Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · May 16

Beyond excited to be in community with these scholars and artists next year (and to finally finish this book manuscript)!

Harvard Radcliffe Institute @rad-institute.bsky.social · May 15

Learn about the bold thinkers we'll welcome in the fall! www.radcliffe.harvard.edu/news-and-ide...

Harvard Radcliffe Institute Announces 2025–2026 Fellows | Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University

www.radcliffe.harvard.edu

1 2 14

Reposted by Monica C. Bell

Rahim Kurwa @rahimk.bsky.social · Jan 23

Blurbs for Indefensible Spaces: Policing and the Struggle for Housing are in! I'm so grateful to the wonderful scholars who have written them, including this generous first blurb by Monica Bell (thanks @monicacbell.bsky.social!). The book is out in June: www.ucpress.edu/books/indefe...

2 15

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · Jan 23

It is amazing how well growing up in the Black Pentecostal tradition prepared me for these dastardly days. Some of us have been preparing for the End Times since the 1980s 🙌🏿

9

Reposted by Monica C. Bell

Just Security @justsecurity.org · Dec 24

[1/2] A favorite tradition, the Just Security year-end book recommendations, is here!

Our editors recommend a mix of books to learn more about some of the issues we cover, and to unwind and recharge for the year ahead.

With thanks to our readers and to ...

www.justsecurity.org/105991/just-...

The Just Security 2024 Year-End Book Recommendations

Just Security editors recommend books they read this year, including those that illuminated world issues and brought joy into their 2024.

www.justsecurity.org

3 15 59

Reposted by Monica C. Bell

Josh Page @joshpage.bsky.social · Dec 10

In our forthcoming book, @joesoss.bsky.social and I argue that corporations routinely find ways to profit off the needs, desires, and vulnerabilities of incarcerated people & their families. Tablets are a prime example. #LegalPlunder

Prison Policy Initiative @prisonpolicy.org · Dec 10

Tablets are quickly becoming indispensable behind bars. They give access to books, music, games, etc.

But since they haven't been under scrutiny, they've become another way for telecom companies to squeeze money from incarcerated people & their loved ones
www.prisonpolicy.org/blog/2024/09...

Prison Banned Books Week: Books give incarcerated people access to the world, but tablets are often used to wall them off

Instead of taking advantage of their possibilities, the companies that got rich off prison phone calls offer limited book selections on tablets, as part of ...

www.prisonpolicy.org

2 15

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · Dec 7

Yes, and for an embarrassingly long time I was sometimes going without getting reimbursed just because I couldn’t handle all the paperwork. Fortunately for my financial life, I’ve gotten better at it/gotten support to help with all the forms…

1

Reposted by Monica C. Bell

Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · Dec 5

Here is a somber truth of creative life. If it goes well, people will begin to ask you for things. Each of those things, no matter how kind or flattering or genuine or even beneficial to your own career and finances as well as someone else's, will pull you from your true purpose.

20 130 1.1K

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · Dec 6

It seems like it’s part of this massive effort to distract from the reality that overwhelming numbers of white Americans voted for Trump in November.

The shifts among other groups are noteworthy, I guess, but journalists should write about them in a way that doesn’t obscure the central story

1 9

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · Dec 6

I have been quite vexed by all of this post-election analysis of “shift” that doesn’t report the baseline.

Example: Couldn’t this Atlanta outcome be because white Atlantans were already relatively pro-Trump, thus there wasn’t as much *shift* as in other cities and among other groups?

Conor Sen @conorsen.bsky.social · Dec 6

Looks like I’m in a bubble:

1 4

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · Dec 6

Carrying a nation on our backs

#photography #streetphotography

21

Reposted by Monica C. Bell

Nate Ela @nateela.bsky.social · Dec 2

Together with @jtsimes.bsky.social I'm organizing a panel on "Law and Environment" for the #Sociology of Law section at #ASA2025. Please spread the word to law-people working on environmental topics, and environment-people working on legal topics! CFP in the image below:

Law and Environment

This panel invites papers that explore the relationships between law, society, and the environment, broadly conceived. Potential topics may include—but are certainly not limited to—the role of law and legal actors in environmental justice movements; adaptation to climate change; ecological preservation and conservation; sustainable governance of natural resources; responding to climate effects on conditions in prisons and the built environment; planning for resilience to natural disasters; and the role of scientific experts and expertise in legal and regulatory change. We welcome submissions that analyze connections between law, society, and the environment at any scale—from local to regional, national, and global.

(Session Organizer) Nate Ela, Temple University; Jessica T. Simes, Boston University

3 16 24

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · Nov 29

Just got home from Thanksgiving excursions and couldn’t help attempting the Cynthia Erivo version of that iconic last riff from “Defying Gravity”… The agitated barking from my neighbor’s dog tells me about all I need to know about how that sounded 😭

#wicked #holdingspace #defyinggravity

7

Reposted by Monica C. Bell

Eve Brensike Primus @primuseve.bsky.social · Nov 27

Do you know about social science that you think criminal defense attorneys should be incorporating into their arguments? Have you written a criminal defense motion incorporating social science? If so, please help us create a national network. Upload your studies and motions to datafordefenders.org

1 6 17

Reposted by Monica C. Bell

Stephanie Didwania @didwanias.bsky.social · Nov 25

For my first post here: come work with us! Northwestern Law is hiring for our VAP program in the 2025-2026 academic year. This position is a fantastic opportunity for folks planning to enter legal academia. Please reach out with any questions. careers.northwestern.edu/psp/hr857prd...

20 30

Reposted by Monica C. Bell

Jean Beaman @jean23bean.bsky.social · Nov 26

www.propublica.org/article/pors...

A Third Woman Died Under Texas’ Abortion Ban. Doctors Are Avoiding D&Cs and Reaching for Riskier Miscarriage Treatments.

Thirty-five-year-old Porsha Ngumezi’s case raises questions about how abortion bans are pressuring doctors to avoid standard care even in straightforward miscarriages.

www.propublica.org

1 5 7

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · Nov 25

Extremely excited to sit with this paper!

Megan Tobias Neely @megantobiasneely.bsky.social · May 10

My new article with Caitlyn Collins and Shamus Khan on constructing cases, generating claims, and generalizing conceptually in qualitative research is out in the @AnnualReviews. A big thank you to the qualitative scholars who inspired and informed our work! www.annualreviews.org/content/jour...

“Which Cases Do I Need?” Constructing Cases and Observations in Qualitative Research | Annual Reviews

This methodological review starts one step before Small's classic account of how many cases a scholar needs. We ask, “Which cases do I need?” We argue that a core feature of most qualitative rese...

www.annualreviews.org

1 1 5

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · Nov 25

Plus, the comparison of 2012 v. 2024 gives me pause. That was Obama v. Romney, much different candidates from Harris and Trump, not just because of messaging or policy.

The loss of a strong populist, big tent message is bad for Dems, but this stat gives a misleading impression, I think

1

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · Nov 25

I’m not strongly criticizing the underlying premise, but re: this finding—it’s not surprising because Republicans were already doing exceedingly well among white voters without a college degree. It’s not remarkable that Trump is making larger “gains” among these groups

1

Reposted by Monica C. Bell

Tobias Wilson-Bates @phdhurtbrain.bsky.social · Oct 25

Academics in their forties

guy pointing at himself in the mirror meme, saying "you are still an early career scholar"

42 130 820

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · Nov 24

Optimist: The cup is half full
Pessimist: The cup is half empty
Sociologist of law: What’s important isn’t the cup on the books, but how it is used in the real world

Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · Nov 23

Optimist: The cup is half full
Pessimist: The cup is half empty
STS researcher: The cup is an affordance

Chanda Prescod-Weinstein 🌌 @chanda.blacksky.app · Nov 23

Optimist: The cup is half full
Pessimist: The cup is half empty
Cosmologist: The cup is dusty or full of gravitational waves

3 18

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · Nov 24

I agree — it sounds like there was an extreme over correction here.

I was just trying to make note of the housing-related rationale behind the policies, which at least this screenshot of the article doesn’t seem to raise!

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · Nov 24

I’m not saying I support these policies because I don’t know enough in this specific context—but isn’t the goal to incentivize housing availability and affordability? I’m not sure if I’m ready to choose tourists over NYC residents (though obviously the city needs tourism, and balance is key)

2 1

Reposted by Monica C. Bell

Saeed Jones @theferocity.bsky.social · Nov 23

By the way, #ToniMorrison recorded the audio versions for a lot of her books. And, of course, she was incandescent reader.

Lately, I’ve been listening to her read “Beloved” on my walks to campus.

40 67 1.1K

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · Nov 22

Incredible piece that is 100% accurate

1

Monica C. Bell @monicacbell.bsky.social · Nov 22

A sweet family photo from Herbert Von King Park in Bed-Stuy, one of my favorite places to hang out in Brooklyn

We will survive these crises by leaning and loving on each other #photography #streetphotography

1 1 16