Applied Worldwide

05/25/2026

Community, Category, and the State: Hijras in Contemporary Q***r Discourse
A Discussion with Pushpesh Kumar and Sayantan Datta

Pushpesh Kumar teaches Sociology at the University of Hyderabad. He has published an edited volume, Sexuality, Abjection, and Q***r Existence in Contemporary India, with Routledge in New York/Delhi in 2022.

Sayantan Datta (they/them) is an assistant professor of practice at the Centre for Writing & Pedagogy, Krea University, and an independent journalist associated with queerbeat and the Labhopping Science Media Forum.

Going live on 31 May 2026 at 5 pm IST

05/25/2026

05/25/2026

Historic preservation is often framed as saving buildings. But sociologically, it is also about preserving collective memory, community identity, and the stories we choose to carry forward.

In our newest article for Applied Worldwide, we explore the sociology of place through the case of Hartman Castle Preservation Corp. (HCPC) in Gunnison, Colorado, examining how historic preservation can function as a form of placemaking, storytelling, and community connection.

The piece features our interview with preservationist and HCPC Board President Pam Williams on forgotten histories, rural identity, intergenerational memory, and what it means to protect spaces that help communities remember who they are.

One of the most powerful insights from our conversation with Pam was her telling us: “We didn’t know it was impossible. So we did it anyway.”

👉 Comment "Hartman Castle" to receive the article link in your inbox!

05/21/2026

We are excited to launch the first feature in the Stella Maris Global Sociology Series in collaboration with the Department of Sociology at Stella Maris College, Chennai. 🌍

This new series highlights public-facing sociological writing by students, bringing sociological perspectives on culture, inequality, gender, and social change to broader audiences around the world. New articles from the series will be shared as students continue contributing their voices and research. So please be on the lookout and support their incredible work!

Our first featured article, “From Goddesses to Victims: How Indian Society Contradicts Itself,” by Devisaropriya—a 3rd year sociology student—explores the contradiction between the symbolic glorification of women and the structural inequalities many women continue to experience in everyday life. Through a sociological lens, the article examines how cultural reverence alone does not necessarily translate into gender equity or empowerment.

We also want to extend special thanks to Maria Aishwarya B. for coordinating this collaboration and helping create opportunities for students to engage in global public sociology.

Comment “goddess to victim” for the link to the article. 👇

05/19/2026

What happens when you spend 15 years studying gender sociologically?

Over time, you begin to notice how deeply gender shapes everyday life through institutions, cultural expectations, labor, education, relationships, leadership, and systems of opportunity and power.

Sociology asks us to move beyond individual assumptions and examine the broader social systems that structure lived experience. And, importantly, the way sociologists engage in this work has evolved over the decades.

In the current moment—when conversations around gender are increasingly politicized—the sociological perspective feels more important than ever.

In this reflection, Dr. Stephanie Wilson discusses lessons from 15 years of working in the sociology of gender, and why these conversations continue to matter both within and beyond academia.

👉 Comment "gender" to receive the link to the full reflection in your DMs!

05/16/2026

05/16/2026

One of the most meaningful parts of this Spring has been hosting Applied Worldwide’s first formal writing with Dr. Brenda Wilhelm. 🥰

As a small independent sociology-centered organization, creating intentional space for reflective, public-facing sociological writing felt deeply aligned with our mission. The academy moves quickly, and meaningful writing often gets squeezed between deadlines, administrative work, and constant productivity pressures. This collaboration reminded me how valuable it is to protect time for deeper thinking, reflections on teaching, and public engagement.

Throughout the sabbatical, Brenda has been developing accessible sociological pieces that connect social theory to teaching and contemporary life—including this excellent reflection on Weber’s ideal types of social action and what they can teach us about students’ relationships to higher education today.

It has been exciting to watch Applied Worldwide continue evolving not only as a consulting and media space, but also as a place that supports sociological scholarship in creative and public-facing ways.

We’re proud of this collaboration and grateful to Brenda for trusting us with it. 💛

💬 Comment “social action” for the blog link!

05/07/2026

We are so excited to have received our complimentary exam copy of Dr. Stephanie Medley-Rath's new Introduction to Sociology textbook, and even more excited to announce it as the ✨official textbook✨ of Applied Worldwide!

The e-book is available open access on The Sociology Coach website. Be sure to check it out whether you're a student or teacher looking for introductory resources for sociology!

05/01/2026

In this featured article, Paredes & Navarrete (2025) examine the relationship between fear of assault or robbery and emigration intentions in Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras.

Using combined rounds of nationally representative survey data, the study finds that fear of violent crime is significantly associated with increased intentions to emigrate—and that this relationship has intensified in recent years.

The findings highlight how violence shapes migration not only through direct victimization, but also through the broader social experience of fear within everyday life.

👉 Comment "emigration" for the link!

04/30/2026

There’s a version of sociology that lives in textbooks, and another that shows up in the everyday decisions people make about how to run their businesses.

In hospitality, many of those decisions are increasingly shaped by digital platforms like Online Travel Agencies (OTAs), which influence visibility, pricing, and access to guests. For many small, independent properties, these systems offer an important way to stay visible in a crowded digital marketplace.

But over time, many businesses also begin to notice the tradeoffs.

Commission structures reduce margins, booking systems don’t always align cleanly with day-to-day operations, and relationships with guests—often one of the most meaningful parts of independent hospitality—become increasingly mediated through a third party.

From a sociological perspective, these are not just isolated business frustrations. Instead, they reflect broader structural changes in how hospitality operates within platform-driven markets.

Platforms are not neutral tools. They shape how value is distributed, how businesses are compared, and what becomes visible in the first place. That shift changes not only how bookings happen, but how independent properties operate within the system itself.

👉 A sociological perspective doesn’t just help explain this. It helps reframe the problem.

No longer just: How do we increase bookings?

But, now: How do we navigate a system whose rules have changed while maintaining what makes a business distinct?

One possible answer is to build visibility in ways that connect more directly to the experiences people are actually searching for—fishing trips, wildflowers, hiking, local culture, and outdoor life—rather than relying entirely on standardized booking systems.

This is one example of what applied sociology can look like in practice.

💬 For those working in hospitality—or any platform-driven industry—how much of your current strategy is shaped by the system, and how much reflects what makes your business unique?

👀 Explore more examples of applied sociology at AppliedWorldwide.com