Reading List Exploring Black Experiences February 01, 2024 First proposed by Black educators and the Black United Students at Kent State University in 1969, Black History Month, celebrated annually in February in the US, is an opportunity to celebrate Black voices, achievements, and to reflect on the central role of African Americans throughout US history. Princeton University Press is proud to publish books that engage with serious issues and ideas relating to Black experiences. Read More
Podcast The Struggle for the People’s King January 12, 2024 In the post–civil rights era, wide-ranging groups have made civil rights claims that echo those made by Black civil rights activists of the 1960s, from people with disabilities to women’s rights activists and LGBTQ coalitions. Read More
Interview Robert Wuthnow on Faith Communities and the Fight for Racial Justice November 14, 2023 Have progressive religious organizations been missing in action in recent struggles for racial justice? Robert Wuthnow shows that, contrary to activists’ accusations of complacency, Black and White faith leaders have fought steadily for racial and social justice since the end of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s. Read More
Essay The cascading consequences of a Child Protective Services call October 13, 2023 CPS intervention has ballooned in recent decades, such that state and county CPS agencies now investigate the families of more than three million U.S. children each year. These investigations carry profound costs for the families subject to them, even in cases when the agency promptly closes out after investigating, as is typical. Read More
Video PUP Speaks: Emily Hund on the rise of the influencer industry September 11, 2023 The rising popularity of the social media influencer has significantly reshaped culture, the flow of information, and the way we relate to ourselves and each other. Read More
Podcast How Uber disrupted Washington, D.C. September 11, 2023 The first city to fight back against Uber, Washington, D.C., was also the first city where such resistance was defeated. It was here that the company created a playbook for how to deal with intransigent regulators and to win in the realm of local politics. Read More
Essay Uber’s view of urban life August 21, 2023 For years, Diana, who has lived her whole life in the D.C. area, took jobs at fast-food restaurants even though she hated the work. When she started to drive for Uber in 2016, she told us she was enthusiastic about its potential to free her from a reliance on fast-food jobs. Diana was conflicted about Uber, however. Read More
Essay Will social scientists’ disputes over words ever end? August 16, 2023 Social scientists observe the social world. They measure and represent it. They advance and test truth claims about it. For these purposes, they classify things, they sort them into classes, they draw distinctions among them. Read More
Interview Office Hours with Clayton Childress, Angèle Christin, and Iddo Tavory August 14, 2023 This month’s Office Hours comes with an exciting announcement: We are welcoming three new editors—Clayton Childress, Angèle Christin, and Iddo Tavory—to the Princeton Studies in Cultural Sociology! Read More
Essay The everyday surveillance of undocumented immigrants July 26, 2023 Undocumented immigrants live within a tangled web of institutional surveillance that both threatens and maintains their societal presence as they deal with life’s ups and downs. Read More
Interview Office hours with Sarah Damaske July 18, 2023 This month’s Office Hours is a conversation with Sarah Damaske, author of The Tolls of Uncertainty. Damaske is a professor of sociology and labor and employment relations at Pennsylvania State University. She shares some good reasons to be hopeful about the future of sociology and also reminds us of the potential for profound and surprising moments during interviews. Read More
Essay Behind the attacks on the Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg and George Soros June 20, 2023 Soon after his indictment by the Manhattan District Attorney was announced, Donald Trump issued a statement in which he proclaimed the following: “Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, who was handpicked and funded by George Soros, is a disgrace.” Read More
Interview Office hours with Kimberly Kay Hoang March 14, 2023 This month, I am delighted to bring you Office Hours with Kimberly Kay Hoang, author of Spiderweb Capitalism. She has some excellent book recommendations, she offers valuable career advice for graduate students and junior faculty alike, and she shares a story that illuminates how a single conversation can completely change the trajectory of one’s research. Read More
Podcast The Influencer Industry March 07, 2023 Before there were Instagram likes, Twitter hashtags, or TikTok trends, there were bloggers who seemed to have the passion and authenticity that traditional media lacked. Read More
Interview In Dialogue: What is misunderstood about Blackness? February 27, 2023 For decades, ‘Blackness’ has been a crucial political and cultural category that grounds a public discourse on cherishing a robust historical tradition and systemically uprooting white supremacy. Read More
