Book Review: Check It While I Wreck It: Black Womanhood, Hip-Hop Culture, and the Public Sphere

Review of Check It While I Wreck It: Black Womanhood, Hip-Hop Culture, and the Public Sphere by Gwendolyn D. Poug

Beyond the Pale: Pedagogical Strategies for Analyzing Race and Whiteness

The roots of American sociology of race and ethnicity run deep, but a focus on whiteness has matured in recent decades. This body of research is diverse: Whiteness is understood as simultaneously omnipresent, ubiquitous, rigid and flexible. Moreover, students enrolled in courses on race and ethnicity have difficulty grasping the conflicting and ambiguous character of whiteness that is exacerbated by their own misconceptions and ideological baggage they carry into the classroom. To empirically identify common student misconceptions, and to illuminate effective pedagogical interventions, I analyze two different sociology of race and ethnicity courses, offered twelve times over an eight-year span, at two different University institutions. Based on in- and out-of-classroom exercises and assignments completed by students in these classes (N = 406), I outline four patterned interpretative dilemmas and concomitant pedagogical interventions to aid students’ understanding of whiteness. Results indicate that these four intervention exercises found overall success amidst a variety of classroom sizes, disparately ranked public universities, different US regions, and amongst classroom contexts high in racial diversity to majority-white student course enrollment

Racism with Antiracists: Color-Conscious Racism and the Unintentional Persistence of Inequality

The latest turn in the sociological study of white racism argues that the paradigm of color-blind racism is the predominant form by which many whites unintentionally reproduce racist ideology due to ignorance, or dismissal, of structural racism. As a remedy, many scholars advocate that whites should turn to explicitly antiracist activism informed by structural analysis. Employing ethnographic data in a majority white antiracist organization as a touchstone for analysis, I problematize this arrangement by examining how racism is socially reproduced despite members good intentions, knowledge of structural racism, and explicitly color-conscious ideology. Using in-depth interviews, fieldnotes, and content analysis of organizational publications, I find several mechanisms at work which, unlike the dominant color-blind approach, explains the persistence of an antiracist racism

Workplace Violence: Impact and Prevention

Workplace violence has been increasing in the United States for the past several decades. It affects everyone, not just those who have direct experience with it in employment situations. The authors describe the extent of the problem and provide recommendations regarding how managers and helping professionals can help prevent violent and abusive behavior from occurring in the workplace. They also describe proven strategies for effectively dealing with these kinds of incidents when they do materialize

A Choice of Weapons : The X-Men and the Metaphor for Approaches to Racial Equality

The authors explore The X-Men comic as a metaphor for both racial discrimination in the United States and strategies for addressing such discrimination. In consideration of the recent rise in the shooting of people of color, particular African American men and women, at the hands of law enforcement officers, an increasingly vocal and aggrieved segment of the white populace in the form of the “alt right,” and a presidential candidate that both implicitly and explicitly deploys “law and order” and racist appeals for particular social and political changes, we appear to once again stand at an important crossroads in American history. In consideration of the social upheavals of the 1960s, these choices are, however, not new and have been well-detailed in graphic novels and comic books, such as The X-Men. These popular representations gesture toward an important question: Which approach (peace or violence) is best, particularly in light of the current struggle for racial equality in the United States? In Part I, the authors provide a basic analysis of how The X-Men deliver a metaphor for race, bias, and discrimination. In Part II, the authors parse the ideology and methods of Magneto, chief antagonist in the X-Men, as a metaphor for Malcolm X and the Black Power/Black Nationalist approach. In Part III, the authors parse the ideology and methods of Professor Xavier, chief protagonist in the X-Men, as a metaphor for Martin Luther King, Jr. and the civil rights movement approach. The authors conclude by speculating as to which approach would be best for African American advancement today

Establishing and Maintaining Organizational Trust in the 21st Century

Recent corporate and academic scandals have led to decreasing levels of trust and confidence in many organizations. Whether the organization is a college or university, a government agency, a private company or a public corporation, the establishment and maintenance of trust is essential to both short-term success and long-term efficacy. This article deals with how managers and leaders can work to establish trust in their organizations via such strategies as fostering behavioural consistency, behavioural integrity, sharing of control, effective communication and demonstration of concern for employees. Also included are strategies of maintaining and enhancing trust, how the level of trust in an organization affects the individual as well as the entire enterprise, and the consequences of losing organizational trust

Stress and Violence in the Workplace and on Campus: A Growing Problem for Business, Industry and Academia

Levels of stress and violence at work have been increasing globally for the past few decades. Whether the setting is business and industry or a college campus, this disturbing trend affects a growing number of people, including those who do not work directly in these environments. In this paper the authors describe the relationship between stress and violence and offer recommendations as to how managers and administrators can reduce employee and student stress levels and help to prevent hostile behaviour from occurring in private companies, public agencies and institutions of higher education. Proactive strategies for preventing violent incidents are included together with suggestions on how to deal effectively with such incidents when they do arise

Doing a Good Job at a Bad Thing: Prevalence and Perpetuation of Stereotypes Among Members of Historically Black Sororities

This study examined how stereotypes among alumnae members of historically Black sororities affected their experiences as both undergraduate and graduate members. This research contributes to the literature on skin color bias and to the stereotypes of Black women. For the majority of women we surveyed for this research, the myths and stereotypes surrounding skin color bias, intra-racial group relations, beauty, and femininity of different historically Black sororities influenced the initial perceptions of members in each group. The findings include some commonality among stereotypes about the oldest sororities (Alpha Kappa Alpha and Delta Sigma Theta), yet stereotypes about the other organizations (Zeta Phi Beta and Sigma Gamma Rho) varied due to age, college life experience, and the geographic location of the interviewees. Implications and considerations for future research are included

Modern American populism: Analyzing the economics behind the Silent Majority, the Tea Party and Trumpism

This article researches populism, more specifically, Modern American Populism (MAP), constructed of white, rural, and economically oppressed reactionarianism, which was borne out of the political upheaval of the 1960’s Civil Rights movement. The research looks to explain the causes of populism and what leads voters to support populist movements and politicians. The research focuses on economic anxiety as the main cause but also examines an alternative theory of racial resentment. In an effort to answer the question, what causes populist movements and motivations, I apply a research approach that utilizes qualitative and quantitative methods. There is an examination of literature that defines populism, its causes and a detailed discussion of the case studies, including the 1972 election of Richard Nixon; the Tea Party election of 2010; and the 2016 election of Donald Trump. In addition, statistical data analysis was run using American National Election Studies (ANES) surveys associated with each specific case study. These case studies were chosen because they most represent forms of populist movements in modern American history. While ample qualitative evidence suggested support for the hypothesis that economic anxiety is a necessary condition for populist voting patterns that elected Nixon, the Tea Party and Trump, the statistical data only supported the hypothesis in two cases, 2010 and 2016, with 1972 coming back inconclusive. The data also suggested that both economic anxiety and racial resentment played a role in 2010 and 2016, while having no significant effect in 1972 in either case. This suggests that further research needs to be conducted into additional populist case studies, as well as an examination into the role economic anxiety and economic crises play on racial resentment and racially motivated voting behavior