Building Sustainable Cities for the Future

Overview of the major findings from the United Nations’s recent report, World Economic and Social Survey 2013: Sustainable Development Challenges. We cover some sociological resources that speak to the theme of green planning.

Rigour in Sociological Practice

We tell graduates that sociology can be used to improve the delivery of social services, that it can better shape social policy, that we can use it to mediate conflict to achieve social justice. Yet, once we enter our paid professional life, practitioners often encounter the perception that applied sociological work is less rigorous. WhyContinueContinue reading “Rigour in Sociological Practice”

Retaining Sociology Students

Sociology has a problem recruiting and retaining students. The way forward is for sociological degrees to demonstrate how their training prepares them for the workplace. The latest American Sociological Association (ASA) survey of almost 2,700 sociology students in the USA finds that retention is not purely about loving the subject matter. Students are most satisfiedContinueContinue reading “Retaining Sociology Students”

Sociology’s Gendered “Ritual Nods”

White male European and American voices dominate sociology. New analysis makes me wonder: are we reproducing inequality through our “ritual nods” to social theory? Sociologist Rafael Pereira published an analysis of the most-cited authors in sociology papers. The analysis was limited to the Google Scholars Citations page. Pereira finds that the top sociology citations favourContinueContinue reading “Sociology’s Gendered “Ritual Nods””

Dr Martin Luther King: “Public Sociologist Par Excellence”

“We must remember that intelligence is not enough. Intelligence plus character-that is the goal of true education.” – Dr Martin Luther King Jr is described as “a public sociologist par excellence.” We look at how sociology students can model his use of sociology to transform society, through civil rights principles.

Applied Sociology Roles, Skills and Methods – New Series

What are the roles that applied sociologists take on? What skills and methods do they apply in order to carry out their work? What workplace issues do they face? How do they manage their professional challenges and celebrate their triumphs?