Chris Uggen
@chrisuggen
Professor, sociologist, criminologist, TheSocietyPages editor. Nerdy but sturdy.
Virginia Gov. Spanberger restored voting rights to ~66,000 with past felony convictions — just as we stepped to the podium at Friday's Civic Power convening in Richmond. In November, Virginians will vote on an automatic voting rights restoration referendum. democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...
Sunday Serenity. I was a blissed out second-year grad student on top of the world. The wee lad soon grew to 6’6”.
Q: Who Got the Guggenheims (and Other Prestigious Fellowships), 1925-2025? A: Folks in "the highest-status and best-resourced colleges in the US." -Dominique J. Baker & Christopher T. Bennett, new in @publicbooks.bsky.social www.publicbooks.org/who-gets-gug...
Meet NoMark, the Minnesota campus superhero whose power “lies less in his personally stopping or solving crimes than encouraging his fans to shrug off their bystander malaise and take more responsibility for their community’s well-being.” www.startribune.com/nomark-is-mi...
A nice anecdote — and a rare inverse compliment sandwich — from Chris Sims' NYT obituary regarding his "friendly, bantering relationship" with former UMN colleague Tom Sargent. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/17/b...
New! How homicide changed in Minnesota’s Twin Cities after the police murder of George Floyd. Check out @ryanplarson.bsky.com’s thread (and data viz) and/or our team’s new article in J of Quant Crim.
Social Indicators of the Surge — Labor Edition @aaronsojourner.org & @aaronrosenthal.bsky.social show how the DHS surge reduced the # of employees working, hours worked, and # of businesses open in Mpls-Saint Paul, costing an estimated $106 million in lost wages. northstarpolicy.org/labor-outcom...
New! Poll shows that ICE tactics are deeply unpopular here in Minnesota — and that clear majorities blame the Trump administration for the violence and unrest, rather than state and local leaders or protesters and observers. [Gift link] www.startribune.com/poll-trumps-...
2/3 ...“What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace, Love And Understanding.” The first verse speaks to love, warmth and community in 2026 just as it did in 2013 and in the 1980s. I interviewed the band around the time it was released and they were absolutely *cooking* in live shows...
The national headlines describe “fear” in Minnesota, but here on the ground it feels more like anger and resolve in the face of betrayal and intimidation. We’re “hunkering down,” not cowering, in the face of this long, cold, brutal winter. www.minnpost.com/community-vo...
Minnesotans have apparently won more Winter Olympic medals (103) than folks from any other state (because, well, winter). It may feel bittersweet when our locals step to the podium for the USA in Milano-Cortina, but I'm hoping it's a unifying moment for all of us back home in the dark winter of '26.
Juvenile Arrest as a Life Course Trap: Being arrested as a juvenile is associated with a 20-30 percentage-point drop in the likelihood of graduating from a 4-year college. -Garrett Baker, David Kirk, & Rob Sampson, new in SocIology of Education journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10....
Many have now seen the casual brutality of masked federal agents in Minnesota. But we're also seeing casual intimidation and surveillance [via plate #s] of folks giving rides, food or aid. An unknown agent followed a mom I know into a mall parking lot. “Go home to your children, Samantha,” he said.
I'm giving my Minnesota students some space this week, but here's a 2-slide small group version I may try later in the term. -Slide 1 would precede the group discussion (without underlining or color-coding). -After the groups report back, Slide 2 could be shown as one set of possible answers.
National experts ask, "Why won't the Minneapolis Police Dept. provide basic crowd control, coordination, cover, or cooperation for federal agents?" They can't. The feds sent 3000 agents here, or 5X as many officers as MPD and equal to the 10 largest metro depts. www.startribune.com/how-ice-numb...
We're mourning yet again in Minnesota — and struggling to square the gut-churning video of Alex Pretti's final moments with official accounts. I'm teaching techniques of neutralization this term, so I made this quick slide on the DHS statement. Share if it's useful. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/us...
Social Indicators of the Siege on Minnesota: A huge spike in the number and rate of detainees challenging their arrests in court — and many of them are winning. www.startribune.com/wrongful-det...
In "The Leniency of Low Expectations: Parental Incarceration, Race, and Teachers’ Evaluations," @erinjmccauley.bsky.social's survey experiment shows that teachers grade less rigorously if they think a student has an incarcerated parent. -New in Am J Sociol. www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/epdf/10....
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had walked the moon that year, but Minnesota kids were more impressed by Balloon Boy Ricky Snyder's solo flight from the Vikings game to the Minnesota River. Legend.
New! Participatory research study in a women's prison tests for effects of inside/incarcerated v. outside/university interviewers. Responses were similar but some trust & confidentiality concerns arose with insiders. -Kevin Wright, Jacob Young & Alexis Klemm in JoEC link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Time Series Chart of the Day: Bitcoin Price and "Wrench Attacks" [gift article] www.nytimes.com/2025/11/17/b...
The News is Grim Across the Board but www.presspubs.com/white_bear/n...
Doug's been working out! Happy Halloween from Luna, Tianhe, Sara the Purple Line, Tatum, Mallory, Chris, Dougie Balboa, Jake the Stormtrooper, and all your friends @thesocietypages.bsky.social