FRENCH RESEARCHER FREDERIC LE PLAY AS THE FOUNDER OF SOCIOLOGY OF BASHKIR RACE

The subject of the article is the analysis of the state of the Bashkir patriarchal family as a representative part of Bashkir society in the middle of the 19th century, undertaken by the French sociologist Frédéric Le Play (1806–1882). The object of the research is his monographic study on this topic. The aim of the article is to determine the methods, which Le Play applied for studying the everyday life, economy and material culture of the Bashkirs, to analyze the facts, which he revealed and the conclusions he drew. The tasks proceeding from this goal are based on studying the features of the author's research methodology, empirical material, identifying original conclusions regarding the life support system of a large Bashkir family in the 19th century as a structural element of Bashkir society. The article shows the necessity of using methods of qualitative sociological analysis, applied by the author, in the domestic science. For the first time, a critical analysis of a previously unknown in the Russian historiography is given, its advantages and disadvantages are appreciated, as well as the possibilities of its use in the sociology of race and ethnic relations and anthropology of the Bashkirs.

Everyday Intimacies and Inter-Ethnic Relationships: Tracing Entanglements of Gender and Race in Multicultural Singapore

Through the proposed frame of ‘everyday intimacies’, this article explores the entanglements of race and gender in inter-ethnic relationships. ‘Everyday intimacies’ brings together the minority experiences of everyday racism, the state practices and policies of multiculturalism, and their inflections in intimate relationships of marriage, friendship, and dating. This approach demonstrates not just how the state regulates people’s intimate life through policies of marriage and family, but also how other indirect processes of multicultural governance mediate intimate life. Drawing on biographical narratives of mainly Indian women from in-depth life story interviews and ethnographic fieldwork, the article brings the literature on intimacies in conversation with the scholarship on race and ethnic relations in Singapore. Through a focus on intimacy, the article illustrates how tacit knowledge and embodied effects of everyday racism relate to larger trends of intermarriages, rising singlehood among Indian women and possibilities of co-ethnic friendships and solidarities. In doing so, the article presents novel insight into race and gender relations in Singapore.

Personal Explorations in the Study of Ethnic and Race Relations

Many have discussed the inherent problems in teaching race and ethnic relations courses. Students often come to class with preconceived ideas about their social world, and a range of feelings and experiences including confusion, biases and misconceptions. Therefore, significant barriers to learning exist prior to the first day of class. To address these challenges, I developed a teaching strategy that created a student-centered, non-threatening learning environment where students could thoughtfully discuss and collaborate on group projects covering emotionally charged subjects. In doing so I organized my course, Race and Ethnic Relations, around the students’ use of family histories. This essay includes qualitative data from student projects, and their reflections on the effeciveness of this assignment. Student reflections revealed their relative comfort in holding discussions and presenting information on sensitive and challenging topics.Keywords:Student-centered learning, student collaboration, race and ethnic relations, and ethnic family histories

Introduction

This chapter provides an overview of The Oxford Handbook of Evolution, Biology, and Society. Chapters in the first part of this book address the history of the use of method and theory from biology in the social sciences; the second part includes chapters on evolutionary approaches to social psychology; the third part includes chapters describing research on the interaction of genes (and other biochemicals such as hormones) and environmental contexts on a variety of outcomes of sociological interest; and the fourth part includes chapters that apply evolutionary theory to areas of traditional concern to sociologists—including the family, fertility, sex and gender, religion, crime, and race and ethnic relations. The last part of the book presents two chapters on cultural evolution.

Oxford Handbook of Evolution, Biology, and Society

The Oxford Handbook of Evolution, Biology, and Society explores a growing area within sociology: research that uses theory and/or methods from biology. The essays in this handbook integrate current research from all strands of this new and developing area. The first section of this book has essays that address the history of the use of method and theory from biology in the social sciences; the second section has papers on evolutionary approaches to social psychology; the third section has chapters describing research on the interaction of genes (and other biochemicals such as hormones) and environmental contexts on a variety of outcomes of sociological interest; and the fourth section includes papers that apply evolutionary theory to areas of traditional concern to sociologists-including the family, fertility, sex and gender, religion, crime, and race and ethnic relations. The last section of the book presents two chapters on cultural evolution.