Free Britney? Better to Reform Conservatorship.

February 12, 2021March 3, 2021 avbarnardLeave a comment

Thanks to a wave of recent publicity, the “Free Britney Spears” movement is creating momentum to free some of the 1.3 million Americans under legal guardianship. Guardianships—or “conservatorships” in California—allow a court to designate a third party to control someone’s finances, make medical decisions on their behalf, and decide where they live; the ACLU calls the “greatest deprivation of… Continue reading Free Britney? Better to Reform Conservatorship.

Teaching in the Time of Corona

March 17, 2020March 18, 2020 avbarnardLeave a comment

NYU just gave our students 48 hours to clear out of the dorms and head “home” (with a “high bar” for “exceptions”) and I, somehow, decided this was the right time to send out an e-mail laying out my plans for the rest of the semester. Perhaps naively, I told my students that my goal… Continue reading Teaching in the Time of Corona

Brief on SB 1045

May 13, 2019May 13, 2019 avbarnardLeave a comment

The debate over SB 1045 could use more research and data beyond a few much-cited statistics (like the number of people leaving PES without a referral or the lack of spots in intensive case management). This brief is based on research conducted over 18 months on long-term care and conservatorship in California. With a group… Continue reading Brief on SB 1045

The Shame(lessness) of the States

October 15, 2018 avbarnardLeave a comment

Thank god for scientology. Or, more specifically, the “Commission des Citoyens pour les Droits de l’Hommes,” a front organization for the church dedicated to denouncing the “human rights violations” of French psychiatry. Their broad-brush condemnation of medication is probably unhelpful. But they are, as far as I can tell, the only group that has put… Continue reading The Shame(lessness) of the States

“How many black authors do I need?”

July 17, 2018November 25, 2018 avbarnardLeave a comment

The title of this blog post is a reference to Mario Small’s oft-cited paper, “How Many Cases Do I Need?”, on sampling in qualitative research. His title, I think, is a play on the fact that most qualitative researchers don’t actually want to think about sampling in qualitative research. As such, we usually respond in… Continue reading “How many black authors do I need?”

Getting Help

June 8, 2018August 10, 2018 avbarnardLeave a comment

My twitter and facebook feeds are lighting up: if you need help, call 1-800-273-8255 (The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline). Reach out—you’d be amazed how many people have struggled too. And, in time, get (professional) help—it helps. That last bit should come with an asterix. I’ve been struck lately by the narratives I’ve read—from this piece… Continue reading Getting Help

Vladimir

December 21, 2017December 21, 2017 avbarnardLeave a comment

I was Vladimir Lenin for Halloween in 2002. I have absolutely no recollection as to why—I’m pretty sure I leaned liberal democrat at the time, of the sort that Lenin might call a “petty bourgeois philistine”, and not revolutionary communist. But it seems important because, apparently, I knew who Vladimir Lenin was when I was… Continue reading Vladimir

TA (Teaching Anxiety)

November 11, 2017December 1, 2017 avbarnardLeave a comment

My students are anxious, and they’re not making it up. A meta-analysis of surveys found that one-third of college students met criteria for a mood disorder, with higher rates among women, first generation college students, and racial minorities. Since many of my students are all three, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that a half-dozen… Continue reading TA (Teaching Anxiety)

Sociology, floating in the ether

October 27, 2017 avbarnard4 Comments

To my surprise, there is scattered evidence that people are reading my book. It makes me uncomfortable – that perhaps, somewhere, a graduate seminar is trashing it, someone is posting a takedown on goodreads, etc. But since I’ve largely assumed that my book was rapidly consigned to the intellectual dustheap – appropriate, for a book… Continue reading Sociology, floating in the ether

Asylum

July 6, 2017 avbarnardLeave a comment

A few weeks ago, I stepped off the metro at Glacière in Paris’s 14th arrondisement and walked into Sainte Anne’s hospital, where I had spent the better part of my fieldwork last year. It felt good to be back in a psychiatric hospital as an observer, not a patient. Walking through the gate was just… Continue reading Asylum

Alex V. Barnard – Sociology

"…one part kill-joy, one part accomplice in Utopia…" – Pierre Bourdieu