Here in the Middle

2011 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Wuthnow
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Social Problem ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Social Transformations ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
Middle America

This chapter reflects on the idea of an American heartland now beset with problems and how it intertwines with nostalgic visions of a better past. Both perceptions play well to the insiders who live in declining rural communities and to audiences who have long since pursued more glamorous lifestyles elsewhere. The chapter considers the case of Smith County, situated at the exact geographic middle of the United States: the heart of America's heartland. That America's heartland is a thing of the past is a long-standing refrain in treatments of the region. The reigning motif is nostalgia for a pastoral village-based America. The other common perspective on middle America sees the region as a social problem. The chapter argues that neither nostalgia nor an emphasis on social problems adequately captures the complexity of the social transformations that took place in America's heartland.

The “Historical Turn” in the Social Sciences

2017 ◽  
Vol 48 (3) ◽  
pp. 295-312 ◽  
Author(s):  
Herbert S. Klein
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
United States ◽  
Twentieth Century ◽  
The United States ◽  
Historical Research ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Past ◽  
Professional Societies ◽  
Historical Turn ◽  
The Social

The first professional societies in the United States, from the 1880s to the 1910s, understood history to be closely associated with the other social sciences. Even in the mid-twentieth century, history was still grouped with the other social sciences, along with economics, sociology, political science, and anthropology. But in the past few decades, history and anthropology in the United States (though not necessarily in other countries) have moved away from the social sciences to ally themselves with the humanities—paradoxically, just when the other social sciences are becoming more committed to historical research.

Clausewitz: A Bibliographical Survey

1965 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 272-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Paret
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
United States ◽  
Max Weber ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Partial Loss ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Directions ◽  
Bibliographical Survey

The vitality of the social sciences in the United States has not prevented some of its most influential pioneers from becoming unread classics. A widespread preference for textbook treatment and up-to-theminute analysis plays its part; but if the reader does want to turn to the originals, he often finds that they are not readily available. Complete and scholarly editions of writers who pursued new directions of inquiry are rarer than might be supposed—even in their native language. The situation is particularly bad when it comes to foreign authors. A writer's theories and insights may be transmitted through one or two major works, while the rest of his output is ignored, so that his thoughts are analyzed in isolation, without benefit of the preliminary sketches, correspondence, and marginal studies that would give depth and suppleness to the interpretation. Until recently Rousseau and Tocqueville have been in this position; another case in point is Max Weber, ignorance of whose fertile theorizing has misled more than one commentator. Still another, and extreme, example of intellectual discontinuity is provided by Clausewitz. Much of his work has never been published; even in German most of it is out of print; little of it has ever been translated. The result has been the partial loss of a remarkable historical and theoretical achievement. To the American reader, in particular, Clausewitz rarely means more than the “philosopher of war,” a famous name associated with one or two clichés backed up by little of substance. Repeated attempts to outline Clausewitz's thought, or to present the “essential Clausewitz” in the form of excerpts, have never been of more than doubtful value, if only because his methodology and dialectic are scarcely less interesting than the conclusions they reach. It would be pointless to attempt the impossible once again. On the other hand, a brief survey of Clausewitz's writings and of the literature concerning him may provide a useful introduction to his theories and to the manner in which for the past 150 years they have influenced the study and the waging of war.

“Putting Down Roots”

On the Move ◽  
2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
Filiz Garip
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Urban Communities ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Large Share ◽  
Urban Migrants ◽  
First Time ◽  
Central South ◽  
Migrant Groups

This chapter discusses a particular group that continually increased its share among the first-time migrants between 1965 and 2010—from less than 10 percent to nearly 70 percent. This group, called urban migrants, included a large share of men, mostly from urban communities in the border, central-south, and southeastern regions of Mexico rather than the traditional migrant-sending rural communities in the central-west. Urban migrants were significantly more educated compared to the circular, crisis, and family migrants in the preceding chapters, and also relative to non-migrants at their time. The group worked mostly in manufacturing and construction in the United States, earned significantly higher wages than the other migrant groups, and made fewer return trips to Mexico.

Conclusion

2021 ◽  
pp. 135-152
Author(s):  
Kathleen E. Jenkins
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
North America ◽  
Family Relationships ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Ethic Of Care ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Forces ◽  
Social Inequities ◽  
The Social ◽  
Relational Outcomes

This concluding chapter argues that the stories in this book are about people working to strengthen family relationships, but that in many cases they also represent shared discovery of commitment to an ethic of care for those outside of their intimate circles. It stresses how most respondents recognized their privilege and expressed a desire for their Camino to translate to daily interactions with distant others and contemplation of larger social problems. At the same time, distancing memories may undermine such effects. This chapter suggests that respondents’ stories, taken as a whole, push us to think more deeply about the social forces that stand in the way of positive relational outcomes from shared transformational travel. The conclusion moves beyond the Camino, identifying efforts to promote inclusivity in opportunities for travel for transformation in North America and highlighting differences in access to spiritual practices in the United States that could foster relational intimacy. It stresses efforts to build opportunities for travel for transformation with the potential to promote understanding of social inequities and injustices.

Misinformation and Ideology

2021 ◽  
pp. 111-126
Author(s):  
Scott Timcke
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Economy ◽  
Ethical Reasoning ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Hierarchy ◽  
The Other ◽  
Ruling Class ◽  
Social Forms ◽  
The Social ◽  
The One

This chapter applies theoretical insights around misrecognition to better understand the intersection of misinformation and ideology in the United States. It argues that misinformation practices are products of modernity. American modernity is characterized by contradictions between its basic social forms such as the money form, the commodity form, and so on. The contradictions create a bind for rulers. On the one hand, these contradictions mean that their rule is never stable. On the other hand, acknowledging the contradictions risks courting redress that also threatens their minority rule. Due to the imperative to mystify these contradictions, social problems are subsequently treated as anomalies or otherwise externalized; they can never be features of the capitalist political economy itself. Misinformation is a common by-product of this externalization as the capitalist ruling class uses it to weld together pacts and alliances that preserve the social hierarchy. The chapter outlines the broad argumentation offered by securocrats, reactionaries and technologists on Russia-gate. It takes a look at the proof put forward, the ethical reasoning invoked and the emotive appeals employed. It also looks at why these explanations fall short.

95 Years of Teaching High School Sociology

2005 ◽  
Vol 33 (3) ◽  
pp. 236-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael DeCesare
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
High School ◽  
Citizenship Education ◽  
Social Problems ◽  
Empirical Studies ◽  
The United States ◽  
Teaching Sociology ◽  
The Past ◽  
Current Events ◽  
History Of

A neglected part of the history of teaching sociology is the history of teaching high school sociology. The American Sociological Association's centennial in 2005 affords sociologists an opportunity to reflect on the teaching of sociology–anywhere and everywhere that it happens. In the spirit of contributing to the history of teaching sociology in the United States, this paper outlines the roughly 95-year history of the teaching of high school sociology. I rely upon published course descriptions written by high school sociology teachers and empirical studies conducted by academic sociologists. They demonstrate that past high school sociology courses have focused primarily on examining social problems and current events, and on promoting citizenship education. This remains the case today. I offer several reasons why the courses have looked as they have over the past 95 years, and conclude with four predictions about the future of teaching high school sociology.

scholarly journals The Effect of Changes in Manufacturing Employment on Real Estate Tax Rates in Rural Communities of Pennsylvania

1973 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-129
Author(s):  
Donald J. Epp ◽  
William C. Bates
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Rural Communities ◽  
Real Estate ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Public Services ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Tax Rates ◽  
Manufacturing Employment ◽  
Real Estate Tax

Rural communities in Pennsylvania, as well as in many other parts of the United States, have exhibited a great deal of variation in population trends in recent years. Many rural communities have experienced a declining population along with a decreasing employment base. This causes problems of finding new sources of employment as well as providing educational and other public services that are adequate for their remaining population but are financed by a decreasing fiscal base. On the other hand, many rural communities have experienced a new spurt of economic and population growth resulting in a need for additional public services. While the particular problems to be faced are different depending on whether the community is growing or declining, they each have their own peculiar types of problems.

scholarly journals The Chronology of the Revolt of Pescennius Niger

1920 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 155-168
Author(s):  
G. A. Harrer
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
Short Paper ◽  
The Past ◽  
New Evidence

During the past six years the problem of the chronology of Niger's revolt in Syria has been studied in detail in three separate works. My own appeared in the United States in 1915, a book by Platnauer in England in 1918, and a work by Hasebroek in Germany in 1921. Due to poor means of communication during the war, Platnauer did not see my study, and Hasebroek saw neither Platnauer's nor mine. Since the appearance of his book Platnauer has also published a short paper in The Journal of Roman Studies, taking issue emphatically with my views. This paper, too, escaped Hasebroek's attention. The three studies independently produced are not in harmony. They agree very well on the beginning of the revolt, but differ concerning its course, and concerning the date of its end. Since my own view does not now coincide with either of the other two, but has been modified by both of them, it has seemed worth while to examine them carefully, to study again the available evidence, and, with what new evidence can be brought to bear, to suggest a solution of the problem.

State Constitutional Law in 1946–47

1947 ◽  
Vol 41 (4) ◽  
pp. 700-732
Author(s):  
Foster H. Sherwood
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Civil War ◽  
Civil Rights ◽  
Constitutional Law ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Other ◽  
The Past ◽  
First Time ◽  
State Constitutional Law ◽  
Constitutional Revision

The oft-heard argument in behalf of federalism that the states furnish important laboratories for social and political experimentation is illustrated by a good many new constitutional provisions interpreted for the first time this year. Two states, Missouri and Georgia, adopted entirely new constitutions in 1945, important sections of which have come before the highest courts for interpretation. One of these, the Georgia constitution of 1945, provides specifically: “Legislative acts in violation of this constitution or the constitution of the United States, are void, and the judiciary shall so declare them.” Such a provision may very well raise more questions than it settles—for example, what effects can be accorded unconstitutional acts?; can the other agencies of government refuse to perform under statutes they consider unconstitutional?; can the judiciary declare acts of the governor and other officers unconstitutional?; etc. Such questions have not as yet been raised. But there is some evidence that we may be embarking on an era of constitutional revision similar to that which followed the Civil War. If so, the problems of constitutional law now being discussed may furnish a clue to the kind of new documents to be written. This year the emphasis has been on civil rights and methods of adjusting state finances to the rapidly fluctuating value of the dollar—problems which naturally arise out of the intense social and economic conflicts of the past decade.

scholarly journals Library Science Education in the U.S.A.

2001 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 88-105
Author(s):  
Sommers Pierce
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
The United States ◽  
Educational Programs ◽  
Library Science ◽  
The Other ◽  
Library Services ◽  
Profound Change ◽  
Library Education ◽  
The Past ◽  
Substantial Change

Classical librarianship drowns in the sea of change. in the United States our profession had indicated a profound change -especially in the last 20 years. Until 1976, 15 schools or departments of librarianship had been closed, and the rest had undergone a serious transformation. During the last 20 years, library education became no more homogeneous as it was in the past. New educational programs show vast diversity. The scope of the mission of library services became enlarged. Type of students, ways of teaching had also indicated a substantial change. On the other hand, the librarian of today requires lifelong self­education.

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