Lisa Wade

So, just to recap, we have two random DOGE bros with basically no knowledge or experience in the humanities (and at least one of whom is a college dropout), who just went around terminating grants that had gone through a full grant application process by feeding in a list of culture war grievance terms, selecting out the grant titles based on the appearance of seemingly “woke” words, then asking ChatGPT “yo, tell me this is DEI” and then sending termination emails the next day from a private server and forging the director’s signature. This is what “government efficiency” looks like in practice: two guys with zero relevant experience, a keyword list built on culture war grievances, and a chatbot confidently spitting out 120-character verdicts on federal grants that went through actual review processes. The experts who might have explained what these grants actually do? Locked out. The director whose signature appeared on termination letters? Couldn’t tell you which grants got cut or w

Ever wondered how your grant got cancelled? No we know. Some college dropout asked ChatGPT "is it DEI/woke"?

www.techdirt.com/202...

This proposes a way of using AI agents to produce research. Ok. But this bit is a pipe dream: "And human scientists should retain authority over — and responsibility for — framing the question, validating the path and signing off on conclusions." Here's why...
/1

This is ambitious, beautiful, and essential.

Florida Has Deemed All Existing Intro to Sociology Textbooks Illegal and Produced Its Own The Board of Governors overseeing the new curricula includes roofing contractors, insurance execs, and no professors.

truthout.org/articles/flo...

This is a series of infographics with illustrations. This shows people carrying a laptop, wrench, and lightbulb. Text reads: how to set up an applied sociology consultancy

A woman writes on a clipboard, while a man looks through a magnifying glass. They stand beside a stack of boxes. Text reads: plan your business

People walking and sitting while using tablets, phones and laptops. Text reads: Decide on your suite of services

People gardening while sitting on a globe ('government'), people in work uniforms ('community groups'), two people holding hands while on a see-saw ('corporate'), and a woman helping another woman up a stack of books ('individual clients'). Text reads: be clear about your client base

Here are some broad tips showing how you can get started setting up a #sociology consultancy. In particular, demonstrating how, where, and with whom your sociological expertise is best placed to service. sociologyatwork.org/2026/03/05/h... #socialscience

baudrillard was just early

1908: the Lancet, one of the most respected scientific journals, calls for 18 age limit on reading in bed amidst a moral panic surrounding children becoming "addicted" to novels, which were "designed to keep kids hooked" and destroy their attention/mental health

Most Conservative Students Don’t Feel Persecuted on Campus A new survey of college students contradicts Republican rhetoric that campus culture is hostile to right-wing views.

> 71 percent said their professors create a classroom environment that supports both students who express unpopular opinions and those who may be upset by such views.

Good job everyone. And I mean this sincerely. It is hard out there and we are doing a good job.

Conservatives spent years complaining about ”safe-spaces” and “liberal snowflakes” only to turn around and show they are absolutely terrified of ideas they don’t like (“racism is bad” “gender is fluid”) and willing to use state power to avoid the slightest discomfort.

The snowiest of flakes.

Happy Lundi Gras to all who celebrate. We'll be back to doomscrolling on Ash Wednesday.

#neworleans #mardigras

Graph comparing trend for different groups

I missed this: Gallup: "40% of [US] women aged 15 to 44 say they would move abroad permanently if they had the opportunity." (Was 10% in 2014.)

The pronatalism will continue until moral improves.

ht @katemanne.bsky.social

The Board of Governors decided, unilaterally, that no published textbook in the field of sociology could be used in compliance with the law for an Intro to Sociology class. None. Victor: There's not a single existing textbook on the market that could be used that would qualify under state law? Zachary: Correct. Victor: I'm sorry, that's kind of funny. Like, the absurdity of not a single sociology textbook getting past the censors. I mean, it makes me kind of proud of our colleagues, but...

I do want to shout-out my fellow sociologists, who have collectively created a discipline so woke that not a single one of our introductory textbooks can make it past Florida's censors.

Great work everyone.

Mills recognized that as the power elite becomes increasingly degenerate, it is increasingly difficult for their intellectual acolytes to formulate reasonable ideological justifications for their corrupt and irresponsible actions. In these circumstances, the power elite resorts to intellectual repression against those who call attention to their declining political capacities; that is, the intelligentsia who work in universities, museums, the arts, scientific institutes, entertainment, and the mass media.

Sociologist C. Wright Mills saw this coming—and tried to warn us—60+ years ago.

jacobin.com/2026/02/wrig...

This is a great example of what Marx called "the vampire thirst for the living blood of labour."

Not the most important thing but excellent demonstration of the difference between mean, median, and mode. Boring stuff matters!

When they say Me Too "went too far," they mean "got too close."

Florida Introduces “Sanitized” Sociology Textbook The volume was created after a state review found that existing course materials violated a law prohibiting general education courses from teaching about systemic inequality. So far, at least two univ...

Florida launches statewide book burning, with Intro to Sociology textbook as kindling. Their state education system is a farce, a system for destroying knowledge and ideas in order to prevent critical thinking.

We had eradicated this disease.

And now because of targeted disinformation, children, immunocompromised people, elderly folks, and so many others become victims in this proxy war and we have a new avoidable pandemic.

We are SUPER excited! Apps due March 1st. Reach out if you have questions. I'm happy to try to answer them.

it is -10 here today. I was supposed to go do a volunteer shift standing outside loading groceries into people’s cars to deliver to families stuck at home. just got a call not to come in because they have too many volunteers already. if you were wondering if the cold would stop us.

Looks to be out now, fyi.

But, scientists should do more to foster trust with the public, said Philip Cohen, a sociologist at the University of Maryland who recently published a paper on the "widening political divide over science." "What Trump, Kennedy, and the anti-science movement are doing is not our fault, but we have work to do. Every university researcher in particular relies on the public to do our work, and we all have to contribute to building the public's trust," he said. "We do that in everyday interactions, in speaking and writing about our work wherever it's needed, and being part of the public debate on these issues. A lot of researchers don't want to get involved, or they think it undermines their credibility to speak out on public issues, but the opposite is true. We no longer have a choice."

In @statnews.com , @aniloza.bsky.social covered today's new Pew survey on attitudes toward science. I said: "Every university researcher in particular relies on the public to do our work, and we all have to contribute to building the public's trust."
www.statnews.com/2026/01/15/a...

scatterplot data papers with "proposed framework in the abstract" total papers count pct ABS 2010 1415014 575 0.406356404 2011 1522272 630 0.41385508 2012 1588086 814 0.5125667 2013 1681445 991 0.589374021 2014 1750369 1152 0.658146939 2015 1817581 1414 0.777957076 2016 1896252 1703 0.898087385 2017 1974589 1918 0.971341378 2018 2046790 2416 1.180384895 2019 2286048 3165 1.384485365 2020 2460860 4058 1.64901701 2021 2643033 5175 1.957977823 2022 2613870 5819 2.226200997 2023 2495395 6052 2.425267342 2024 2659073 6673 2.509521175 2025 2690143 11485 4.269289774

People who produce AI slop papers love to skip the boring research and get right to the dramatic discovery. The LLMs tell them their idea is awesome and original, and write it up as a "proposed framework" (with no data or evidence). That term increased 70% in Web of Science abstracts last year.

Federal immigration officers pull out of Louisiana to head to Minneapolis Move marks abrupt pivot from operation that drew protests in New Orleans and arrested 370 people of a planned 5,000

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Get ready. It's Mardi Gras season y'all.

Everywhere else it's the anniversary of a violent attack on the US capital. In New Orleans, it's the first day of Carnival. Happy 12th night to those who celebrate!

Teach like a Luddite - Kappan Online Embracing new technologies that don’t advance teaching and learning is a mistake. Educators must ask questions — and resist when necessary.

“Accepting this story of AI’s inevitability — or that of any technology — is a grave mistake for educators. Not only does it cede tremendous power to tech companies that are unaccountable to teachers, students, or school communities…” 1/2

kappanonline.org/teach-like-a...

Figs. 4.8 and 4.9. "A Woman's Mind Magni-fied" (1906) and "Votes for Women" (1911), with the tagline "We don't know what we want but we'll 'ave it!!!," both British anti-women's suffrage postcards ridiculing women's thought processes.

British anti-woman's suffrage postcards, from Sophia Rosenfeld's book The Age of Choice

Sarah Lazarus @sarahclazarus no new years resolutions. it is the circumstances turn to improve 8:53 PM • Dec 15, 2021

That time of year again!