Medicalization, Natural Childbirth and Birthing Experiences

Although much of the early sociological and feminist analysis of medicalization focused on reproductive issues and childbirth, attention has moved away from this topic over time as new conditions have become subject to the medicalization process. At the same time, one of the major concepts within this analytical framework, the dichotomy of 'natural' versus 'medical', has not been sufficiently problematized. In this article, we call for a renewed examination of the medicalization of childbirth from a critical perspective that neither takes for granted the meaning of this dichotomy, nor presupposes feminist perspectives or those of privileged groups of women. We revisit sociological frameworks and feminist critiques of medicalization, specifically around childbirth, and review scholarship that addresses their limitations. We propose a research agenda that goes beyond the traditional assumptions about 'natural' and 'medical' childbirth and examines more closely how medicalization processes both shape and conflict with women's subjective experiences of childbirth.     

Nationhood and the national question in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Eurasia: An institutionalist account

Conclusion The Soviet nationality regime, with its distinctive and pervasive manner of institutionalizing nationhood and nationality, has transmitted to the successor states a set of deeply structured, and powerfully conflicting,expectations of belonging. Successor state elites, with their deeply institutionalized sense of political ownership and entitlement, see the polities that bear the names of their nation — above all the territory and institutions, but also, with some ambivalence, the population as well — as their own, as belonging, in a fundamental sense, to them. National minorities, above all Russians, with their institutionally supported, basically ethnocultural understanding of nationhood, see themselves as belonging, in a deep if not exclusive sense, to an external nation; this cannot help but color and qualify, even if it does not exclude, their belonging to the would-be nation-state in which they live, and of which they (or most of them) hold citizenship. Russian state elites, finally, whose national self-understanding was not in the Soviet period embedded in, and is now only very imperfectly contained by, the institutional and territorial frame of the Russian Federation, see the Russian minorities in the non-Russian successor states as belonging, in an ill-defined yet potent sense, to the emerging Russian state. These deeply rooted and powerfully conflicting expectations of belonging — interacting, of course, with conflicts of interest engendered by state-building, regime change, and economic restructuring — will make the dynamic interplay between non-Russian successor states, Russian minorities, and the Russian state a locus of refractory, and potentially explosive, ethnonational conflict in coming years.     

Let’s give them something to talk about: Global brands’ use of visual content to drive engagement and build relationships

This longitudinal content analysis of 1,393 Facebook posts made by the top 100 brands provides empirical evidence that leveraging visual communication is not enough for brands to solicit engagement. As brands adapt and adjust their Facebook visual content strategy to capture the attention of their publics in crowded News Feeds, they also need to employ text-based engagement strategies that get users to engage and interact with brand content. Once users start interacting with brand content, it is more likely that other users will engage with the content as well, igniting a conversation. The combination of brand posts with visuals and text-based messages gives brand publics something to talk about and ultimately can lead to stronger relationships.     

Why populism?

It is a commonplace to observe that we have been living through an extraordinary pan-European and trans-Atlantic populist moment. But do the heterogeneous phenomena lumped under the rubric “populist” in fact belong together? Or is “populism” just a journalistic cliché and political epithet? In the first part of the article, I defend the use of “populism” as an analytic category and the characterization of the last few years as a “populist moment,” and I propose an account of populism as a discursive and stylistic repertoire. In the second part, I specify the structural trends and the conjunctural convergence of a series of crises that jointly explain the clustering in space and time that constitutes the populist moment. The question in my title is thus twofold: it is a question about populism as a term or concept and a question about populism as a phenomenon in the world. The article addresses both the conceptual and the explanatory question, limiting the scope of the explanatory argument to the pan-European and trans-Atlantic populist conjuncture of the last few years.     

Beyond “identity”

Theory and Society -     

Cross‐domain comparison and the politics of difference

This paper makes the case for cross‐domain comparison as an undertheorized form of comparative analysis. The units of analysis in such comparisons are not (as in most comparative analysis) predefined units within a domain or system of formally similar yet substantively different categories or entities; they are the domains or systems of categorically organized differences themselves. Focusing on domains of categorical difference that are central to the contemporary politics of difference, we consider two examples of cross‐domain comparison. The first compares sex/gender and race/ethnicity as systems of ascribed identities that are increasingly, yet to differing degrees and in differing ways, open to choice and change. The second compares religion and language as domains of categorically organized cultural difference that are centrally implicated in the politics of cultural pluralism. We situate these cross‐domain comparisons, premised on a logic of ‘different differences’, between generalizing and particularizing approaches to the politics of difference, arguing that these domains are similar enough to make comparison meaningful yet different enough to make comparison interesting. We outline five analytical focal points for cross‐domain comparison: the criteria of membership and belonging, the categorical versus gradational structure of variation within domains of difference, the consolidation or proliferation of categories of difference, the procedures for dealing with mixed or difficult‐to‐classify instances, and the relation between categories of difference and the production and reproduction of inequality. We conclude by considering several potential objections to cross‐domain comparison.     

The Shared Cultural Experience: A Comparison of Religious Memes Created by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,Religious Media,and Church Members

Previous research suggests that Internet memes give voice to and unite otherwise silent and scattered social groups, making them popular in the most contemporary forms of practiced religion (Burroughs & Feller, 2015). This article aims to understand how religious institutions are utilizing memes to create a religious cultural experience compared to independent entities catering to the same audience. Researchers conducted a quantitative content analysis of 826 memes published by three distinct, interconnected entities affiliated with The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, including official Church organizations, unofficial Church organizations, and users with ties to the faith. Memes were examined for their content, form, and stance (Shifman, 2013). An analysis revealed that the LDS Church used its memes to present more serious, inspirational content, while users created memes that were more light-hearted and mixed LDS culture with pop culture. However, unofficial sources created more memes promoting LDS beliefs.     

Measuring and reporting campus sexual assault: Privilege and exclusion in what we know and what we do

As awareness of and national attention to campus sexual assault in the U.S. has grown, efforts to study and respond to the problem have increased. While these efforts are to be applauded, they have yet to fully challenge or correct the privileged and exclusive perspectives and assumptions regarding student experiences of campus sexual assault. Specifically, the experiences of white, heterosexual, cisgender, middle‐class, and American citizens who are students at primarily elite, traditional colleges and universities are taken as the norm, while experiences of students of color, LGBTQ students, and international students are neglected. Here we examine two primary sources of information regarding campus sexual assault: large‐scale self‐report surveys and individual reporting to authorities. We first review the content of select large‐scale surveys used to gather and measure self‐reported data from students on the scope, prevalence, and character of campus sexual assault, and identify areas of omission and neglect regarding marginalized students. We then review literature on barriers to reporting to authorities specific to these groups that further exclude them from our understanding of the problem. We end with recommendations for improved efforts to study and respond to campus sexual assault that are more inclusive and comprehensive.     

From Alphabetized to Classified: Reorganizing a Large Periodicals Collection

The bound periodicals at Founders Memorial Library at Northern Illinois University have always been shelved by main entry. This arrangement, however, has confused patrons and has created problems with coordinating the records in the Cataloging and Acquisitions Departments. Staff in those two departments had long lobbied to shelve the bound periodicals by call numbers. In September 2008, library staff were granted permission to begin the process of rearranging them. Over the course of eight months, library staff labeled approximately 159,000 volumes of bound periodicals. This article describes how it was done with a digital camera and a Photobucket account (www.photobucket.com).