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Nash.maintext.vol001.003.html (fwd)
Bob Gardner (bgardner@STMARYS-CA.EDU)
Sat, 26 Oct 1996 02:50:51 -0700
Brad Nash has a list which I am forwarding. I have not checked it
recently so I would suggest that you check out his site again for updates.
_____________________________________________________________________________
Robert M. Gardner
St. Mary's College of California
Moraga, CA 94575
(510) 631-4187
______________________________________________________________________________
SOCIOLOGY RESOURCES ON THE INTERNET:
AN INTRODUCTORY OVERVIEW
Bradley Nash, Jr.
Department of Sociology
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Blacksburg, Virginia USA
Phone: 540-231-6878
INTERNET: bnash@vt.edu
INTRODUCTION
(1) The Internet, the worldwide network of computer networks, is
rapidly transforming the production, consumption, and distribution of
knowledge and information. Not only is information made available in
differing electronic formats and through differing network
applications, it is expanding at a most prodigious rate in terms of
content. Further, much of the latest research, sociological and
otherwise, now finds its way onto the Internet long before it reaches
print or other traditional media. Ultimately, then, the ubiquitous
nature and exponential growth of electronic networking, coupled with
its research relevance, has made coming to terms with the Internet and
its resources a most pressing and necessary task for all academics.
(2) The purpose of this document is to provide an introductory
overview of selected resources available on the Internet that may be
of general interest to sociologists and related social scientists.
This is by no means a comprehensive listing of all sociology resources
on the Internet. Such a project would be impracticable for two
reasons. First, definitional problems regarding precise disciplinary
boundaries and the relevance of particular resources would be quite
difficult to satisfactorily resolve once and for all. Second, even if
a definitional consensus could be reached, the Internet's enormity and
constantly changing nature would render the development of a
definitive and comprehensive listing impossible.
(3) The above caveats in mind, I do feel that this overview covers
many of the best sociology resources presently available on the
Internet. While the influence of my own biases are unavoidable, I have
nonetheless tried to judge and incorporate resources in terms of their
general research utility and in terms of their appeal to the broadest
array of sociological practitioners. Overall, it is hoped that this
document will in some way serve as a useful starting point for those
sociologists new to electronic networking as well as those more
experienced in navigating cyberspace.
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ELECTRONIC FORUMS
(4) Also called "listservs", electronic forums are discussion groups
that utilize electronic mail programs. Once subscribed to a listserv,
the individual is placed on a mailing list in which they receive
e-mail messages from others on the Internet interested in the same
subject or issue. The individual can then send their own e-mail
message for distribution to the entire list, they can privately reply
to specific others on the list, and/or they can simply be a "lurker"
on the list (i.e. follow the discussion without participating).
(5) To subscribe to the selected listservs below, send an e-mail
message to the address listed after the listname. The text of the
message usually requires four words only: Sub Listname First-name
Last-name (some systems may require "subscribe" or "sign-on" instead
of "sub"). Once you have been added to a listserv, you should receive
a fairly lengthy message that describes the group, lists various
options and commands, and, most importantly, tells you how to
unsubscribe from the group.
* ABSLST-L (Association of Black Sociologists):
Listserv@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu
* AFROAM (African-American Studies): Listserv@harvada.bitnet
* ANTHRO-L (Anthropology): Listserv@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu
* CJUST-L (Criminal Justice): Listserv@iubvm.ucs.indiana.edu
* FAMILYSCI (Family Studies): Listserv@ukcc.uky.edu
* FEMISA (Women in the Global Economy): Listserv@mach1.wlu.edu
* FOUCAULT (Work of Michel Foucault):
Majordomo@lists.village.virginia.edu
* GLQSOC-L (Gay/Lesbian Studies): Listserv@bingvmb.cc.binghamtom.edu
* MARXISM (Work of Karl Marx): Majordomo@lists.village.virginia.edu
* METHODS (Research Methodology): Listserv@comserv.vm.its.edu
* POR (Public Opinion Research): Listserv@gibbs.oit.unc.edu
* PPN (Progressive Population Network): Listserv@csf.colorado.edu
* PSN (Progressive Sociologists Network): Listserv@csf.colorado.edu
* REVS (Racial-Ethnic Violence/Discrimination):
Listserv@csf.colorado.edu
* RURALDEV (Rural Development): Listserv@ksuvm.bitnet
* RURSOC-L (Rural Sociology): Listserv@ukcc.uky.edu
* SOCGRAD (Sociology Graduate Students): Listserv@ucsd.edu
* SOCIAL-THEORY (Social Psychology; Theory): Mailbase@mailbase.ac.uk
* SOCIOLOGY (General Issues): Listserv@think.net
* SOCORG-K (Social Organization of Knowledge):
Listserv@vm.utcc.utoronto.ca
* SOS-DATA (Social Science Data Sources): Listserv@unc.edu
* TECGRP-L (Technology and Social Behavior): Listserv@psuvm.psu.edu
* WMST-L (Women's Studies): Listserv@umdd.umd.edu
* WSN (World Systems Network): Listerv@csf.colorado.edu
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GOPHERS
(6) The Gopher program was invented at the University of Minnesota,
home of the Golden Gophers, in 1991. Gopher organizes Internet
information resources into a standardized format that helps to
simplify network navigation. Specifically, the user is presented with
a menu or listing of information resources from which to choose. These
items can be located on a local network or on a computer elsewhere on
the Internet. Once an item is selected, the Gopher program on your
personal computer "goes for it", retrieving a file or establishing a
connection with a remote computer. The same basic commands that you
use on your local system will generally work for other Internet Gopher
systems across the world, thus allowing you to surf cyberspace in a
relatively easy manner.
(7) To access the resources below, you will have to Gopher to the
Internet address listed. Though the precise manner of doing this will
vary across different computer systems and platforms, it will
generally involve entering the Internet address listed.
(8) Coombsquest: Located at Australian National University, this
server has a social sciences data bank and links to a variety of
resources worldwide. It also archives a large number of publications
and research papers pertaining to Asian and Pacific studies. Gopher
to: coombs.anu.edu.au, port 70
(9) Economic Democracy Information Network (EDIN): This site contains
articles, research notes, course syllabi, and links to a variety of
other sources with information of relevance to sociologists. Topics
covered include: labor issues; race and racism; international economy;
gender; and sexuality. Gopher to: garnet.berkeley.edu, port 1250
(10) Florida State University Population Center: This resource
provides working papers, abstracts, data, software, news items,
related links and more in the area of demography. Once connected to
FSU's main gopher, "burrow" or follow menus to "Information Centers at
FSU". Gopher to: gopher.fsu.edu 70
(11) Global Democracy Network: Makes available information and
research pertaining to human rights, development, indigenous peoples,
etc. Gopher to: gopher.gdn.org 70
(12) Latin American Network Information Center: Provides information
on Latin America as well as information from Latin American scholars.
Gopher to: lanic.utexas.edu
(13) Progressive Sociologists Network (PSN): Contains archives of
previous listserv discussions, working papers, syllabi, etc. Also
links to the extensive Marx/Engels On-Line Library. Gopher to: gopher
csf.colrado.edu 70
(14) U.S. Bureau of the Census Gopher: Get documents, publications,
press releases, and population data straight from the source. Gopher
to: gopher.census.gov, port 70
(15) U.S. Department of Justice Gopher: Get documents, publications,
press releases and crime statistics straight from the source. Gopher
to: justice2.usdoj.gov, port 70
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NEWSGROUPS
(16) Newsgroups are electronic bulletin boards whereby people can
electronically post questions, opinions, and even articles to the
Internet at large. In a sense, newsgroups are similar to listservs in
that people from all over the network can discuss issues of interest.
However, newsgroups differ from listservs in that the former typically
utilizes a computer program that is separate from most e-mail
applications. There are literally thousands of newsgroups on the
Internet worldwide. Some that may be of relevance to sociologists
include:
* alt.activism
* alt.culture.theory
* alt.feminism
* alt.postmodern
* alt.sci.sociology
* sci.anthropology
* sci.chaos
* sci.psychology
* soc.culture.scientists
* soc.gender.issues
* talk.politics.theory
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WORLD WIDE WEB
(17) On the electronic networking frontier, the World Wide Web (WWW)
integrates Internet computers into a seamless web by using hypertext
and other hypermedia (e.g. graphics, sound and video). WWW supersedes
most other Internet applications, allowing access to information via
Gopher, newsgroups, e-mail, FTP, and telnet, as well as to resources
unique to the WWW. Access requires a WWW browser program, such as
Netscape or Mosaic.
(18)To access WWW sites, you need to have the Internet address or URL
(Uniform Resource Locator) that tells you where the resource is
located. In most cases, your WWW browser will have a command that
states open location or something similar. It is here that the URL
will be needed. Some useful WWW starting points for sociologists
include:
(19) Coombsweb-ANU Social Sciences Server: Like the Coombsquest Gopher
(see above), this resource from the Australian National University
provides a social sciences research data bank and links to a variety
of resources worldwide. It also archives a large number of
publications and research papers pertaining to Asian and Pacific
studies. The URL is: http://coombs.anu.edu.au/CoombsHome.html
(20) CTheory: Sponsored by the Canadian Journal of Political and
Social Theory, this electronic journal publishes a wide array of
articles pertaining to postmodernism, feminism, theory and culture.
The URL is: http://english-www.hss.cmu.edu/ctheory/ctheory.html
(21) Electronic Journal of Sociology: The EJS is a refereed electronic
journal that publishes articles, working papers, and research notes on
sociological issues pertaining to networked communications as well as
to topics of general disciplinary interest. The URL is:
http://gpu1.srv.ualberta.ca:8010/home1.htm
(22) European Sociological Association: The home page for the ESA
provides newsletters and conference information, as well as papers and
information pertaining to selected research groups. The URL is:
http://www.qub.ac.uk/socsci/miller/esaintro.html
(23) Institute of Social Science: From the University of Tokyo, this
resource provides information on conferences and seminars relating to
the study of Japan, as well as access to the on-line newsletter,
Social Science Japan. The URL is: http://www.iss.u-tokyo.ac.jp
(24) Research Engines for the Social Sciences: A broad index with
links to a variety of social science resources and data archives. A
good starting point for those who want to see what is out in
cyberspace with regard to the social sciences. The URL is:
http://www/carleton.ca/~cmckie/research.html
(25) Social Science Information Gateway: This resource from the United
Kingdom provides a broad spectrum of information relating to the
social sciences, such as information pertaining to research funding,
jobs, and a variety of links to other WWW resources across Europe and
worldwide. The URL is: http://sosig.esrc.bris.ac.uk
(26) Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction: At this site you
can obtain organizational and membership information about the SSSI,
as well as course syllabi, debates and commentary, SI-related papers,
and more. The URL is: http://sun.soci.niu.edu/~sssi
(27) Sociology Page (at Yahoo): This resource has links to sociology
Gophers, research tools, etc. There are also connections to sociology
departments, providing information on graduate programs, faculty and
course offerings. The URL is:
http://www.yahoo.com/social_science/sociology/
(28) WWW Virtual Library Sociology Index: This is another broad index
with links to sociology departments, data archives, electronic
journals and much, much more. The URL is: http://www.w3.org/hypertext/
DataSources/bySubject/Sociology/Overview.html
(29) WSN: The World-Systems Electronic Conferencing Network: The WSN
page provides archives for the world systems listserv, access to the
electronic Journal of World Systems Research, and much more. The URL
is: http://csf.colorado.edu:80/wsystems/
(30) Yahoo: Currently one of the best WWW starting points available,
for sociologists and non-practitioners alike. It presently indexes
nearly 50,000 Internet sites. It is arranged by topic and updated
daily. The URL is: http://www.yahoo.com
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