Jeremy Freese
@jeremyfreese.bsky.social
Social scientist at Stanford
Jeremy Jay Freese is an American sociologist and author.
Source: Wikipedia
Psychology
22%
Sociology
18%
In the way that people say they are a “classical liberal,” I suppose I am a “classical heterodox.” And I am glad the T&S-heterodox folks have found each other and have a community. I don’t know if you are old enough to remember the band Blind Melon and their “No Rain” video.
Yeah, that blog post (from, what, your 4th year in grad school?) is effectively the anchor for the “Monocropping Inequality section.
The crack she repeats about the study of inequality being “grievance studies” was ironic given how much of her evidence base are pieces where folks vented their grievances with sociology. (Sure, such pieces can be right and informative, but should be read with discernment, not automatic acceptance.)
And so then the report itself certainly has points I agree with, but reads like she did a deep dive of critiques of sociology and accepted that every bad thing anyone therein said about soc was true. Maybe because the author doesn’t have much base of actual sociology to evaluate it against.
If VU/WUSTL really wanted to commission a single person to write a genuine report about the standards of sociology, why would they pick someone whose PhD wasn’t in soc, whose first job wasn’t in a soc department, who hasn’t had a job in a soc dept in the continental US?
This report by Levi Martin is both smart and fair in laying huge and justified criticisms on Rubin’s highly problematic report. I’ve said sociology does have a lot of problems, but it was a total sham for Washington U and Vanderbilt leaders to pay Rubin for this joke.
osf.io/preprints/so...
osf.io/preprints/so...
OSF
osf.io
Yes. I think sociology has a lot of problems and is in a lot of trouble. I specifically think it is too politicized and not committed enough to “getting things right.” I have thought these things for over 25 years and not been especially shy about it. And yet, Jaysus… 1/n
Reposted by Jeremy Freese
OSF
osf.io
This report by Levi Martin is both smart and fair in laying huge and justified criticisms on Rubin’s highly problematic report. I’ve said sociology does have a lot of problems, but it was a total sham for Washington U and Vanderbilt leaders to pay Rubin for this joke.
osf.io/preprints/so...
osf.io/preprints/so...
Sure, AJS deserves credit given that ASA won’t let its journals have a policy and editors resort to sneaking around them in their acceptance letters. But it’s 2026, and we’re at the level of gently suggesting that maybe quant work published at the top of the discipline should have a basis in code.
Yes, a “blue ribbon panel” report is one thing, but if the idea is giving a sole-authored discipline subreport deserves some special status because of its connection to that panel, the author either needs to be more qualified than Rubin is or evince more extensive work than what Rubin did.
Enjoyed reading this. FWIW the point JLM starts w--you don't end up with Ashley Rubin writing this report unless you're preselecting the political conclusions you want to see--was the v 1st thing that struck me when the Vanderbilt report came out
& I say that as someone who voted for Rubin for ASA
& I say that as someone who voted for Rubin for ASA
That said, while I adore JLM, he’s Editor of AJS and hence the most powerful
person in US Journal Sociology. If he wants to tout the “methodological rigor” of current sociology, he could revise their open science policy so it doesn’t make sociologists sound like stubborn & slow-witted schoolkids.
person in US Journal Sociology. If he wants to tout the “methodological rigor” of current sociology, he could revise their open science policy so it doesn’t make sociologists sound like stubborn & slow-witted schoolkids.
Enjoyed reading this. FWIW the point JLM starts w--you don't end up with Ashley Rubin writing this report unless you're preselecting the political conclusions you want to see--was the v 1st thing that struck me when the Vanderbilt report came out
& I say that as someone who voted for Rubin for ASA
& I say that as someone who voted for Rubin for ASA
I spent the morning reading John Levi Martin's absolutely brutal takedown of the Vanderbilt report's assessment of politicization in sociology.
I recommend it and hope it gets as much attention as the initial (crap) Vanderbilt report.
A Reader’s Guide to the Rubin Report osf.io/preprints/so...
I recommend it and hope it gets as much attention as the initial (crap) Vanderbilt report.
A Reader’s Guide to the Rubin Report osf.io/preprints/so...
Yes, a “blue ribbon panel” report is one thing, but if the idea is giving a sole-authored discipline subreport deserves some special status because of its connection to that panel, the author either needs to be more qualified than Rubin is or evince more extensive work than what Rubin did.
I see a LOT of Tesla Cybercabs training in my part of Palo Alto. Bluesky readers may be gratified to know that while they are striking the first 2-3 times one sees them, they look increasingly plastic and grubby with successive appearances.