Culture, Society, and DE&I

On this episode of Now & Then, “Projecting America at the Olympics,” Heather and Joanne frame the current Tokyo Olympics alongside historical examples of American cultural diplomacy. They trace efforts to appeal to France in the Revolutionary Period, the rise of World’s Fairs, and the controversies that accompanied Jesse Owens’ 1936 Olympics dominance in Berlin and the 1968 Black Power salute by medalists Tommie Smith and John Carlos. What do these earlier negotiations say about American self-definition, particularly given the contemporary Olympics controversy over Simone Biles’ decision to withdraw from portions of the gymnastics competition?

Why is English spelling so weird and unpredictable? Don’t blame the mix of languages; look to quirks of timing and technology

There's been a lot of debate in the last few years about meritocracy, and it's become even more pressing in light of the pandemic. If essential workers are "essential", are they really less meritorious than a banker or accountant? On this episode, we'll be joined by Adrian Wooldridge, political editor at The Economist and author of the new book "The Aristocracy of Talent: How Meritocracy Made the Modern World". He'll be making the nuanced case in favor of meritocracy, and we'll hear the other side on our next episode.

The world was home to nearly half a million people ages 100 and older in 2015, more than four times as many as in 1990. And this growth is expected to accelerate.

A Labor Department survey shows the extent to which working parents, particularly women, have multitasked.

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Despite an uptick in positive views of the economy in some places, many say that children will be worse off financially than their parents.

From plus size to silver fox, the accepted ideal of male beauty is constantly shifting. Myra Ali explores the world of the really, really good-looking.

On this episode of Now & Then, “Culture Wars,” Heather and Joanne discuss moments of dramatic cultural change in American history: pre-Civil War abolitionism, early 20th-century individualism, to our current reckoning over police brutality and history education. How do our pop cultural artifacts, from Uncle Tom’s Cabin, to P.T. Barnum’s problematic attractions, to Gone with the Wind, show the ways American self-identity and priorities have evolved over time? This episode was recorded before a live audience on Facebook on July 15, 2021. Join CAFE Insider to listen to “Backstage,” where Heather and Joanne chat each week about the anecdotes and ideas that formed the episode. And for a limited time, use the code HISTORY for 50% off the annual membership price.

The Pick-Me Girl trend has turned into yet another way to police female behaviour. Our words, appearance, and interests are placed under a critical pseudo-feminist lens and once again shamed, this time for not being good enough feminists. Women are accused of failing to empower themselves and, by extension, their gender, and they are disempowered in the process.

Social media's #PickMeGirl trend has led to a vicous cycle of women putting down other women. But who's really to blame?

Vox's Sean Illing talks with author Michael Pollan about his new book This Is Your Mind on Plants, why some societies condemn drugs that other societies condone, what will happen as the war on drugs draws to a close, and whether or not taking psychedelic drugs can improve huamnkind.

How exoticizing food reinforces xenophobia and racism.

In this work, we examine the mate preferences and communication patterns of male and female users of the online dating site eharmony over a decade to identify how attitudes and behaviour have...

The real problem with the Mercator projection

With pandemic restrictions easing, couples are making grand plans to get hitched. But their friends are fretting over the costs.

Whether you wait six weeks or six months, what's important is that you feel ready.

The Society Pages (TSP) is an open-access social science project headquartered in the Department of Sociology at the University of Minnesota

Women are increasingly playing the role of best friend, lover, and on-call therapist to their male partners.