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Karen Benjamin Guzzo

@karenguzzo.bsky.social
4.9K followers 1.3K following 3.7K posts

Demographer and Sociologist. Director of the Carolina Population Center. LEGO Karen

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Reposted by Karen Benjamin Guzzo
David Houston @dmhouston.bsky.social · 5h
AI survey respondents tend to: A) respond far more confidently than actual humans (less likely to indicate "I don't know" or give neutral response) B) exaggerate the ubiquity of responses that are merely common among racial/ethnic subgroups (Shocking. I know.) www.pewresearch.org/data-labs/20...
pewresearch.org
Can AI Stand In for Human Survey-Takers? Not Really
Synthetic surveys using digital twins do a poor job estimating the public mood and are especially error-prone for some subgroups, including Republicans and Black adults.
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 6h
Oh, WaPo has a lot of chutzpah to feature an op-ed on "editorial integrity."
Screenshot of the Washington Post home page, with an editorial headline circled that reads "Can CNN preserve its editorial integrity? Paramount makes a gesture."
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 10h
At the federal level, the US doesn't have paid leave for birthing parents, let alone non-birthing parents. Enacting paid leave for parents would be truly pro-family.
theconversation.com
Generous paternal leave policies improve maternal and newborn health, family finances and workplace equality
Leave for the non-birthing parent after a new baby arrives gives the family an opportunity to bond.
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 11h
It’s, um…interesting that the documentation req’d by disadvantaged folks to access social safety net programs - in the interest of “accountability” to ensure no improper use - is not req’d by the very politicians who rail about the need to be responsible with taxpayer dollars.
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 12h
Important progress!
wapo.st
The era of male birth control may be nearing
An injectable contraceptive is under development in India, and U.S. companies are pursuing their own versions.
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 12h
STARES IN CONCUR: “House lawmakers spent $6.7 million of taxpayer money on meals and lodging last year — a 21 percent increase over 2024 — under a reimbursement program that doesn’t require them to provide receipts.”
wapo.st
House members’ expenses surge in program that doesn’t require receipts
Taxpayers spent $6.7 million last year on the program, which reimburses lawmakers for food and lodging expenses in D.C., a Washington Post analysis found.
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Robyn Swirling @rswirling.bsky.social · 23h
After being raped by a man on my hall sophomore year, I couldn’t leave my dorm room for weeks and failed several classes. I had to take out student loans so I could retake those credits. We almost never talk about the financial toll of campus sexual assault on survivors.
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Contexts Magazine @contexts.org · 29/09/2026
🔥Hot off the press!🔥 What political work is done when a president posts himself as Superman? Trump’s AI memes turn dissent into disorder and domination into leadership. Tristan Bridges and James Messerschmidt show how humor makes autocratic power feel ordinary. ➡️ doi.org/10.1177/1536...
AI-generated three-panel image showing Donald Trump wearing a gold crown and oxygen mask while piloting a fighter jet. The jet flies over a city and releases a stream of brown material onto a crowd of protesters below.
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Shannon Bucci 🔻 @shannonbucci.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
The vast majority of child maltreatment cases are related to neglect, and the vast majority of neglect cases are related to poverty. The family policing system is just another tool for the state to exert its power—it was never intended to protect children.
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Hey, demographers! If you've ever used @prbdata.bsky.social's World Data Sheet, consider making a donation so they can continue producing this valuable resource! Visit www.prb.org/donate/!
When the funding that made the World Population Data Sheet possible was abruptly cut last year, something meaningful happened: stories poured in from around the world—from teachers, researchers, and policymakers sharing what this resource meant to their work. Those stories became the foundation of a fundraising effort that secured this 2026 edition. 
If the Data Sheet has ever mattered to your work, here's a way to show it—and to help keep it alive. Donors who give $200 or more to PRB will receive a printed copy. Those who give at least $500 will also receive a copy of the inaugural 1962 edition. 
🔗  Visit prb.org/donate to learn more!*
*Under IRS guidelines, the estimated value of the printed 2026 and 1962 World Population Data Sheets is not substantial; therefore, the full amount of your contribution is deductible as a charitable contribution.
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Reposted by Karen Benjamin Guzzo
Kevin Morris @kevintmorris.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Oh great -- glad to see that this Open Access piece on why White Americans support democratic retrenchment is now in an issue (with some great other folks!) at Political Behavior: link.springer.com/article/10.1...
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
To the person who (accidentally?) used *my* work email address to register for some tech/AI/business thing, a hex upon you and your descendants.
static.klipy.com
Block Button Clicked
ALT: Block Button Clicked
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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app · 28/09/2026
the Trump admin just made its 40th application to the Supreme Court for emergency relief, since January 2025 for comparison, the George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden admins made a combined total of 25 shadow docket applications over the course of 20 years ballsandstrikes.org/scotus/ketan...
ballsandstrikes.org
Ketanji Brown Jackson Is Getting Tired of the Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket Abuses
The conservative supermajority keeps refusing to take the real-world harms of its work seriously.
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Arrianna Marie Planey, PhD MA @arrianna-planey.bsky.social · 10/08/2026
A must-read. I admit, I'm now leery of collaborating with people because undisclosed GenAI use on a manuscript can rather drastically alter the meaning / comprehensibility / flow of the text. For this reason (among others), I request tracked changes (or add them retroactively). #VersionControl
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Rachel Cohen Booth @rcobooth.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
There are lots of important questions to explore about our complicated intergenerational shifts and dynamics, and I do believe we can make loving space to do it rcobooth.substack.com/p/on-prospec...
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
This administration continues to give a giant middle finger to the environment, wholeheartedly embracing an active attack on the wellbeing of the planet and everyone who lives on it.
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Plans to Gut Clean Car Rules (Gift Article)
New fuel-economy standards, which President Trump said he finalized Saturday, would kill a federal effort to speed the transition to electric vehicles.
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
In Trump’s America, who gets to be American is an increasingly narrow group of people.
nytimes.com
South Asians Face Surging Racism in America (Gift Article)
Social media posts, including from the Department of Homeland Security and a Texas Republican candidate, have helped stir fear among people of South Asian heritage.
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ryan cooper @ryanlcooper.com · 26/09/2026
great piece. man social media is a cancer themomoftheyear.substack.com/p/im-the-mom...
themomoftheyear.substack.com
I’m the Mom in That Viral Giants Clip. Let Me Tell You About My Husband.
You saw me carrying our baby and food. There was more happening in our family that night.
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Jenna Norton @jenna-m-norton.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
As Office of Management & Budget Director, Russell Vought continues to knowingly & willfully break the law. Yesterday, he again attempted a pocket rescission of almost $1B, alerting Congress of plan not to use appropriated funds with too little time for them to act. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/25/u...
nytimes.com
Trump Proposes $810 Million in Education and Health Cuts, Defying Congress
The attempted clawback represents the second time in as many years that the White House has sought to cancel funding approved by lawmakers.
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Bev Pausche, APR @bevpr.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
“A flood doesn’t knock on your door and ask who you voted for in the last election before it sweeps your house away, nor does wildfire smoke distinguish between Republicans and Democrats before it chokes the air.” Gift article.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
“Imagine losing a third of a city’s firefighters and then wondering why downtown is burning.” Connecting the dots between cuts and public sector failures is often difficult, but we are seeing the damage in public health. The only category of employee growing at CDC are political appointees.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 26/09/2026
Hey, ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson here. I’m taking over the account to tell you about my new story. For months, I posed as a problem gambler on DraftKings to test the company's "responsible gaming" safeguards. Spoiler alert: They made me a VIP — and I lost $10K. Here's how it all went down. 🧵
Selfie taken by ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson, a man wearing a backwards baseball cap and an orange T-shirt.
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Not having enough sex with your spouse? Just starting going to church more frequently! The latest nonsense from IFS. 1/2
Facebook post from the Institute for Family Studies. Text: America is now in the grip of a “sex recession,” in which only a minority of adult men and women have sex at least once a week.
Strikingly, this recession has largely spared churchgoing husbands and wives.
Today, only 48% of those who are not religious have sex at least weekly, versus 62% of those who are regular churchgoers in that same age group. So, there is a growing religious-secular divide in married sex—and it favors religious couples.

Accompanied by a figure showing differentials between 1990 and 2021-24 in weekly sex by frequency of church attendance
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Jen Jennings @jenjennings.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
You don’t gut the country's capacity to measure what's happening in its schools because you care about improving them. Guardian article below.
graph of number of employees at NCES
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Max Kozlov @maxkozlov.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
SCOOP: Top researchers at Columbia, Stanford, and others thought they were elected to elite scientific societies alongside Nobel laureates. The catch? The organizations are a sham. I spent the last month diving deep into a massive academic scam spanning continents, for @nature.com
nature.com
Exclusive: Sham scientific societies are misleading star researchers
A Nature investigation reveals a network of organizations that have been building their ranks through deceptive practices.
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Per Engzell @pengzell.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The @russellsagefdn.bsky.social Journal of the Social Sciences is publishing a special issue on "the changing college-to-work transition and the rise of precarious graduates" Submit abstracts until Nov 10: www.rsfjournal.org/sites/defaul...
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Does this mean research in/with China is okay b/c it's no longer a "malign influence"? (Rhetorical question)
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
This administration does not want women to have reproductive autonomy. The progress the US made in reducing teen and unintended childbearing is really at risk.
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
UNC Sociology is hiring an OPEN-RANK position for a Population Health and Aging scholar! We are especially interested in more advanced and senior scholars. Full position details, qualifications, and application instructions are available at: unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/325...
Position Summary: The Department of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill invites applications for an open rank (tenure-track) faculty position to begin July 1, 2027. We are seeking candidates with research and teaching interests in population health and aging. This is the first of an anticipated five related searches over the next four years in a new UNC-Chapel Hill initiative on biosocial health and aging. We seek applications from scholars who exhibit a record of strong and innovative research and excellence in teaching. Candidates are expected to hold a Ph.D. in Sociology or a related field by July 1, 2027.
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Brady West @bradytwest.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A good opinion piece in The Financial Times about the erosion of U.S. science. Proud to be anti-anti-woke. 😤 www.ft.com/content/848b...
ft.com
The next generation of American scientists is fading away
While the Trump administration racks up ‘wins’ in its anti-woke crusade, the US is eroding its talent pipeline
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Mark Jacob @markjacob.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Lots of government contractors favored by the regime are cashing in on cruelty toward immigrants.
nytimes.com
Unused Tents and Uneaten Food: Watchdog Finds ‘Waste’ in Immigration Crackdown (Gift Article)
In a report Thursday, the Government Accountability Office said the Trump administration squandered millions of dollars to expand detention.
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Bruno Arpino @brunoarpino.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
📢Deadline extended to 31 December 2026 We welcome submissions to the European Journal of Ageing Special Collection “Ageing Well for All: Multidimensional Pathways to Sustainable Ageing” More info link.springer.com/collections/... #SustainableAgeing #Ageing #Population @valeriabordone.bsky.social
link.springer.com
Ageing Well for All: Multidimensional Pathways to Sustainable Ageing
Population ageing is reshaping social, economic, technological, and political life across Europe and beyond. This collection advances knowledge on sustainable ...
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Reposted by Karen Benjamin Guzzo
Ryan D. Edwards @ryandedwards.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
A helpful overview of NIH funding delays and cuts in Trump-2. It's hard to see how political supervision would improve the system rather than break it. But there are also some thoughtful remarks in here about difficulties in the current system www.npr.org/2026/09/24/n...
npr.org
These 6 charts show how NIH research funding has been reshaped under Trump
Stories of science funding being cut, labs shutting down and scientists losing jobs have flooded the media under Trump's administration. These six graphics show how those changes have affected U.S. bi...
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Amy Diehl, Ph.D. @amydiehl.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Tradwives who try to leave “are not just feeling that they’re disappointing their husbands but disobeying God.” Having children makes them vulnerable. “If you get pregnant, you’re less likely to leave, less likely to fight back." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/s...
nytimes.com
Bernadine Bluntly’s Brand Was Tradwife. Then She Got Divorced.
What happens when a trad influencer leaves her husband, questions her beliefs, stops selling anti-feminism T-shirts — and still needs to make a living online?
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Koji Chavez @kojichavez.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
IU sociology is hiring! We have a wonderful department and exceptional graduate students. It's a great place to work. indiana.peopleadmin.com/postings/34396
indiana.peopleadmin.com
Open Rank Organizations/MHO
The Department of Sociology at Indiana University, Bloomington, invites applications for a rank-open (tenured or tenure-track) position beginning in the fall of 2027. We seek an individual with expert...
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Samuel Perry @profsamperry.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Erickson is a conservative Christian author denouncing Charles Haywood, who is a rich fascist who funds fascist stuff. One thing Erickson leaves out is Haywood's also a leader in pronatalist circles. Spoke at the 2023 NatalCon & sponsored the 2025 conference. ewerickson.substack.com/p/the-midwes...
ewerickson.substack.com
charles-haywood-claremont-american-reformer-fuentes
Charles Haywood's money sits inside the Claremont Institute, American Reformer, and the Southern Baptist fight. Nick Fuentes is working the same end from outside.
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Alice Miranda Ollstein @alicemiranda.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
This is a big deal. As I explore on my book, confusion/misinformation about IUDs led to coverage of the contraceptives being cut from government programs in a bunch of states after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I just said yes to two things that I will probably regret committing to later...
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
What is so appealing about Mamdani is that he just seems like a guy who wants to spread joy and make things easier for everyone. He seems to genuinely be someone who actually likes his constituents and wants to serve them and improve their lives.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Remember when they said (lied) that USAID was corrupt? $400 million was handed out to 30 countries, with no real oversight and with workarounds to bypass human rights safeguards typically given to U.S. foreign assistance payments. Immigration is just a giant trough of corruption right now.
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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Read this: is is from the chair of outside advisors of the Iowa civics center imposed on campus. He thinks he is describing current faculty but he is perfectly describing himself and his fellow travelers
"I think there's a fundamental tension," Lowery told Inside Higher Ed. "We've had a sort of ideological takeover of the universities where you have ideological administrators hiring ideological faculty and they will do everything they can to prevent other ideas from being represented on campus."
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Miranda Yaver @mirandayaver.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Reminder: SNAP has an outstanding ROI. Every dollar spent toward SNAP generates $1.54 in economic activity. SNAP cuts didn’t get the attention that Medicaid cuts understandably did, but they were massive and will prove deeply harmful to millions of Americans’ food security — and to local economies.
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
It’s bad enough that the systems themselves use phrases like “my instinct would be to…” or “sorry, I misunderstood.”
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Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Was on a meeting today with someone closely tracking states’ implementation of Medicaid work requirements and I don’t think people realize what is about to hit us. It will make the SNAP chaos look like almost nothing in comparison.
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Keep fighting.
nytimes.com
Trump Backtracks on Plan for New Controls on N.I.H. Grants (Gift Article)
Democrats and Republicans in Congress opposed the creation of a commission with the power to veto federal research awards.
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Dollars & Sense @dollarsandsense.bsky.social · 30/07/2026
The gender pay gap isn't a negotiation problem—it's a structural one. In her latest article, @nancyfolbre.bsky.social examines why Low Total Compensation can't be fixed by "leaning in"—and what systemic solutions could look like. Read more: www.dollarsandsense.org/are-you-suff...
dollarsandsense.org
Are You Suffering From Low T?
Low Total Compensation Syndrome. It's not you. It's the economy—a silent epidemic affecting at least 51% of the population.
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JD Daw @jddaw.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
@asanews.bsky.social issued their annual job market and the news is bad. Stitching all the reports' TT job data together, the 2025 academic year was the worst on record. 2016 was the high water mark in recent memory. Since then, US TT sociology jobs have been going the way of the humanities.
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
I'm on @asanews.bsky.social's award committee for the Distinguished Career Award for the Practice of Sociology. Nominations are due January 1, 2027. For more information, visit www.asanet.org/about/awards...
Distinguished Career Award for the Practice of Sociology
Last Updated: September 23, 2026
Selection Criteria and Eligibility
This award honors ASA members’ outstanding contributions to sociological practice. The award may recognize work that has facilitated or served as a model for the work of others; work that has significantly advanced the utility of one or more specialty areas in sociology and, by so doing, has elevated the professional status or public image of the field as a whole; or work that has been honored or widely recognized outside the discipline for its significant impacts, particularly in advancing human welfare. The recipient of this award will have spent at least a decade of full-time work involving research, administrative, or operational responsibilities as a member of or consultant to private or public organizations, agencies, or associations, or as a solo practitioner.

Nomination Procedures
Nominations must include a one to two-page nomination statement, the vita of the nominee, and 1-2 letters of recommendation.

In addition to the nomination materials described above, complete and submit the required nomination form.

Nominations can be considered for five years, but they are not automatically renewed. Each year, nominators will be asked if they wish to renew their nominations for consideration. If a renewal is requested, nominators will be invited to submit updated information or additional materials and are required to respond again to the ethics question.

Self-nominations are encouraged. All awardees must be current ASA members at the time of the award ceremony at the Annual Meeting.  One need not be a member to be nominated for an award. All nominators must be current members. Please also be aware of ASA’s ethics disclosure and award revocation policies.

Submit nominations for the 2027 award to nominations@asanet.org by January 1, 2027.
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
UNC Sociology is hiring at the Assistant or Associate level! Full position details, qualifications, and application instructions are available at: unc.peopleadmin.com/postings/325...
Position Summary: The Department of Sociology at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill invites applications for an Assistant or Associate (tenure-track or tenured) faculty position to begin July 1, 2027. We welcome applications from sociologists working in any substantive area whose scholarship is pathbreaking and poised to shape their field. In addition, we seek a colleague whose teaching will contribute to our interdisciplinary undergraduate Management and Society major, through existing or new courses on organizations, work and occupations, economic sociology, social psychology, non-profits, work and family, AI and work, or related topics. Applicants should specify their contribution to our Management and Society major in their cover letter. Candidates are expected to hold a Ph.D. in Sociology or a related field by July 1, 2027.
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Karen Benjamin Guzzo @karenguzzo.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
"At least once a month, reporting on fertility, I ask for an academic source and am instead directed to Waters, author of a biblical women’s leadership book that basically says the best thing about the Barbie movie was the patriarchy." Expertise is no match for a loud voice & a big microphone. 😭😭😭
wired.com
She’s 28, Loves God and Her Family, and Might Be the Reason You Can’t Have Kids
No IVF. No surrogacy. No polygenic tests. Emma Waters is leading a national fight against fertility tech—with her hot husband’s permission, of course.
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