I’m a big believer in the power of public sociology to contribute to more informed and critical democratic discourse and to building a more just and equitable society. As others have noted, there are many forms of public sociology. My work in public sociology takes two forms. First, I believe strongly in the work of “academic translation,” or clearing up complex social scientific ideas and findings for a broader audience. I’m proud to say that my very first published article appeared in Contexts, the American Sociological Association’s public outreach magazine, and I continued that work, editing Contexts‘ Trends section from 2014-2017. I’m also an occasional blogger at ThickCulture and have written a few pieces for TheSocietyPages. I’ll feature here some of my work as well as other projects in public sociology that I think are promising. The second form of public sociology I do is in the classroom — the frontline of the discipline. I will also highlight here some of my students’ achievements and forms of civic engagement.

Students

Visit The Sporting Life, a digital exhibit of objects from the permanent collection of the Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery. The exhibit was curated by Prof. Andrew Lindner‘s Fall 2015 Sociology of Sport class in the Department of Sociology at Skidmore College.

Award Recipients

• Ryan Larson. 2013. Second Place in the Midwest Sociological Society’s Undergraduate Student Paper Competition for “Fear and Loathing in Minnesota: A Multilevel Analysis of Factors Impacting Crime Fears in Minnesota.”
• Matt Gantz. 2012. First Place in the Sociologists of Minnesota’s Undergraduate Student Paper Competition for “Connecting Sociality and Professionalism: An ethnographic analysis of relationships among Scottish firemen.”