In this episode, Eric Hsu and Louis Everuss introduce listeners to a noteworthy work in early classical sociology that often gets oversimplified for what it argues and observes about a key aspect of the process of modernisation. Georg Simmel’s noted essay on The Metropolis and Mental Life, originally published in 1903, provides varied insights about what effect living in an urban/metropolitan environment has on individuals and their psychologies, which includes the blasé attitude exhibited by many urban dwellers. Unpacking this text leads Eric and Louis to talk about the Will Ferrell classic Christmas film, Elf and what it means to do a ‘mainy’ in rural Australia. Eric and Louis also take sides in a hypothetical ‘punch-up’ in a country Australian town (Eric is Team Joe, while Louis is Team Frank), alongside other musings and reflections about the ideas Simmel puts forward.

Music and sound effects used in this episode are licensed under a CC 0 License, the CC Attribution License 3.0, or by a SFX (Multi-Use) License Commercial License from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com). Tracks include:

https://freesound.org/people/Tuben/sounds/272044/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/sound-effects/tracks/1313038b-b628-47c1-b974-bb75b64c099d/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/e430cef0-e9f1-41b0-b68a-2d98b7d92c39/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/3dd2a7c0-7363-428b-918f-bb729286fba8/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/4c8596c2-6064-4ec4-b82e-e2a46763ce08/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/bc333bec-1d67-4019-b369-9ddb194aa1c1/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/2aa1ade1-1548-4259-8038-008fd88e1b6c/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/9c5dc20d-86ad-31c3-b5e6-4ded89b7028d/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/A2V5xRtt5S/

The views and opinions expressed in the Sociology of Everything podcast are that of the hosts and/or guest speakers, and do not reflect any of the involved institutions.

The Sociology of Everything podcast | www.sociologypodcast.com

In the second part of their series on Gaza, Genocide, and Social Theory, Eric Hsu and Louis Everuss welcome Ernesto Verdeja onto their podcast to talk around an article Ernesto has written in the Journal of Genocide Research, titled ‘The Gaza Genocide in Five Crises’. In this wide-ranging discussion, Ernesto makes some very powerful points about why it is meaningful and apt to categorise the recent major loss of life in Gaza as a genocide, while also unpacking what the broader ramifications of the Gaza case are to international governance. Eric and Louis feel strongly that this episode is not to be missed.

Ernesto Verdeja is Associate Professor of Peace Studies and Global Politics at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies in the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame. He is currently the Executive Director of the human rights non-profit Institute for the Study of Genocide. For more information about his work, you can visit Ernesto’s website: https://everdeja.weebly.com/

Music and sound effects used in this episode are licensed under a CC 0 License, the CC Attribution License 3.0, or by a SFX (Multi-Use) License Commercial License from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com). Tracks include:

https://freesound.org/people/Tuben/sounds/272044/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/1500ce5a-ec15-3d83-ac57-de83ecc3166d/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/50028bdf-8888-3bd1-8089-0999e89b61fd/

The views and opinions expressed in the Sociology of Everything podcast are that of the hosts and/or guest speakers, and do not reflect any of the involved institutions.

The Sociology of Everything podcast | www.sociologypodcast.com

In this episode, Eric Hsu and Louis Everuss look to social theory to try to make better sense of the tremendous loss of life in Gaza since October 2023. They appeal to an article written by Bradley Campbell, titled ‘Genocide and Social Control’, which was published in 2009 in Sociological Theory. If indeed developments in Gaza constitute a genocide, as bodies like the International Association of Genocide Scholars have asserted, then Campbell’s account of genocide is useful because it spells out what it means sociologically for a genocide to occur. That is, Campbell applies Donald Black’s pure sociology approach to tease out what the contributing social configurations to genocide are.

This episode is the first of a two part series on Gaza, Genocide, and Social Theory. Part 2 with Ernesto Verdeja is available now.

Music and sound effects used in this episode are licensed under a CC 0 License, the CC Attribution License 3.0, or by a SFX (Multi-Use) License Commercial License from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com). Tracks include:

https://freesound.org/people/Tuben/sounds/272044/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/392778fc-e958-44bf-9a4b-e7671ae2aa57/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/45e4a974-0361-3816-997e-6a7c7e77674c/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/music/tracks/50028bdf-8888-3bd1-8089-0999e89b61fd/

The views and opinions expressed in the Sociology of Everything podcast are that of the hosts and/or guest speakers, and do not reflect any of the involved institutions.

The Sociology of Everything podcast | www.sociologypodcast.com