Contexts Magazine
@contexts.org
Contexts is a quarterly magazine that makes cutting-edge sociology research accessible to general readers. Edited by David Grazian, with managing editor Elena van Stee.
contexts.org
contexts.org
What happens when authenticity becomes a sales strategy?
Sociologists Eleanor Matheson and Donna Sedgwick show how curated glimpses of private life create trust, turning authenticity into commercial power.
Read here ➡️
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
#InfluencerCulture #SocialMedia #ConsumerCulture
Sociologists Eleanor Matheson and Donna Sedgwick show how curated glimpses of private life create trust, turning authenticity into commercial power.
Read here ➡️
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
#InfluencerCulture #SocialMedia #ConsumerCulture
September 16, 2026 at 8:07 PM
What happens when authenticity becomes a sales strategy?
Sociologists Eleanor Matheson and Donna Sedgwick show how curated glimpses of private life create trust, turning authenticity into commercial power.
Read here ➡️
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
#InfluencerCulture #SocialMedia #ConsumerCulture
Sociologists Eleanor Matheson and Donna Sedgwick show how curated glimpses of private life create trust, turning authenticity into commercial power.
Read here ➡️
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
#InfluencerCulture #SocialMedia #ConsumerCulture
How could conflict be good for communities?
Evelyn M. Perry shows how disagreements can expose whose standards define neighborhood life and create room to renegotiate belonging.
Read in Contexts ➡️
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
#Sociology #Community #UrbanSociology #ContextsMagazine
Evelyn M. Perry shows how disagreements can expose whose standards define neighborhood life and create room to renegotiate belonging.
Read in Contexts ➡️
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
#Sociology #Community #UrbanSociology #ContextsMagazine
September 15, 2026 at 6:52 PM
How could conflict be good for communities?
Evelyn M. Perry shows how disagreements can expose whose standards define neighborhood life and create room to renegotiate belonging.
Read in Contexts ➡️
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
#Sociology #Community #UrbanSociology #ContextsMagazine
Evelyn M. Perry shows how disagreements can expose whose standards define neighborhood life and create room to renegotiate belonging.
Read in Contexts ➡️
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
#Sociology #Community #UrbanSociology #ContextsMagazine
Why do economists dominate public debate while sociologists remain on the sidelines?
In this interview, Amin Ghaziani interviews a New York Times columnist about the many ways sociologists can enter public discussions.
Read "Professors, We Still Need You!"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
In this interview, Amin Ghaziani interviews a New York Times columnist about the many ways sociologists can enter public discussions.
Read "Professors, We Still Need You!"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
September 14, 2026 at 7:35 PM
Why do economists dominate public debate while sociologists remain on the sidelines?
In this interview, Amin Ghaziani interviews a New York Times columnist about the many ways sociologists can enter public discussions.
Read "Professors, We Still Need You!"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
In this interview, Amin Ghaziani interviews a New York Times columnist about the many ways sociologists can enter public discussions.
Read "Professors, We Still Need You!"
journals.sagepub.com/doi/epub/10....
What can sociology teach us about #neurodiversity?
Micki McGee argues that increasing productivity and accelerated work schedules have gradually become the norm, recasting unforgiving institutional expectations as individual medical deficits.
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
@mickimcgee.bsky.social
Micki McGee argues that increasing productivity and accelerated work schedules have gradually become the norm, recasting unforgiving institutional expectations as individual medical deficits.
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
@mickimcgee.bsky.social
September 11, 2026 at 7:32 PM
What can sociology teach us about #neurodiversity?
Micki McGee argues that increasing productivity and accelerated work schedules have gradually become the norm, recasting unforgiving institutional expectations as individual medical deficits.
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
@mickimcgee.bsky.social
Micki McGee argues that increasing productivity and accelerated work schedules have gradually become the norm, recasting unforgiving institutional expectations as individual medical deficits.
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
@mickimcgee.bsky.social
What do you picture when you hear “red-light district”?
In this visual sociological essay, Ronald Weitzer's photographs complicate the familiar image of red-light districts as uniformly dangerous and disordered.
Read in Contexts ➡️ journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
In this visual sociological essay, Ronald Weitzer's photographs complicate the familiar image of red-light districts as uniformly dangerous and disordered.
Read in Contexts ➡️ journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
September 10, 2026 at 6:44 PM
What do you picture when you hear “red-light district”?
In this visual sociological essay, Ronald Weitzer's photographs complicate the familiar image of red-light districts as uniformly dangerous and disordered.
Read in Contexts ➡️ journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
In this visual sociological essay, Ronald Weitzer's photographs complicate the familiar image of red-light districts as uniformly dangerous and disordered.
Read in Contexts ➡️ journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/...
What can marital infidelity reveal about masculinity?
In Contexts, Alicia M. Walker analyzes men who use the platform Ashley Madison to seek out extramarital affairs, finding that men's consistent concerns were about masculine validation.
➡️ doi.org/10.1177/1536...
@aliciamwalker1.bsky.social
In Contexts, Alicia M. Walker analyzes men who use the platform Ashley Madison to seek out extramarital affairs, finding that men's consistent concerns were about masculine validation.
➡️ doi.org/10.1177/1536...
@aliciamwalker1.bsky.social
September 9, 2026 at 6:37 PM
What can marital infidelity reveal about masculinity?
In Contexts, Alicia M. Walker analyzes men who use the platform Ashley Madison to seek out extramarital affairs, finding that men's consistent concerns were about masculine validation.
➡️ doi.org/10.1177/1536...
@aliciamwalker1.bsky.social
In Contexts, Alicia M. Walker analyzes men who use the platform Ashley Madison to seek out extramarital affairs, finding that men's consistent concerns were about masculine validation.
➡️ doi.org/10.1177/1536...
@aliciamwalker1.bsky.social
How free are we to dream?
We are told that anyone can dream big. Yet inequality can shape the future long before opportunity appears.
Sociologist Karen Cerulo explores how social position enters even our most private visions of the future.
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
We are told that anyone can dream big. Yet inequality can shape the future long before opportunity appears.
Sociologist Karen Cerulo explores how social position enters even our most private visions of the future.
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
September 8, 2026 at 3:37 PM
How free are we to dream?
We are told that anyone can dream big. Yet inequality can shape the future long before opportunity appears.
Sociologist Karen Cerulo explores how social position enters even our most private visions of the future.
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
We are told that anyone can dream big. Yet inequality can shape the future long before opportunity appears.
Sociologist Karen Cerulo explores how social position enters even our most private visions of the future.
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
Many workplace protections we take for granted were won through collective struggle.
For Labor Day, Judith Stepan-Norris writes in Contexts about how unions raise wages, reduce inequality and give workers a collective voice, and what their decline costs us.
Read here: doi.org/10.1177/1536...
For Labor Day, Judith Stepan-Norris writes in Contexts about how unions raise wages, reduce inequality and give workers a collective voice, and what their decline costs us.
Read here: doi.org/10.1177/1536...
September 7, 2026 at 6:48 PM
Many workplace protections we take for granted were won through collective struggle.
For Labor Day, Judith Stepan-Norris writes in Contexts about how unions raise wages, reduce inequality and give workers a collective voice, and what their decline costs us.
Read here: doi.org/10.1177/1536...
For Labor Day, Judith Stepan-Norris writes in Contexts about how unions raise wages, reduce inequality and give workers a collective voice, and what their decline costs us.
Read here: doi.org/10.1177/1536...
What if the most powerful technology in a start-up is the hype?
Sociologist Patrick Sheehan shows how hype turns an imagined future into a way of extracting more labour in the present. The breakthrough is always just around the corner.
Read more in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
#Tech
Sociologist Patrick Sheehan shows how hype turns an imagined future into a way of extracting more labour in the present. The breakthrough is always just around the corner.
Read more in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
#Tech
September 4, 2026 at 5:40 PM
What if the most powerful technology in a start-up is the hype?
Sociologist Patrick Sheehan shows how hype turns an imagined future into a way of extracting more labour in the present. The breakthrough is always just around the corner.
Read more in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
#Tech
Sociologist Patrick Sheehan shows how hype turns an imagined future into a way of extracting more labour in the present. The breakthrough is always just around the corner.
Read more in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
#Tech
How did dark skin become a deadly blind spot in dermatology?
Black patients are often diagnosed later, yet prevention guidelines still center fair skin. Ashley C. Rondini and colleagues examine how racial erasure becomes medical knowledge.
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
@ashley-c-rondini.bsky.social
Black patients are often diagnosed later, yet prevention guidelines still center fair skin. Ashley C. Rondini and colleagues examine how racial erasure becomes medical knowledge.
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
@ashley-c-rondini.bsky.social
September 3, 2026 at 6:00 PM
How did dark skin become a deadly blind spot in dermatology?
Black patients are often diagnosed later, yet prevention guidelines still center fair skin. Ashley C. Rondini and colleagues examine how racial erasure becomes medical knowledge.
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
@ashley-c-rondini.bsky.social
Black patients are often diagnosed later, yet prevention guidelines still center fair skin. Ashley C. Rondini and colleagues examine how racial erasure becomes medical knowledge.
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
@ashley-c-rondini.bsky.social
AI is reshaping our relationships. What if it is also reshaping how we understand ourselves?
Carsten Lund Pedersen asks what happens when algorithms become mirrors and begin shaping the selves they claim to reflect.
Read in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
Carsten Lund Pedersen asks what happens when algorithms become mirrors and begin shaping the selves they claim to reflect.
Read in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
September 2, 2026 at 5:31 PM
AI is reshaping our relationships. What if it is also reshaping how we understand ourselves?
Carsten Lund Pedersen asks what happens when algorithms become mirrors and begin shaping the selves they claim to reflect.
Read in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
Carsten Lund Pedersen asks what happens when algorithms become mirrors and begin shaping the selves they claim to reflect.
Read in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
What if #Girlboss and #Tradwife come from the same feminist crisis?
Both respond to the demand that women “have it all” by doing it all. What becomes possible when feminism expands its imagination and makes room for joy?
Read in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
Both respond to the demand that women “have it all” by doing it all. What becomes possible when feminism expands its imagination and makes room for joy?
Read in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
September 1, 2026 at 7:35 PM
What if #Girlboss and #Tradwife come from the same feminist crisis?
Both respond to the demand that women “have it all” by doing it all. What becomes possible when feminism expands its imagination and makes room for joy?
Read in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
Both respond to the demand that women “have it all” by doing it all. What becomes possible when feminism expands its imagination and makes room for joy?
Read in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
Why do we suddenly need words like rizz, beige flag, and situationship to describe dating?
Written by Gabrielle Juteau, Jaden Loo, and Susan L. Brown, this Contexts piece looks at what new dating language reveals about ambiguity, commitment, and changing relationship expectations.
Written by Gabrielle Juteau, Jaden Loo, and Susan L. Brown, this Contexts piece looks at what new dating language reveals about ambiguity, commitment, and changing relationship expectations.
August 31, 2026 at 6:55 PM
Why do we suddenly need words like rizz, beige flag, and situationship to describe dating?
Written by Gabrielle Juteau, Jaden Loo, and Susan L. Brown, this Contexts piece looks at what new dating language reveals about ambiguity, commitment, and changing relationship expectations.
Written by Gabrielle Juteau, Jaden Loo, and Susan L. Brown, this Contexts piece looks at what new dating language reveals about ambiguity, commitment, and changing relationship expectations.
What does the anti-work movement look like when Black women tell its story?
On YouTube, Black women are claiming a right to rest. Sociologist Sharla Berry asks who gets to refuse work and who can afford to leave.
Read in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
On YouTube, Black women are claiming a right to rest. Sociologist Sharla Berry asks who gets to refuse work and who can afford to leave.
Read in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
August 28, 2026 at 7:29 PM
What does the anti-work movement look like when Black women tell its story?
On YouTube, Black women are claiming a right to rest. Sociologist Sharla Berry asks who gets to refuse work and who can afford to leave.
Read in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
On YouTube, Black women are claiming a right to rest. Sociologist Sharla Berry asks who gets to refuse work and who can afford to leave.
Read in Contexts:
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
Why do conspiracy theories remain compelling even after their predictions fail?
Sociologists Meggan Jordan and Jennifer Whitmer show how conspiracy theories can become an identity resource.
Read here ➡️ doi.org/10.1177/1536...
Sociologists Meggan Jordan and Jennifer Whitmer show how conspiracy theories can become an identity resource.
Read here ➡️ doi.org/10.1177/1536...
August 27, 2026 at 6:40 PM
Why do conspiracy theories remain compelling even after their predictions fail?
Sociologists Meggan Jordan and Jennifer Whitmer show how conspiracy theories can become an identity resource.
Read here ➡️ doi.org/10.1177/1536...
Sociologists Meggan Jordan and Jennifer Whitmer show how conspiracy theories can become an identity resource.
Read here ➡️ doi.org/10.1177/1536...
What happens when AI learns from a world already structured by inequality?
Sociologists Sharla Alegria (@salegria.bsky.social) and Catherine Yeh show that machine learning can scale social inequalities and return them as objective predictions.
@uoftsociology.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
Sociologists Sharla Alegria (@salegria.bsky.social) and Catherine Yeh show that machine learning can scale social inequalities and return them as objective predictions.
@uoftsociology.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
August 26, 2026 at 7:07 PM
What happens when AI learns from a world already structured by inequality?
Sociologists Sharla Alegria (@salegria.bsky.social) and Catherine Yeh show that machine learning can scale social inequalities and return them as objective predictions.
@uoftsociology.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
Sociologists Sharla Alegria (@salegria.bsky.social) and Catherine Yeh show that machine learning can scale social inequalities and return them as objective predictions.
@uoftsociology.bsky.social
doi.org/10.1177/1536...
What if young men aren’t only buying crypto to get rich, but to feel more like men?
Dan Cassino at Fairleigh Dickinson University (@fduwhatsnew.bsky.social) explores how crypto and meme stocks can offer “gender value” through risk, mastery, and independence.
Read here: doi.org/10.1177/1536...
Dan Cassino at Fairleigh Dickinson University (@fduwhatsnew.bsky.social) explores how crypto and meme stocks can offer “gender value” through risk, mastery, and independence.
Read here: doi.org/10.1177/1536...
August 25, 2026 at 5:54 PM
What if young men aren’t only buying crypto to get rich, but to feel more like men?
Dan Cassino at Fairleigh Dickinson University (@fduwhatsnew.bsky.social) explores how crypto and meme stocks can offer “gender value” through risk, mastery, and independence.
Read here: doi.org/10.1177/1536...
Dan Cassino at Fairleigh Dickinson University (@fduwhatsnew.bsky.social) explores how crypto and meme stocks can offer “gender value” through risk, mastery, and independence.
Read here: doi.org/10.1177/1536...
What is the point of public intellectuals?
As expertise becomes more urgent and more contested, Michael D. Kennedy of @brownsociology.bsky.social asks whose knowledge counts, whom it serves, and whether public intellectuals can help build a more just world.
➡️ doi.org/10.1177/1536...
As expertise becomes more urgent and more contested, Michael D. Kennedy of @brownsociology.bsky.social asks whose knowledge counts, whom it serves, and whether public intellectuals can help build a more just world.
➡️ doi.org/10.1177/1536...
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doi.org
August 24, 2026 at 7:50 PM
What is the point of public intellectuals?
As expertise becomes more urgent and more contested, Michael D. Kennedy of @brownsociology.bsky.social asks whose knowledge counts, whom it serves, and whether public intellectuals can help build a more just world.
➡️ doi.org/10.1177/1536...
As expertise becomes more urgent and more contested, Michael D. Kennedy of @brownsociology.bsky.social asks whose knowledge counts, whom it serves, and whether public intellectuals can help build a more just world.
➡️ doi.org/10.1177/1536...
What are mothers of children with disabilities telling us? Interviews with mothers by Robert Crosnoe and colleagues reveal resilience, growth, and joy over decades of mothering.
➡️https://journals.sagepub.com/loi/ctx
➡️https://journals.sagepub.com/loi/ctx
August 11, 2026 at 7:26 PM
What are mothers of children with disabilities telling us? Interviews with mothers by Robert Crosnoe and colleagues reveal resilience, growth, and joy over decades of mothering.
➡️https://journals.sagepub.com/loi/ctx
➡️https://journals.sagepub.com/loi/ctx
How did sexual harassment become recognized as unlawful discrimination in education?
Celene Reynolds traces how 1970s and '80s feminist coalitions transformed Title IX, showing how ordinary citizens can change not just laws, but how they're interpreted.
➡️https://journals.sagepub.com/loi/ctx
Celene Reynolds traces how 1970s and '80s feminist coalitions transformed Title IX, showing how ordinary citizens can change not just laws, but how they're interpreted.
➡️https://journals.sagepub.com/loi/ctx
August 6, 2026 at 12:13 AM
How did sexual harassment become recognized as unlawful discrimination in education?
Celene Reynolds traces how 1970s and '80s feminist coalitions transformed Title IX, showing how ordinary citizens can change not just laws, but how they're interpreted.
➡️https://journals.sagepub.com/loi/ctx
Celene Reynolds traces how 1970s and '80s feminist coalitions transformed Title IX, showing how ordinary citizens can change not just laws, but how they're interpreted.
➡️https://journals.sagepub.com/loi/ctx
Analyzing Fox News broadcasts from 2012–2024, Jack G. R. Wippell, Hollie Nyseth Nzitatira, Shelby Frye, Bri Londerée, Ryleigh Adkins, and Shreya Yogesh identify the rhetorical strategies broadcasters use to fuel an anti-transgender moral panic.
➡️https://journals.sagepub.com/loi/ctx
➡️https://journals.sagepub.com/loi/ctx
July 15, 2026 at 1:04 PM
Analyzing Fox News broadcasts from 2012–2024, Jack G. R. Wippell, Hollie Nyseth Nzitatira, Shelby Frye, Bri Londerée, Ryleigh Adkins, and Shreya Yogesh identify the rhetorical strategies broadcasters use to fuel an anti-transgender moral panic.
➡️https://journals.sagepub.com/loi/ctx
➡️https://journals.sagepub.com/loi/ctx
"To be called 'essential' in America in 2020 was to be deemed expendable by our government and our society." Read David Grazian's interview with Eric Klinenberg in the latest issue of Contexts! ➡️https://journals.sagepub.com/loi/ctx
July 13, 2026 at 2:19 PM
"To be called 'essential' in America in 2020 was to be deemed expendable by our government and our society." Read David Grazian's interview with Eric Klinenberg in the latest issue of Contexts! ➡️https://journals.sagepub.com/loi/ctx
In our Spring 2026 issue, Joslyn Brenton shows how middle-class parents experienced tensions between recognizing inequality and benefiting from it.
Read the full article here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Read the full article here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
July 8, 2026 at 8:44 PM
In our Spring 2026 issue, Joslyn Brenton shows how middle-class parents experienced tensions between recognizing inequality and benefiting from it.
Read the full article here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Read the full article here: journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Reposted by Contexts Magazine
Excited to share my new piece on AI policy in @contexts.org! In my 2024 article with Leslie McCall, we identified two emerging approaches to AI policymaking focused on safety vs. equity. Here, I discuss the rise of a third approach focused on hegemony and its implications. doi.org/10.1177/1536...
June 25, 2026 at 2:05 PM
Excited to share my new piece on AI policy in @contexts.org! In my 2024 article with Leslie McCall, we identified two emerging approaches to AI policymaking focused on safety vs. equity. Here, I discuss the rise of a third approach focused on hegemony and its implications. doi.org/10.1177/1536...
Reposted by Contexts Magazine
The new issue of Contexts is out! As the new Books Editor, I'm particularly jazzed about @joyamisra.bsky.social's banging review of RF Kuang's Katabasis, but lots of great public-facing work in here!
New issue! Our Spring '26 issue is free to read, share, and download through July 22.
➡️ journals.sagepub.com/home/ctx
➡️ journals.sagepub.com/home/ctx
June 25, 2026 at 2:18 PM
The new issue of Contexts is out! As the new Books Editor, I'm particularly jazzed about @joyamisra.bsky.social's banging review of RF Kuang's Katabasis, but lots of great public-facing work in here!