A Sociological Eye

  I want to talk to you about eros and thanatos, and the way they cause us to dance. A century ago, in the 1920s, three forces came together. One was industrialization, allowing an explosion of manufactured goods to enter the marketplace. The second was the surge in popular media, with radio and cinema expanding on print media—something manufacturing companies wanted to exploit with a flood of advertising so they could sell their products. And the third was Freudian psychology, especially the belief in the power of the libido, of desire, of eros, in driving human activity. The result? Something that came to be experienced as inevitable: a world in which people became immersed in advertising constantly seeking to stoke their desires. That could be direct: ads pictured luscious, dripping desserts, or displayed advertised clothing on beautiful, nubile bodies. Or it could be indirect: buy our pimple cream or automobile and you will be pursued by enraptured, aroused, sexy potent...

[Image courtesy wayhomestudio on Freepik] Recently the news has been full of stories about politicians being outraged on behalf of Jews over the way universities are tolerating antisemitism. The top headline in the New York Times on the day I am writing this is, "As Fury Erupts Over Campus Antisemitism, Conservatives Sieze the Moment." Subtitle? "Republicans have been attacking elite universities for years. After a tense Congressional hearing last week, many on the left are joining them." This framing is extremely misleading. As someone who teaches at a large state university, let me explain. With war raging between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, many people have been protesting on behalf of Israelis and Jews, and Palestinians and Muslims, which is fine. There's also been a huge rise in hate speech directed at people on both sides, which is not. Some of this is taking place on college campuses--and college administrations have been doing little if anything to stop i...