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Last Updated May 22, 2012
Separate Societies by William Goldsmith and Edward Blakely was reviewed in the June 2012 issue of the Journal of Planning Education and Research. The review read, "With this second edition of Separate Societies, Goldsmith and Blakely update their arguments from twenty years ago with new data and analyses of contemporary trends of increasing inequalities.... Separate Societies remains a classic text, offering a solid overview of social and economic theories on the roots of poverty and inequality, and providing timely and comprehensive data. Goldsmith and Blakely do this admirably.... As such, it remains an important tome on social, economic, and political stratification in the United States for both those new to the material and those relatively familiar with it.... [T]he authors provide much food for thought to inspire yet another generation of policymakers, planners, and scholars in their pursuit of ending poverty in the United States."
The Dance of Politics, by Lisa Gilman, was reviewed in the Journal of Folklore Research (website) on April 23. The review read, "Lisa Gilman's intimate account of female dancing at political rallies in Malawi offers a deeply nuanced analysis of the relationship between gender, performance, and political democracy. Teeming with ethnographic richness, her work contributes to a growing literature that explores the (musical and dance) performance of politics and nationalism in postcolonial Africa.... Gilman demonstrates a remarkable grasp of the subtleties and complexities surrounding women's political dancing in Malawi, illustrating the intricate webs of power at work. Readers will appreciate not only her lucid prose and ethnographic detail, but also her ability to place her research in its appropriate historical context and connect it to larger issues in African studies. This book should appeal to scholars, but should equally be read by members of NGOs, human rights groups, and politicians who wish to further their knowledge of gender inequities and democracy in Africa."
Caribbean Migration to Western Europe and the United States, edited by Margarita Cervantes-Rodriguez, Ramon Grosfoguel and Eric Mielants, was reviewed in the Summer 2012 issue of The Journal of American Ethnic History. The review read, "Caribbean Migration to Western Europe and the United States is a unique and worthwhile book for three reasons. For one thing, it captures all of the contemporary circuits of Caribbean migration to metropolitan countries. Second, the volume addresses the different metropolitan, political, and economic processes that shape Caribbean migration. Third, it calls attention to the unfolding process of incorporation of Caribbean migrants in western Europe and the United States. This collection of articles is an important contribution to Caribbean and migration studies, particularly with respect to understanding the "coloniality of power" perspective....Caribbean Migration to Western Europe and the United States is helpful because it allows readers to better understand the complex ways in which Caribbean immigrants and their families in the United States and Europe have continued to survive and excel despite the hardships they have faced both at home and in the international diaspora."
The Persuasive Power of Campaign Advertising, by Travis Ridout and Michael Franz, was reviewed in the Summer 2012 issue of Washington State Magazine, the Washington State University alumni publication. The review read, "The Persuasive Power of Campaign Advertising contributes significant insights into campaign advertising for students of political science, journalists, and anyone involved or interested in political campaigns. As a major source of information on candidates, television advertising has a strong effect on American democracy, and this work gives a basis for understanding how it works."
Last Updated May 15, 2012
Judith Swazey's Merger Games was reviewed in the May/June 2012 issue of Society. The review read, "This is a powerful human drama of pride, overreach, and fall and Swazey tells it well. While ostensibly an 'ethnographic' study, that seeks to understand the Allegheny story through the lens of social systems theory, what elevates the volume above the merely academic is a powerful narrative drive. It's the mystery of human character, and our desire to learn what happens and why, that holds our interest.... [I]t's a bit of a page-turner."
Zack Furness' One Less Car was reviewed in the April 2012 issue of Technology and Culture. The review read, "Furness offers a firm and thoroughgoing political critique of assumptions and practices inherent in much cycling work that is often missing from other analyses.... Another welcome aspect of One Less Car is Furness' insightful picking apart of differences in perspective within the cycling world where one might have assumed coherence. His critiques of advocates who dismiss the needs and experiences of less-experienced bicycle users, and of international development programs that reinforce existing inequalities...are well-argued but pull no punches...[I]t is refreshing to be able to read an account where the author's viewpoint has not been watered down by false attempts to appear 'balanced.' One of the most novel aspects of One Less Car...is the parallel Furness draws between DIY bike culture and DIY punk music culture. "
The May 2012 issue of Contemporary Sociology reviewed three Temple University Press titles. The review of Lori Peek's Behind the Backlash read, "[The book] is most useful as a compilation of firsthand accounts of young Muslim Americans' experiences after 9/11. The fact that Peek was able to begin interviewing her respondents so soon after the attacks provides a window into the raw feelings of a population experiencing sudden scapegoating and discrimination and the sometimes surprising ways in which they dealt with and responded to this backlash." The review of Mexican Voices of the Border Region by Laura Velasco Ortiz and Oscar F. Contreras, read, "[A]n evocative narrative of the transnational border experience in the Tijuana-San Diego region.... All of these personal accounts serve to evince the strong sociological influence that living and working on the border has.... Velasco Ortiz and Contreras are adept at placing these unique individual experiences into a theoretical context that exemplifies the sociological underpinnings of life on the Mexican-U.S. border." The review of Robert Brooks' Cheaper by the Hour read, "[A] sobering examination of the legal profession.... Brooks paints a chilling portrait of the ways in which [document review] becomes dehumanizing for the attorneys.... Cheaper by the Hour does an admirable job of revealing the stratification within law firms and within the legal profession....Brooks' use of participant observation and interviewing offers a compelling ethnographic study of the work experiences of temporary attorneys."
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