New Books in Sociology

Growing up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn as a member of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic Orthodox Jewish community, Zalman Newfield was raised in an atmosphere of strict gender segregation, rigorous religious education, and nearly all-consuming ritual practices. Trained to be a Lubavitch emissary, he traveled around the world doing Jewish outreach to help usher in the messianic redemption. However, after exposure to the wider world, he abandoned the faith of his youth.

Brooklyn Odyssey: My Journey Out of Hasidism (Temple University Press, 2026) is Newfield's poignant and hopeful memoir about exiting Orthodoxy. He recounts asserting his individuality and taking the radical step of shaving his beard. Reflective about his upbringing, Newfield is open to and curious about a world beyond Brooklyn while also maintaining his profound bond with his family and Jewish tradition. He writes candidly about his emotional, intellectual, and social experiences in and out of the Lubavitch community.

From pivotal moments of devastation, including the illness and death of his younger brother and of his revered spiritual leader Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, to moments of joyful resolve, including the decision to pursue a doctorate and marry a non-Orthodox Jew, Newfield takes readers on his moving and impactful journey.

Zalman Newfield is Associate Professor of Sociology and Jewish Studies at Hunter College, City University of New York and the author of Degrees of Separation: Identity Formation While Leaving Ultra-Orthodox Judaism (Temple). Visit him online at zalmannewfield.com.

Caleb Zakarin is CEO and Publisher of the New Books Network.
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Is the home still a site for feminist resistance? In Feminisms and Domesticity in Times of Crisis: The Rise of the Austerity Celebrity Jessica Martin, a Lecturer in Sociology and Social Policy at the University of Leeds, examines the rise of postfeminist celebrities in the era of covid and the cost-of-living crisis. Drawing on 4 case studies, the book demonstrates how much of the seemingly feminist celebrity activism of recent years has reinforced and justified social inequalities. The book explains and contextualises many current media issues, from the ‘trad wife’ and nostalgic gender politics, to the complicated politics of mumsnet, blogging and business coaches. Offering a nuanced account of the possibilities for alternatives, whilst cautioning that even explicitly anti-poverty feminist campaigning is constrained by a reactionary media landscape, the book is essential reading across the humanities and social sciences, as well as for anyone interested in understanding contemporary life.
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How have jobs changed in the last 150 years? In The Division of Rationalized Labor (Harvard UP, 2025) Michelle Jackson, an Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology at Stanford University examines the original theories about the division of labour and explains why many predictions about the future of work did not emerge. Drawing on detailed case studies of medicine, law, education and manufacturing the book charts the intertwined rise of the sciences, the expansion of occupational responsibilities, and the increasing complexity of work. Theorizing the paradox of specialization, alongside detailed empirical analysis, the book is essential reading across the social sciences and for anyone interested in understanding work and occupations today.
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In an age of growing wealth disparities, politicians on both sides of the aisle are sounding the alarm about the fading American Dream. Yet despite all evidence to the contrary, many still view the United States as the land of opportunity. The American Mirage addresses this puzzle by exposing the stark reality of today’s media landscape, revealing how popular entertainment media shapes politics and public opinion in an increasingly news-avoiding nation. Drawing on an eclectic array of original data, Dr. Eunji Kim demonstrates how, amid a dazzling array of media choices, many Americans simply are not consuming the news.

Instead, millions flock to entertainment programs that showcase real-life success stories, such as American Idol, Shark Tank, and MasterChef. Dr. Kim examines how shows like these leave viewers confoundingly optimistic about the prospects of upward mobility, promoting a false narrative of rugged individualism and meritocracy that contradicts what is being reported in the news. By taking seriously what people casually watch every day, The American Mirage shows how rags-to-riches programs perpetuate the myth of the American Dream, glorifying the economic winners, fostering tolerance for income inequality, and dampening support for redistributive policies that could improve people’s lives.

Our guest is: Dr. Eunji Kim, who is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. As a political communication scholar, she primarily studies the impact of media content on mass attitudes and political behavior. She is the author of The American Mirage: How Reality TV Upholds the Myth of Meritocracy. Her research explores a range of topics, and has been published in many leading journals including the American Political Science Review, American Journal of Political Science, Journal of Politics, and Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Our host is: Dr. Christina Gessler, who is a writing coach and editor for academics. She is the creator and producer of the Academic Life podcast, and writes the show’s newsletter at ChristinaGessler.Substack.com.

Playlist for listeners:

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Welcome to Academic Life, the podcast for your academic journey—and beyond! Please join us again to learn from more experts inside and outside the academy, and around the world. Missed any of the 300+ Academic Life episodes? Find them here. And thank you for listening!
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Marxists have an obvious interest in understanding social movements. Less obvious, even with the voluminous theoretical archives at hand, is how to pull their various forms together into a cohesive theory of collective action. While one can see images on the news of strikes, riots, protests, coups, and uprisings, and draw occasional connections between them, turning this vast array of phenomena into a cohesive theory that can be built upon remains a challenge, but it's one my guests today, Augustin Santella and Adrian Piva have risen to. Assembling a number of essays from scholars from all over the world, their book, Marxism, Social Movements and Collective Action (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023) tries to understand the various forms collective struggle can take, all the while chasing the underlying logic that might unite them. While the book will not be the final word on the topic, its essays will prove rich resources for those looking for both empirical examples and philosophical speculations on the nature of collective struggle.

Augustin Santella and Adrian Piva are both professors at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina.
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