Grounding International Service-Learning in Sociology: Homelessness in Russia

The authors lead U.S. students on a study abroad trip to St. Petersburg, Russia. We designed a sociology service-learning course titled Urban Social Problems in the U.S. and Russia. Our primary substantive topic was homelessness, and social issues related to homelessness. We utilized ethnographic studies of homelessness, statistical data, sociological theories and concepts, class discussions, videos clips, guest speakers, personal journal reflections, and community service to create a dynamic learning experience. Based on a pre-test/post-test assessment, post-test follow-up questions, journal reflections, class discussions, and a final exam we argue that international service-learning is optimized when grounded in sociology

Substance Use in a Rural High School: Perception and Reality

Adolescent substance use in U.S. rural communities is now equal to or greater than urban use for many substances (Shears, Edwards, & Stanley, 2006). Despite this fact, a great deal of research and preventative strategies focuses on urban and suburban populations. To provide a better understanding of alcohol and drug use among adolescents in rural contexts, we conducted an analysis of 636 Georgia students at a rural high school. We also analyzed data regarding 61 teachers and administrators at this high school. Our data analysis reveals four primary findings. First, consistent with previous research in other contexts (Aas and Klepp 1992; Perkins, Haines, and Rice 2005), we find that rural high school students overestimate their classmates’ usage. Second, we find considerable variation in use between freshmen, sophomores, juniors, and seniors. Third, we find differences between male and female students regarding their actual drug use as well as their perceptions of friends and classmates’ use. Fourth, we find that teachers and administrators overestimate students’ use. Based on these findings, we suggest that the best approach to deter substance use and abuse is not a “blanket” approach for all four grades, but rather a grade-specific approach that takes gender into consideration

Assailants or Saints?: Racial, Ethnic, and Gender Depictions on a Social Media Based City News Website

A large literature indicates that Black males are overrepresented as criminals in traditional newspapers and broadcast news. However, little scholarly attention has been paid to online-only city newspapers. The authors conducted a content analysis of a social media based city news website in a Southeastern state. Multiple coders assessed 8,142 stories that ran over the course of three years and found that, in line with previous research, Black males were disproportionately portrayed as criminals, were more likely to have mugshots accompanying their stories, and were more likely to have their race mentioned in the text of the story than any other demographic group. Furthermore, the website interface design exacerbated the portrayal of Black male criminality. The authors also found that White females were most likely to be portrayed as philanthropists and award winners. Our results offer strong support for scapegoat and power structure theories, and limited support for racial threat and market share theories. We argue that intersectional theoretical and methodological approaches are necessary to understand media portrayals of race/ethnicity, gender, social class, and other important social characteristics

The eidetic of belonging: Towards a phenomenological psychology of affect and ethno-national identity

In this article I discuss the way affect has featured in discussions of identity, focusing on ethnic and national identities. While affect features in most discussions of ethnicity it has mostly been dismissed as a testament to the irrationality and dangerous qualities of the identity in question. Such discussions adopt a simplistic model of human psychology, usually based on a hydraulic model of the emotions. After considering some recent and pioneering work that foregrounds the role of affectivity in group formations, I proceed to outline the basis for a phenomenological psychology of affect and group identities incorporating insights from psychoanalysis and phenomenology. One cannot begin to discuss the proper role of identity in the public sphere without first considering the emotional dynamics that underlie such group formations