newssmith-1998-winter-1-1068×1200-min

Foreign Particles and Tricky Theories

By Jan McCoy Ebbets

It’s the second week of the term at Smith College. Marc Steinberg, associate professor of sociology, is spinning about his classroom, a custom-made “(Not So) Hard Theory Cafe” cap cocked on the side of his head, an ill-fitting lab coat draped over his T-shirt and blue jeans. He’s trying to impress upon his  sociology students the importance of epistemology as they approach the study of theory.

But, you ask, why the lab coat and baseball hat?