mathuclair.bsky.social
Matthew Clair
@mathuclair.bsky.social
1.2K followers 400 following 76 posts
Sociologist @stanfordsoc.bsky.social and author of PRIVILEGE & PUNISHMENT www.matthewclair.org
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mathuclair.bsky.social
Matthew Clair @mathuclair.bsky.social · Aug 13
Law is central to today’s social crises—from democratic backsliding to immigrant exclusion. This paper shows how cultural sociology offers rigorous explanations of, and insights into how to tackle, law-related crises. Hope it’s useful to law and society scholars and others

osf.io/preprints/so...
Title: The study of culture, law, and crisis Author: Matthew Clair, Stanford University Date: July 2025 Abstract: This paper reviews cultural sociological approaches to the study of law and how they may be applied to future research on law-related social crises. As the world faces myriad social crises, such as rising authoritarianism and police violence, the study of culture and the law has become an even more urgent intellectual and practical endeavor. Over the last decade, five concepts have dominated the cultural study of law: rules, norms, frames, cultural capital, and legal consciousness. While past research has provided generative insight, future research would benefit from more precise considerations of rules and norms in this unsettled moment. Moreover, future research could leverage the five cultural concepts to sharpen understandings of inequality and social control in understudied legal organizations, along understudied axes of social stratification, and with respect to the infusion of new technologies into the legal system. Acknowledgments: Thank you to Asad L. Asad, Sarah Brayne, and Barbara Kiviat for comments on an earlier version of this paper.
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rollingstone.com
Rolling Stone @rollingstone.com · 2h
Justin J. Pearson — the 30-year-old Memphis representative and member of the “Tennessee Three” who protested gun violence — has announced a bid to primary 76-year-old Democrat Steve Cohen for a seat in the U.S. House.
Justin J. Pearson of the 'Tennessee Three' Has Had It With 'Mediocrity' -- So He's Running for Congress
bit.ly
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mathuclair.bsky.social
Matthew Clair @mathuclair.bsky.social · 21h
www.thenation.com/article/soci...
The Supreme Court v. Democracy
The Nation’s justice correspondent previews the court’s coming term—and explains why it will never stand up to Trump.
www.thenation.com
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mathuclair.bsky.social
Matthew Clair @mathuclair.bsky.social · 1d
A thoughtful series of essays on the present crisis, and possible future, of higher education in @publicbooks.bsky.social

www.publicbooks.org/toward-the-n...
Toward the Next American University: A Roundtable Discussion on the Future of Higher Ed - Public Books
The path higher education was on before Trump’s reelection was neither certain nor stable. There is not much to go back to now.
www.publicbooks.org
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Reposted by Matthew Clair
inquest.bsky.social
Inquest @inquest.bsky.social · 5d
"Treatment providers are asked to exercise . . . coercive control over their court-mandated clients, warping the therapeutic relationship." Mary Ellen Stitt w/
@uchicagopress.bsky.social on how treatment ends up feeling a lot like punishment when courts get involved:
Punishment in All but Name - Mary Ellen Stitt - Inquest
Drug diversion programs are hyped by reformists as alternatives to prison—but they function just like punishment and people often end up incarcerated anyway.
inquest.org
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perrybaconjr.bsky.social
Perry Bacon @perrybaconjr.bsky.social · 5d
Thanks to @victorerikray.bsky.social and @hakeemjefferson.bsky.social for a great conversation. You can watch or download via Apple Podcasts and listen. newrepublic.substack.com/p/race-and-r...
Race and Racism in Trump 2.0 With Victor Ray and Hakeem Jefferson
Right Now With Perry Bacon
newrepublic.substack.com
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michellesphelps.bsky.social
Michelle S. Phelps @michellesphelps.bsky.social · 8d
Pls share w/ your students -- Univ. of Minnesota's Sociology department is hosting a "how to apply" event for PhD applicants. Visit cla.umn.edu/sociology/gr... for more info. The world of higher ed (and beyond) is in crisis, but sociology can help us better understand the problems + solutions.
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socservreview.bsky.social
Social Service Review @socservreview.bsky.social · May 1
New article ahead of print!

Read Matthew Clair and colleagues' latest article -- Spatial Burdens of State Institutions: The Case of Criminal Courthouses

How does space shape access to state institutions and deepen inequality?

www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/10.1086/...
University of Chicago Press Journals: Cookie absent
www.journals.uchicago.edu
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stanfordsoc.bsky.social
Stanford Sociology @stanfordsoc.bsky.social · 9d
We're hiring for a senior appointment at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor!

Apply here: facultypositions.stanford.edu/en-us/job/49...
Stanford | Faculty Positions: Details - Senior appointment in the Department of Sociology at the rank of Associate Professor or Professor
facultypositions.stanford.edu
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lpeineurope.bsky.social
Law and Political Economy in Europe @lpeineurope.bsky.social · 14d
We know we haven’t been very active here, but rest assured we are active in real life!

Save the date for the LPE in Europe Summer Academy 2026: 10-12 June, University of Glasgow.

Call for applications will follow!
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mathuclair.bsky.social
Matthew Clair @mathuclair.bsky.social · 13d
Sounds amazing!

bsky.app/profile/lpei...
lpeineurope.bsky.social
Law and Political Economy in Europe @lpeineurope.bsky.social · 14d
We know we haven’t been very active here, but rest assured we are active in real life!

Save the date for the LPE in Europe Summer Academy 2026: 10-12 June, University of Glasgow.

Call for applications will follow!
Reposted by Matthew Clair
propublica.org
ProPublica @propublica.org · 13d
Shelby County, where Musk’s xAI facility sits, has Tennessee’s highest rate of ER visits for asthma.

For the majority-Black residents of the area, emissions from the company’s methane gas turbines exacerbate longstanding public health concerns.

By @wendicthomas.bsky.social
Inside the Memphis Chamber of Commerce’s Push for Elon Musk’s xAI Data Center
In the face of intense public opposition, the city’s Chamber of Commerce has gone to unusual lengths to promote Musk’s xAI facility: sending out a mailer, for the first time in recent memory, that inc...
www.propublica.org
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motherjones.com
Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 25d
The Supreme Court is forging an America where weighing race can be used to harm minorities, but not to protect them.
The Supreme Court says colleges can’t consider race. But ICE can.
So much for the justices' promise of a "colorblind Constitution."
www.motherjones.com
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meeradeo.bsky.social
Meera Deo @meeradeo.bsky.social · 28d
Huge win for women and also for New Mexico, the economy, businesses, children, and society at large!
krqe.com
KRQE News 13 @krqe.com · 29d
Governor announces New Mexico will now provide free universal child care
Governor announces New Mexico will now provide free universal child care
NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – New Mexico is becoming the first state in the U.S. to offer free early childhood education to every family in the state. Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced a universal ch…
www.krqe.com
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profhajaryazdiha.bsky.social
Hajar Yazdiha @profhajaryazdiha.bsky.social · Aug 31
✍️ In grad school, @courtneyboen.bsky.social and I talked often about the emotions that seemed to undergird racism. Trayvon, Tamir, Mike Brown and too many more changed us. Ten years later, our findings in @sfjournal.bsky.social: academic.oup.com/sf/advance-a...
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librarian.bsky.social
jessamyn @librarian.bsky.social · Aug 29
Very happy to read about these young, principled, and interesting librarians working in various places in Philadelphia 📚

www.phillymag.com/news/2025/08...
For Gen Z, the Library Is Political
People say libraries are dying. Young librarians think they’re just evolving — and expanding their social conscience as they do.
www.phillymag.com
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stevemullis.net
Steve Mullis @stevemullis.net · Aug 29
Them: “Cities are all rotting hellscapes!”

Cities:
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thetriibe.com
The TRiiBE @thetriibe.com · Aug 28
NEW — Black organizers and elected leaders gathered today to denounce Trump’s threats to send military forces to Chicago.

They are developing a 30-day emergency response plan, which includes establishing mutual aid hubs and Know Your Rights training sessions.

thetriibe.com/2025/08/blac...
Black organizers, elected leaders are preparing for Trump’s possible military deployment to Chicago • The TRiiBE
Although details are scarce, Black organizers are coming up with a response plan to protect Chicagoans if Trump sends in the military.
thetriibe.com
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mathuclair.bsky.social
Matthew Clair @mathuclair.bsky.social · Aug 26
A great funding opportunity for ABD graduate students in the social sciences and humanities whose research is focused on social justice.
cescholar.org
Flyer “calling all scholar-activists” to apply for fellowships with the Center for Engaged Scholarship. Application period is between October 1-December 1.
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mathuclair.bsky.social
Matthew Clair @mathuclair.bsky.social · Aug 26
A great funding opportunity for ABD graduate students in the social sciences and humanities whose research is focused on social justice.
cescholar.org
Flyer “calling all scholar-activists” to apply for fellowships with the Center for Engaged Scholarship. Application period is between October 1-December 1.
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Reposted by Matthew Clair
kyledcheney.bsky.social
Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · Aug 26
UPDATE: Lisa Cook says she's not going anywhere and Trump's bid to fire her is baseless. www.politico.com/news/2025/08...
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mjsdc.bsky.social
Mark Joseph Stern @mjsdc.bsky.social · Aug 26
The Supreme Court’s conservatives bear SO much blame for this disaster. They really thought they could let Trump fire every agency leader EXCEPT members of the Fed, and Trump would abide by their stern admonition to leave the Fed alone. Embarrassing stupidity. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...
Trump Administration Live Updates: President Says He Is Removing Lisa Cook From Federal Reserve Board
www.nytimes.com
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timmonsroberts.bsky.social
Timmons Roberts @timmonsroberts.bsky.social · Aug 25
My lab's been attacked by an anti-wind group and their lawyers. They threatened the science funding of my whole university, to shut me and my undergraduate research assistants up.

NYT just covered it. 1/n

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/c...
Law Firm Pressures Brown University to Erase Research on Anti-Wind Groups
www.nytimes.com
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mathuclair.bsky.social
Matthew Clair @mathuclair.bsky.social · Aug 25
Eager to read, and think with, this important book by @galvinalmanza.bsky.social

bsky.app/profile/galv...
galvinalmanza.bsky.social
Emily Galvin-Almanza @galvinalmanza.bsky.social · Aug 6
I have big news: I wrote a book!

It’s called The Price of Mercy, and it’s about the violence, cruelty, and dysfunction baked into our legal system, and what we can do about it.

It’s full of real-world stories, hard data, and the voices of people fighting to fix what’s broken.
Comment by Laurence Tribe of Harvard Law saying that The Price of Mercy is, quite simply, the gutsiest book ever written about the gritty reality of something nobody who reads this astonishing inside-the-walls account can continue to call the criminal justice system. Comment by Jane Mayer, Author of Dark Money, saying "Anyone who cares about justice should read this book." Picture of the book, which has a cream cover with a black crack down the middle and a small woman in a suit standing on the edge of the crack, which splits her shadow. The title The Price of Mercy is in red, and the subtitle, in blue, reads Unfair Trials, a Violent System, and a Public Defender's Search for Justice in America. The author's name, Emily Galvin Almanza, is in red at the bottom. The image notes that the book will be on sale February 17th, 2026. Quote from Congressman Jamie Raskin reading "A serious game-changer for America---if we're listening."
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