Sociology Lens最新文献

The process of home-buying is commonly discussed and understood in terms of both asset acquisition and its connection to speculative financial practices utilized to attempt to correct for structural market crises. These dimensions further the possibilities for potential wealth accumulation that assist individuals, families, and corporate actors. This visual essay, emerging out of a decade-long investigation of the housing market in the American state of Arizona, USA, is the result of a collaboration between a visual ethnographer and a sociologist, which aimed to nuance an understanding of housing markets along social, spatial, and historical axes. The essay reveals connections between interpersonal dynamics of taste-making and, contrary to dominant liberal economic logic, the sometimes-limited horizons of choices for families attempting to engage in what we describe as “the ritual of homebuying.” Socially and historically, we discuss how the practice involves the enlistment of a number of peripheral actors attempting to facilitate the home-buying process who use tactics to draw families into the housing market. Spatially, families with aspiring middle-class values are, often enough, driven to peripheral urban and suburban zones to try to align their budgets and their ideals. Ultimately then, what turns out to be decisive is the narrow set of parameters as defined by the web of actors inside the real estate market, rather than, as some agents within the real estate industry abstractly argue, “what the market will bear.” Put differently, what the market will bear is narrowly defined choices that intersect with cultural values.

This article argues that any historical explanation of the emergence of dualism in the labor market should take labor law seriously for two intertwined reasons: first, because before there could be a dualism of insiders and outsiders in the market, there was an original dualism inscribed in statutory legislation covering employment contracts; and second because before there could be a neat distinction between a primary and a secondary sector, there was a prevailing legal hierarchy that rewarded the stability of the most stable employees while concomitantly rescinding protection from casual workers. The article asks how these original dualisms were overcome during the better half of the twentieth century, and what mechanisms might explain the eventual collapse of the legal distinctions between various types of employees and the differential distribution of rights that came with it. Empirically, the article draws comparatively on the social and legal history of Portugal and Romania from the 1920s to the 1960s to propose a historically rich and conceptually fresh interpretation of the emergence of “standard employment” on the two peripheries of Europe.

Misirkov is one of the most eminent figures in Macedonian national history. He made significant contributions as a Slavist, historian, folklorist, and ethnographer. In his seminal work, “On Macedonian Matters” (1903), Misirkov presented his theoretical and scientific views on the Macedonian question. He made a groundbreaking attempt to standardize the Macedonian language, offering both a linguistic and sociological exploration of its role in establishing political legitimacy for the Macedonian ethnocultural entity. His comprehensive treatment of other critical aspects, including the cultural identity, sense of common belonging, and the need for a separate political unit, aligns with the foundational principles of modern nations. Introducing novel ideas and frameworks, Misirkov significantly contributed to understanding Macedonian ethnocultural distinctiveness, crucial for the nation-building process. This paper emphasizes Misirkov's overlooked role as the founder of Macedonian sociological discourse, drawing parallels with modernist theories about nation and nationalism and analyzing his method through the concept of sociological imagination. Despite the enduring impact of his work, this pioneering aspect remains unexplored in academic research, addressing a significant gap in understanding Misirkov's contributions to Macedonian sociological thought.

To access in written form, or even through a recording, that which was once performed in front of a live audience is akin to looking at an old picture. Both documents leave a trace of that which has passed, but they cannot recreate or capture the lived experience; they can only house the haunting. In the mid-20th century’s swirl of audiovisual and written documentation of poetry, one may identify a pressing hunger or impulse to preserve an oral tradition which has historically, at least for the most part, been lost—and an attempt on behalf of poets to legitimize and record their life’s work. Sung poetry may be forgotten—it leaves no physical trace behind. In the end, it is the material that prevails, at least in the eyes of history.