Editor's Introduction: Sex in Research

Qualitative Sociology -     

A Boy’s Journey and the Journey to Freedom*

The journey to freedom is a literary genre that involves a realization of oppression, a decision to leave, a journey that is both physical and moral, a wilderness experience, a self‐reinvention, and, most importantly, a first person testimonial to the reality of oppression.     

High School Reunions and the Management of Identity

Organized around an intersection of the past with the present, high school reunions confront those who attend with discontinuities in their own lives as well as the lives of others. Based on observations of and interviews with attendees at five reunions, we argue, contrary to many claims about the contemporary segmentation of the self, that reunion goers are able to construct accounts of coherent lives by reference to “true selves” independent of appearances. Although reunion attendees may attempt to manage impressions by controlling information about themselves, these efforts are limited by attendees efforts to sustain convictions of their own integrity. These convictions, however, also depend on accounts, albeit accounts directed inward. Moreover, the maintenance of this conviction depends on the successful “neutralization” of others' judgments.     

Autobiographical Occasions: Introduction to the Special Issue

Qualitative Sociology -     

Still Lonely After All These Years

Sociological Forum -     

Ethnic conflict and job separations

We study the effect of the second Intifada—a violent conflict between Israel and its Palestinian neighbors which erupted in September 2000—and the ensuing demonstrations of Arab citizens of Israel on labor market outcomes of Arabs relative to those of Jewish Israelis. The analysis relies on a large matched employer–employee dataset, focusing on firms that in the pre-Intifada period hired both Arabs and Jews. We find that until September 2000 Arab workers had a lower rate of job separation than their Jewish peers and that this differential was significantly reduced after the outbreak of the Intifada.     

A Note from the New Editor

Qualitative Sociology -     

Narrative Freedom1

This article is based on the presidential address delivered by Robert Zussman at the 2012 annual meetings of the Eastern Sociological Society.     

People in Places

By studying people in places, qualitative researchers look at multiple levels of social life. The study of people in places typically draws on case studies but cases themselves are used in a variety of ways. By studying people in places, qualitative researchers can consider joint enterprises as well as shared circumstances, draw on various types of data, examine both individuals and institutions, and attend to both structure and agency.