Murray Milner Jr. (1935–2019) was a Professor Emeritus of Sociology at the University of Virginia and a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture. His books included the influential Freaks, Geeks, and Cool Kids, among many others.
Should we be as concerned about equality of outcomes as we are about equality of opportunity?
How do the youth cultures of these two settings differ?
How is contemporary celebrity culture similar to or different from other status systems?
Recognizing frailty is a useful place to begin, but it has a severe limitation as a basis for either explaining or defending human rights.
“Normal” intimate relationships for teenagers have shifted toward a more explicit instrumentalism.
Have teenage friendships become more instrumental?
The greater the gap students must overcome, the less likely their expressed expectations are likely to be fulfilled.
Tests lower student morale and make them more cynical about the educational process.
New digital technologies are creating new forms of social invisibility and changing the nature of postmodern culture.
Teenagers have multiple motivations for their use of social media, but a concern about their status with other peers is certainly central—and social visibility is a prerequisite to such status.
Within the literature on elites, status tends to be relatively ignored or neglected in favor of economic and political power.
“My word is my bond,” business “done with a handshake,” and “honor codes” are not even the rhetoric of the day, much less the reality.