A Sociological Eye

  There is something so terribly ironic about the Trump administration attacking universities for a supposed lack of "viewpoint diversity," at the same time it attacks them for pursuing DEI-- diversity , equity, and inclusion.   Tell me again--is diversity supposed to be required, or banned? In any case, the reality is that universities are packed with viewpoint diversity! The hallways are full of discussion and debate, and competing theories are studied day in and day out. What do they mean there's no viewpoint diversity? Oh, they mean that 98.5% of the professors at medical schools advocate for routine childhood vaccination, and 97% of the professors in climatology say that global warming is happening, humans are causing that change, and we must do something about that. Meanwhile, only 12% of MAGA voters believe the government should be acting to counter global warming, and only 36% of Republicans today believe that children should be required to get routine childhood v...

      This is the view from Wisconsin. Those are the presidential approval ratings that came out of the latest Marquette poll of Wisconsin voters. It's the most polarized result ever seen. As one of the 98% of Wisconsinites on the left who disapprove of what has happened since the second inauguration of Trump, all I see resulting is evil. A constant stream of lies and misinformation; the appointment of a loud swarm of self-promoting, hate-stirring incompetents; the spitting on our allies; the useless, destructive tariffs; the firing of thousands of American heroes, leaving agencies we all rely on for our safety scarred and staggering; the attacks on teachers and researchers and clinics and parks that are vital to a functioning society; the censorship of terms and destruction of data; the fostering of bigotry and promotion of discrimination. And all of this destruction done in order to enrich billionaires and feed shocking narcissism. How could anyone approve of that? yo...

  Max Weber, my friends, is one of the most famous sociological theorists. This week, you might say he was canceled by Florida! I'll tell you about the irony of all this in a minute. But first, let me say that I am a sociology professor--one of those who teaches a large intro course to masses of students from all sorts of majors. My course is called Solving Social Problems, and it teaches students how to recognize social problems in their communities, understand why they arise, and provides some tools to empower them to help solve those problems. We look at all sorts of issues: failures of our healthcare system, why people struggle to meet obligations to work and family, persistent inequalities, crime, economic insecurities, climate change, political polarization, and many others. And instead of sitting around feeling depressed and powerless--which is, sadly, kind of a national mood today--I work to give students optimism! I provide them with sociological tools for their skillsets ...