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Elite Self-Pity (Eric Schwartz)

We discuss a recent op-ed by Richard Reeves describes a sense of self-pity among the wealthy. We discuss this phenomenon of elite self-pity, and whether we can fairly include sociology professors among the self-pitying elite.
Our guest is Eric Schwartz, Editorial Director at Columbia University Press.
Photo Credit
By Keppler, Udo J., 1872-1956, artist – Library of CongressCatalog: https://lccn.loc.gov/2010651321Image download: https://cdn.loc.gov/master/pnp/ppmsca/25400/25448u.tifOriginal url: https://www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2010651321/, Public Domain, Link
The German Sociological Divide (Thomas Scheffer)

This week, The Annex discusses a cleavage in German sociology that resulted in the formation of the Academy of Sociology, an organization that splintered from the German Sociological Association in a spat that involved questions of scientific rigor in sociology. Here’s the back story:
Background
This summer, Philip Cohen from the University of Maryland tweeted:
To be a social science discipline sociology needs to adopt standards for transparency and reproducibility. All science is moving this way. Some parts of the discipline can’t or won’t. This may solidify qual/quant as science/notscience & I’m not sure the discipline can survive it
— Philip N Cohen (@familyunequal) August 13, 2019
Stephen Vaisey of Duke University commented:
I don’t think this maps onto qual/quant neatly, but I think sociology could survive a split. Fields have done it (e.g., anthro). And others have few institutionalized subfields (e.g., PS). No reason to force us all to live in the same “house” *if* we are pursuing different goals. https://t.co/dSquII7WGH
— Stephen Vaisey (@vaiseys) August 14, 2019
This tweet generated multiple, very interesting reactions, including this one from Fabian Ochsenfeld.
In Germany, we now have two sociological associations, @DGSoziologie and @akadsoz. Orientation to theory and replication standards were explicitly mentioned as reasons to split (qual/quant not, but there’s a correlation). @socannex
— Fabian Ochsenfeld (@FOchsenfeld) August 21, 2019
This struck me as a tremendously interesting topic. It also turned out to be painfully difficult to find discussants. I struggled to find people to tell the story of the division between these two organizations. I’m grateful to Thomas Scheffer from Goethe University, who was gracious enough to tell us about this divide.
Please note: We were not able to secure someone to speak on behalf of the Academy of Sociology for this segment. I invite listeners to voice their views below, and I am happy to discuss follow-up discussions if warranted
Photo Credits
By Ribax (Diskussion) 10:53, 6. Mär. 2014 (CET) – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Link
A Shortage of Marriageable Men?

A recent study uses multiple imputation to develop an analysis that implies falling marriage rates to be a result of too few (economically) marriageable men. We discuss the idea that a “shortage of marriageable men” is a strong explanation of falling marriage rates.
Victoria Reyes is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Riverside. She recently published the widely acclaimed Global Borderlands: Fantasy, Violence, and Empire in Subic Bay, Philippines with Stanford University Press.
Photo Credit
By LearningLark – https://www.flickr.com/photos/44282411@N04/6738328799/, CC BY 2.0, Link
Teaching Classical Theory (Seth Abrutyn)

Today, we talk to Seth Abrutyn from the University of British Columbia. Seth teaches graduate classical theory in UBC’s sociology program, and recently caught attention on Twitter for his views about the role of classical sociology in the contemporary sociology graduate curriculum. He published a blog post on the topic here.
Seth is best known for his work on suicide with Anna Mueller from Indiana University at Bloomington. You can catch his earlier podcast episode on this work here.
Photo Credits
By John Jabez Edwin Mayal – International Institute of Social History, Public Domain, Link
Family Estrangement

On today’s episode of The Annex Sociology Podcast, the group discusses family estrangement. They get into the specificities of gender differences and degrees of estrangement. Kristina challenges the idea of parenting perceptions versus children’s parenting perceptions. Gabriel discusses that in American culture in which individualism is achieved, that may be a factor to family estrangement. Kristina and Gabriel get to the bottom of families unifying in ritualistic ways to ostracize certain family members. Leslie questions if family estrangement is a form of deviance. Joe leaves off the podcast questioning the aftermath of family estrangement and how resilience is exercised.
Discussants
Kristina Scharp is an Assistant Professor of Communications at the University of Washington. Her forthcoming articles include “Making Meaning of the Parent-Child Relationship: A Dialogic Analysis of Parent-Initiated Estrangement Narratives” in the Journal of Family Communication, and “‘You’re Not Welcome Here’: A Grounded Theory of Family Distancing” in Communication Research.
Joseph Nathan Cohen co-hosts The Annex and directs the Sociocast Project. He is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the City University of New York, Queens College. He wrote Financial Crisis in American Households: The Basic Expenses That Bankrupt the Middle Class (2017, Praeger) and co-authored Global Capitalism: A Sociological Perspective (2010, Polity). Twitter: @jncohen
Leslie Hinkson co-hosts The Annex. She is an Assistant Professor of Sociology at Georgetown University. Her recent book is Subprime Health: Debt and Race in U.S. Medicine(2017 University of Minnesota Press).
Gabriel Rossman co-hosts The Annex. He is an Associate Professor of Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles. He wrote Climbing the Charts: What Radio Airplay Tells Us about the Diffusion of Innovation(2015, Princeton) Twitter: @GabrielRossman
Coping with Retirement (Michelle Silver)

An interview with Michelle Silver from the University of Toronto. Michelle recently published Retirement and Discontents: Why We Won’t Stop Working, Even If We Can (Columbia University), a book on how people react to, and cope with, retirement.
Michelle Silver is an Assistant Professor of Sociology and the Interdisciplinary Centre for Health and Society. She recently published Retirement and Discontents: Why We Won’t Stop Working, Even If We Can (Columbia University).
Mesearch and Autoethnography

A discussion about the concepts of “mesearch” and “autoethnography”, and their legitimacy as a criticism of research.
The Sokal Squared Hoax and Researcher Misconduct

Joe, Leslie, Gabriel, and Brian McCabe (Georgetown University) discuss recent charges against Portland State philosopher Peter Boghossian for researcher misconduct for failing to clear his Sokal Squared hoax with his school’s institutional review board.
The Comedy Business (Pat Reilly)

Pat Reilly discusses his research on the career trajectories and early career challenges of comedians.
Photo Credit. By Stanimira dimitrova – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79120808
Conservatism on Campus (Amy Binder)

We discuss how campus conservatism differs between elite and non-elite schools.
Photo Credit. By lifeinthefield – https://www.flickr.com/photos/lifeinthefield/2884586634/, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=18726941