(C) 2001 The Edwardsville Journal of Sociology, Volume 1

Editor's Introduction

I am delighted to present the inaugural volume of the Edwardsville Journal of Sociology (ejs). The journal is designed to be an electronic repository for some of the great scholarly work by both students and faculty here in the Department of Sociology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE). The journal's contents are principally both by and for these two groups, but we also hope that the journal reaches a wider audience, as surely it will as the electronic frontier expands across the globe. My hope is that the journal will continue to be an annual for many years to come.

ejs is a quasi peer-reviewed and refereed journal, thereby drawing upon the expertise of the faculty in our department and providing readers with more sophisticated and trenchant sociological analyses. Surely, if only for the purpose of helping sustain discourse within local communities of scholars, there is room for a locally-based distribution of scholarly sociological analysis that does not necessarily follow the traditional journal format. ejs endeavors to publish commentaries, reflective essays, observational papers, as well as original research and theory articles. We also publish a "Q and A" piece with a SIUE faculty member. This feature focuses on the professor's work in the areas of scholarship, teaching, and service. As you will see, ejs is open to publishing a wide range of sociological analysis in a wide array of forms.

This inaugural volume of ejs reflects the vitality and breadth of analysis found in the discipline of sociology.

The lead article in this volume, written by Bob Blain, tells The Story of the Information Chain Theory, a most sophisticated and humanist macrosociological theory. Bob walks us through some of the major challenges as well as triumphs he has experienced in the process of writing and working on his life-long creation. He also provides readers with an amazingly thorough annotated bibliography of works related to his theory. This is a "must have" for students of macrosociology. Print it out, read it, and keep it filed for future reference!

The second piece, authored by Mark Hedley, is titled The Green Vote 2000: Unintended Consequences of Praxis. Mark's reflective essay frames the 2000 Presidential election within the Gramscian notion of hegemony. He argues that while progressivism in politics may seem to be the loser in 2000, there is at least some hope that the exposure of borderline criminal, but surely unjust procedures and policies during the election may serve to galvanize progressive groups in the end. His strong but cautious conclusions provide much food for thought.

Our third contribution is a most excellent question and answer session with Professor Jennifer Hamer, a well-known author, activist, and teacher here at SIUE and beyond. I start the piece with a brief review of her new book, What it Means to Be Daddy: Fatherhood for Black Men Living Away from Their Children (2001, Columbia University Press). Professor Hamer then responds to a number of questions I pose on the relationship between her scholarship, teaching, and service. Her answers have wide ranging implications and relevance to researching, teaching, learning, and living life sociologically.

Our fourth contribution is made by Kathleen Marchioro, and is titled From Sambo to Brute: The Social Construction of African American Masculinity. Kathleen's major thesis is that "historical images of African American males such as the emasculated sambo, or the aggressive brute and buck have been transformed into contemporary images of black men as lazy, or hyper-sexual and hyper-aggressive." An analytical literature review reveals evidence of this transformation.

Alison Crane's compelling reflective essay titled Reflections on Native American Identities completes this volume of ejs. Alison reviews several core issues related to cultural impressions of Native Americans and offers us a unique perspective grounded in her own struggle with Native American identity.

Finally, let me say that this first volume of ejs would not have seen the light of day if it were not for the support of my colleagues and students in the Department of Sociology at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville. Some served as reviewers, some as authors, and some as both! Others just offered warm words of encouragement. Thanks again!

I hope to publish the second volume of ejs in April of 2002. Let me know if you are interested in making a contribution to that volume. In the meantime, I hope you find the articles in this inaugural volume of ejs stimulating and compelling.

David Kauzlarich, Editor dkauzla@siue.edu

April 9, 2001