Stan C. Weeber

Elite versus Mass Sociology: An Elaboration on Sociology's Academic Caste System

The American Sociologist / Winter 2006 Stan C. Weeber is an associate professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at McNeese State University. His interests in sociology include the sociology of sociology, social theory, political sociology, collective behavior and social movements, and crime/deviance. He can be reached at sweeber@mail.mcneese.edu. Elite versus Mass Sociology: An Elaboration on Sociology’s Academic Caste System

MILITIAS AT THE MILLENNIUM

Critically important to Neil Smelsers theory of collective behavior is the idea that people join radical social movements because they experience strain. A social movement arises to reassure participants that something is being done to redress the underlying source of strain. Militia presence and activity on the Internet (especially Usenet) is a phenomenon that can be studied within Smelsers framework. Militia watchers contend that those who join the militias have experienced the kinds of strain to which Smelser refers. The purpose of this article is to analyze the content of Internet traffic of U.S. militias in order to test the thesis outlined above. It uses militia Web sites and militia messages posted to Usenet (N = 1,196) as primary data to test Smelsers theory. Information was gathered on 171 men and women from 28 U.S. militias who posted messages to Usenet from 1998–2001. Based on the militiamen/women studied, Smelsers thesis is generally confirmed. Most experienced some form of social stress or strain prior to or during the time that they were in the militia, and most conditions for social movement development as specified by Smelser were met and confirmed by the data.

Home Health Care after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita: A Report from the Field

On August 30, 2005, displaced New Orleanians first learned that the levees of their city had been overtopped and then breached by the storm surge from Hurricane Katrina. New Orleans would soon be 80% flooded. Within a month, Hurricane Rita arrived in New Orleans, making cleanup and recovery an even more difficult process. This article discusses the preparation and follow-up still going on today and the role of health care providers, particularly home care providers, in the aftermath of Katrina and Rita.

Death, Grief, and the Home Health Worker: A Systems Approach

As the burden of long-term care shifts from nursing homes to home-based care, home health workers are increasingly likely to serve an older clientele susceptible to chronic disease and death. A significant occupational stressor in such cases is a lack of knowledge about what constitutes professionally appropriate interaction with dying patients and their families. Utilizing social systems theory and findings from the sociology of death and dying, this article provides information helpful to workers dealing with such cases. There is discussion of the stages of grief for the dying patient and for survivors, the difference between normal and abnormal grief, how to lessen the symptoms of grief, the art of condolence, and the special topic of children and grief. The article concludes with six recommended strategies for workers to cope with the problems of death, dying, and grief within the real-life social system in which they work and live.

The Political Sociology of Private Armies in Colombia and the United States

This paper provides a comparative sociological analysis of private armies in Colombia and the United States. Private armies in both nations have economic and political underpinnings. An ethic of economic inequality pervaded Colombian life and institutions since colonialism, creating a milieu for private armies to develop. The cocaine industry seized a historic moment in the weakness of the Colombian state, and private armies in their employ helped to manage the risks of cocaine production. Occasionally the armies were used for counterinsurgent purposes. Beyond this, a remarkable diversity of roles played by private armies was noted. In the United States, an ethic of equality provided the social milieu for legitimate private armies to appear. Militias enjoyed social status early on, but later were viewed as antidemocratic and authoritarian. Militia groups since 1865 focused attention upon internal threats first and later external ones. They did not get involved in an illegal business enterprise, and thus overall their social network was less complicated than their Colombian counterparts. Moreover, state power has limited their effectiveness and ability to gain mass appeal in the United States. In the 1990s, armies in both countries underwent change, and their situations became more complex. Diversity of roles played by the Colombian militias is highlighted during this period, while in the United States, militia ideologies were a complex mix of Constitutionalism and Christian Identity.