Sam Stabler and I have a new article in the British Journal of Sociology! “Normative Cumulation: Justifying the Production of Knowledge in American Family Demography”
DM if you can’t access the full version.
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1468-4446.70058l
Just published on Social Forces -an incredible review of "Moral Minefields" by Sam Stabler and myself, written by Corey Miles - I'm very grateful to Corey for highlighting how our work can spark productive conversations about how sociologists evaluate research.
I recently shared insights with The Chronicle of Philanthropy about attracting new generations to careers supporting philanthropic causes. The article explores how work-life balance and flexible pathways are priorities. The article traces the most recent trends in nonprofit engagement and workforce development.
https://www.philanthropy.com/article/gen-z-is-open-to-nonprofit-careers-but-on-their-own-terms
A new article from The Chronicle of Philanthropy profiles innovative initiatives led by youth during the pandemic. Groups tackled important issues like food access and technology access. It was great to contribute to this article as well!
https://www.philanthropy.com/article/stuck-at-home-during-covid-gen-z-started-charities
An analysis of the effects of moral debates on sociological research. Few academic disciplines are as contentious as sociology. Sociologists routinely turn on their peers with fierce criticisms not only of their empirical rigor and theoretical clarity but of their character as well. Yet despite the controversy, scholars manage to engage in thorny debates without being censured. How? In Moral Minefields, Shai M. Dromi and Samuel D. Stabler consider five recent controversial topics in sociology—race and genetics, secularization theory, methodological nationalism, the culture of poverty, and parenting practices—to reveal how moral debates affect the field. Sociologists, they show, tend to respond to moral criticism of scholarly work in one of three ways. While some accept and endorse the criticism, others work out new ways to address these topics that can transcend the criticism, while still others build on the debates to form new, more morally acceptable research. Moral Minefields addresses one of the most prominent questions in contemporary sociological theory: how can sociology contribute to the development of a virtuous society? Rather than suggesting that sociologists adopt a clear paradigm that can guide their research toward neatly defined moral aims, Dromi and Stabler argue that sociologists already largely possess and employ the repertoires to address questions of moral virtue in their research. The conversation thus is moved away from attempts to theorize the moral goods sociologists should support and toward questions about how sociologists manage the plurality of moral positions that present themselves in their studies. Moral diversity within sociology, they show, fosters disciplinary progress.
The Fall 2026 issue is the 50th anniversary of Social Science History. For this issue, the theme of “past and present” will be explored. Papers should address this theme in some way, either theoretically, empirically, substantively (or some combination of them).
200-word abstracts are due by April 2nd, 2024, and a final paper must be ready for review by January 15, 2025. Abstracts should be sent to [email protected].
Please share this opportunity with recent (or soon-to-be) PhDs. Harvard College Fellows teach three courses over the year, have time for research, and are encouraged to fully participate in the department.
