differently
A Brief Introduction to Political Sociology
Karen Stanbridge and Howard Ramos
Oxford University Press
Series : Themes in Canadian Sociology

Seeing Politics Differently introduces students to political sociology - the study of how power is distributed within society. Arguing that politics is about much more than the debates and decisions of government, this concise text reveals how political struggles are inextricably tied to everyday life. Through thoughtful discussions of key perspectives and approaches, the authors demonstrate the importance of questioning who holds power in our society, where that power comes from, and how individuals and groups can bring about change. Publisher's web page

New book: Making Meaning Out of Mountains by Mark Stoddart


Making Meaning Out of Mountains
The Political Ecology of Skiing
Mark Stoddart
UBC Press

In Making Meaning out of Mountains, Mark Stoddart draws on interviews, field observations, and media analysis to explore how the ski industry in British Columbia has helped transform mountain environments and, in turn, how skiing has come to be inscribed with multiple, often conflicted meanings informed by power struggles rooted in race, class, and gender. Corporate leaders promote the skiing industry as sustainable development, while environmentalists and some First Nations argue that skiing sacrifices wildlife habitats and traditional lands to tourism and corporate gain.  Read more

01 March 2012

Call for Papers - McGill Sociological Review

The McGill Sociological Review, a peer reviewed journal managed by graduate and postdoctoral students, is publishing a volume on Nationalism, Nations, and States. You can read the call for papers here. Submissions are due by March 30th.