The American Sociological Association Meeting in Buffalo

The next several meetings of the American Sociological Meeting will be in expensive cities: San Francisco, Chicago, Los Angeles, Montreal, and back to New York in 2026. It looks like the most reasonably priced place is Philadelphia in 2023. It's understandable that you want the host city to be an exciting city that people want to travel to. But sociologists must also be struggling with cognitive dissonance. We study inequality for a living. The idea of our national conference taking place in fancy hotels in glamorous cities doesn't match up with our concerns about severe economic inequalities. What about folks who don't get generous (or even modest) travel funds? Can graduate students, adjuncts, and newer faculty afford to attend the conference for 2, 3 or more days?

Are sociologists willing to attend ASA conferences in smaller, less expensive cities? What about a place like Buffalo, NY, which has BEAUTIFUL weather in August (75 degrees here today, baby) and is a 20 minute drive to the majestic Niagara Falls?!?! Don't forget about W.E.B. Du Bois and the Niagara Movement! Shouldn't sociologists take interest in Buffalo, a place that has experienced deindustrialization and population loss? Buffalo has amazing architecture, cool public art, great art museums, lovely parks, reasonably placed hotels, and a ton of places to eat and drink. Yes, the chicken wings are the best you'll ever find, but there's much more to Buffalo than wings and pizza.

Fellow sociologists, we can continue to voice our concerns about overpaying to attend conferences in prominent cities, or we can change our ways. We really should have a serious conversation about where our national conference takes place.

Dream of Missing a Class

It's almost back to school time. Last night I had a dream that the semester had begun. After finishing up the first week, it suddenly occurred to me that something was off. I failed to show up for one of my class sections. On the one hand, a ridiculous dream, as if I would actually forget to attend one of my own courses. Yet, it taps into a school year anxiety. The fear of being unprepared, the worry about things not going smoothly. I've had dreams like this before. It's usually just a sensation that I missed the boat, that I screwed up big time. It doesn't usually continue on to a happy ending. It just leaves me with the feeling of having messed up. It's no surprise I'm at my computer planning to finish up a syllabus on a Friday morning. A dream like that gives you a little kick in the behind.

The Teaching Statement on My Syllabus

This class will be a mix of lectures and discussions. I do my best to include as many students as possible in discussions. I try various strategies to elicit participation. Knowing students' lives are busy and complicated, I try to be understanding and flexible. I treat students with respect. I’m not perfect. I make mistakes. I always try to get better at teaching. I value punctuality and consistent attendance. I don’t usually police use of devices—but I ask that you be considerate of everyone in the classroom and to please avoid distracting from the learning environment. To be honest, it bothers me when students use laptops for things other than taking notes—it’s a major distraction to students and me. But, I don’t try to ban phones and other devices. I believe there are times that devices can help the learning process. In conclusion, I’ll leave it to you to decide what you do with your devices—however, please be courteous and mindful of the situation. Aretha Franklin provides the perfect guide: R-E-S-P-E-C-T