Sociology Memoirs

Few people watch sport for its politics. Yet what happens on the field of play often reflects the problems in our society. Such was the case in the '80s, when black footballers emerged from the dressing room to find bananas being hurled from the stands, and racially motivated attacks and police harassment were the norm. Today, things have improved. Crowds are less hostile and stars like Anthony Joshua and Sir Mohamed Farah are among our most revered sporting heroes. But for athletes of colour, success on the field seldom converts to power away from it.

More than 50 years ago, an assassin's bullet robbed us of one of the most eloquent voices for 20th-century human rights and justice. Drawing on a new generation of scholarship about the civil rights era, To the Promised Land goes beyond the iconic view of King as an advocate of racial harmony to explore his profound commitment to the poor and working class, and his call for "nonviolent resistance" to all forms of oppression, including economic injustice.

As long as she can remember, Leah has had the mysterious feeling that she's searching for a twin - that she belongs as one of an intimate pair. It begins with friends, dance partners, and her own reflection in the mirror as she studies ballet growing up; continues with physical and emotional attractions to girlfriends in college; and leads her, finally, to Eric, whom she moves across the country for and marries. But her steadfast, monogamous relationship leaves her with questions she can't answer about her sexuality and her identity, so she and her husband decide to try an open marriage.

After a near fatal stroke in 1995, Robert McCrum has gained an intimate understanding of his own mortality. Twenty-two years on, his friends have joined him in experiencing Prospero's 'every third thought' of death as a dominating theme of life. McCrum asks: can we make peace with what Freud calls 'the necessity of dying'? Searching for answers leads him to brain surgeons, psychologists, cancer patients and writers for advice and wisdom.

Sarah Forbes was in graduate school when she stumbled upon a museum dedicated to...sex. The anthropology student hesitated when her boyfriend suggested that she apply for a job, but apply she did, and it wasn't long before a part-time position at New York's Museum of Sex led to a gig as the museum's curator. That was over 12 years ago. Now Sarah - a married mother of two - proudly sports her title as Curator of Sex.

Am Beispiel des multiethnischen Österreichs vor der Zwangs-Annektierung durch den deutschen Nazi-Staat verdeutlicht Stefan Zweig auf wunderbare sprachliche Weise, warum alle Völker Europas Mischvölker sind und reine Rassen, falls es überhaupt so etwas wie Rassen gibt, nur in den Köpfen der ewigen Dummköpfe existieren. Die Parallelen zur heutigen Zeit sind unverkennbar, im Prinzip befinden wir uns jetzt – mal wieder – in der gleichen Situation.

Philippe Spanghero est un ancien joueur de rugby, issu d'une lignée de rugbyman. Lors d'une interview, un journaliste l'interroge sur le poids de la famille sur ses choix de vie et sur ce qu'est « être le fils de ». C'est alors qu'il décide de mener l'enquête pour comprendre la place prise par la loyauté dans les choix de vie personnels ou professionnels.

El cerebro de mi hermano es un relato de la evolución de un padecimiento degenerativo en el seno de una familia. Recuerdos, emociones, temores y expectativas, el singular proceso de adaptación a lo impensable, el dolor de atestiguar la extinción de un ser querido, pero también la historia compartida, los años, los lugares, las pasiones conjuntas, la apertura a la conciencia del propio final, el ajuste de cuentas inexorable con lo vivido....

You Are the First You tells the story of Whitney Holtzman’s journey through the sports and marketing world as a female entrepreneur, and the lessons she learned along the way. Whitney’s career in pro sports has included stops at ESPN and Major League Baseball, in addition to working for entrepreneur Gary Vaynerchuk at VaynerMedia. Her passion is at the intersection of sports and making the world a better place, which was showcased when she then joined RISE, a racial equality nonprofit with every pro sports league on the board.

In this extended lyric essay, a poet mines her lifelong experience with migraines to deliver a marvelously idiosyncratic cultural history of pain - how we experience, treat, and mistreat it. Her sources range from the trial of Joan of Arc to the essays of Virginia Woolf and Elaine Scarry to Hugh Laurie’s portrayal of Gregory House on House M.D. As she engages with science, philosophy, visual art, rock lyrics, and field notes from her own medical adventures (both mainstream and alternative), she finds a way to express the often-indescribable experience of living with pain.

Childhood friends from Trinidad, Colin Warner and Carl King grew into men on opposite sides of prison bars after Colin was arrested for murder in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. With no evidence against him, Colin was wrongfully convicted and wrongfully imprisoned for more than two decades. But time and walls could not break the friends' bond. Carl's extraordinary resolve, sacrifice, and courage were Colin's last rays of hope in a harrowing struggle for freedom and justice.

Leonore Dvorkin shares her experiences with breast cancer and the fruit of her extensive research on the subject. Her story is presented in factual, but personal manner. On the journey from chilling diagnosis through her decision to undergo a mastectomy, then 10 years of life after the surgery, her story is an uplifting voyage of personal discovery sure to inspire all who listen to it.

Memories of the Covid-19 pandemic stir up feelings of dread, isolation, and for some, death. As death tolls rose, Dr Suzanne Belibi jumped into action and discovered a medical strategy that effectively treated the disease, saved hundreds of lives, and restored families. The Audacity to Treat Covid-19 explains how through medical science and faith Dr. Belibi helped the most extreme cases survive.

When a middle-class kid from the suburbs was caught using Facebook to distribute firearms bought legally at Indiana gun shows to notorious gangsters across the border - was he a kingpin or a scapegoat? David Lewisbey received perhaps the harshest sentence ever in a gun-trafficking trial. A college student from the suburban outskirts of Chicago, he allegedly embodied the enterprising swagger of his favorite rap lyrics, moving weapons for stacks of cash. John H. Richardson tours Chicago’s gun-soaked South Side with Lewisbey’s clientele and meets with the “Big Man” himself to unpack the truth.

Clients and Their Caregivers is a short listen of helpful tips for individuals with disabilities and their caregivers, family, and friends. It will enlighten and educate you on the demands of the working relationship between a caregiver and someone with a disability. Learn about the role family and friends play in creating an atmosphere which allows an individual with a disability to live a high quality life.

Ever wonder why giving anesthesia is described as hours of boredom with moments of panic? With gentle precision, anesthesiologist Wolf Pascoe teases apart an overlooked world and unveils the eggshell dance that takes place at the head of an operating table. Intrigued or spooked by what happens in an operating theatre? Breathing for Two is a seat on the stage, a short book that will change the way you think about life and breath.

Paralyzed and unable to speak after a stroke, Cathy Hutchinson was trapped inside her mind, only communicating with the outside world through her eyes. Then she heard about an experiment called BrainGate at Brown University that hoped to allow immobilized patients to control robotic limbs with their thoughts. But can what sounds like science fiction eventually transform the lives of quadriplegics? And could it help Cathy take control of her life? Jessica Benko tells the story of a radical new technology, a pioneering group of researchers, and one woman's effort to transcend her condition and the body itself.

Si è spenta la cara esistenza terrena di Laura Santi, giornalista 50enne, affetta da una forma progressiva ed avanzata di sclerosi multipla. E’ stata la prima persona in Umbria (novembre 2024) e la nona in Italia ad essere ammessa al suicidio assistito.

Die Boomer nehmen Abschied. Wer zwischen 1955 und 1970 in der Zeit der geburtenstarken Jahrgänge zur Welt gekommen ist, hat den Ruhestand erreicht oder zählt zu den Älteren, die nach und nach ihre Posten freimachen. Die Boomer verbindet das Gefühl, dass es zu viele von ihnen gibt, das spürten sie schon in überfüllten Klassenzimmern und später auf dem Arbeitsmarkt. Daraus resultierte eine Haltung der Skepsis, und die Erfahrung von AIDS und Tschernobyl hat sie in einer entscheidenden Phase ihrer Biografie gelehrt, dass nichts gesichert und gar nichts garantiert ist.

Raised on Charles Baudelaire, A Clockwork Orange, and fine Bordeaux in 1970s Lebanon, Darina Al-Joundi was encouraged by her unconventional father to defy all taboos. As the bombs fell, she lived an adolescence of excess and transgression, defying death in nightclubs. The more oppressive the country became, the more drugs and anonymous sex she had, fueling the resentment by day of the same men who would spend the night with her. As the war dies down, she begins to incur the consequences of her lifestyle. On his deathbed, her father's last wish is for his favorite song, "Sinnerman" by Nina Simone, to be played at his funeral.