Arlie Russell Hochschild recently commented “Whether Donald Trump rises or falls, we need sociology to take up the task of analyzing the rise of the right. And we need our government and society at large to address all the ways millions of Americans have been—in real life—left behind.”

As the 2016 elections come to a close, ASA encourages sociologists to read Hochschild’s  Featured Essay from the November issue of Contemporary Sociology and consider how we can take up her challenge.  

As sociologists, how can we understand this election? How do we discuss the election with our students? How do we put forth our best selves—as teachers and researchers—to work for the common good in a deeply divided nation? We invite ASA members to pick an aspect of the campaign, the electorate, the polling processes, or the policy issues raised by this election and then consider the insights and understandings that arise from the application of the data and methods within our sociology toolkit. Because when it comes to what is happening in our country, as Society Pages says, There’s Research on That.

We invite any ASA member to share your comments and thoughts in keeping with this theme.

For more of Speak for Sociology, click here.