Contemporary Introduction to Sociology

Culture and Society in Transition
1. Auflage 2008
ISBN: 978-1-59451-270-4
Verlag: Taylor & Francis Ltd

Buch, Englisch, 636 Seiten, Format (B × H): 190 mm x 232 mm, Gewicht: 1102 g

Reihe: The Yale Cultural Sociology Series

It has been decades since a truly new introduction to sociology has appeared-let alone one from two leading sociologists at the cutting edge of theory and research. Alexander and Thompson's is such a text-the first that takes its lead from the cultural turn in social science and how it transforms the recent practice of sociology. Jargon-free, the text reflects the idioms and interests of contemporary American life and global social issues. It invites students to come to terms with their lives within the current world transition - a combustible leap from modern to postmodern life. It shows how culture is central to understanding many world problems as it challenges readers to confront the risks and potentialities of a postmodern era in which the futures of both the physical and social environment seem uncertain.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Alexander, Jeffrey C.

Inhaltsverzeichnis

List of Boxes, Tables, and Figures Preface Part One: What is Sociology Chapter 1: Sociological Stories and Key Concepts* The Individual and the Social* The Sociological Imagination* Society Today: So What's New?* How Do We Understand Today's Social World?* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingChapter 2: Sociological Methods* Some Key Research Terms* Concepts and Theories* Methodology and Methods* Postmodernism, Relativism, and Research Methods* Research in the Future* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingPart Two: Meanings and Media Chapter 3: Cultural Structures* An Individual or a Social Story?* Thinking Sociologically about Culture* Postmodernity, Globalization, and the Cultural Turn* Are Cultures Wholes or Parts?* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingChapter 4: Media and Communication* An Individual or a Social Story?* The Importance of the Mass Media* Keeping Informed: U.S. Public News Habits* The Mass Media: Concepts and History* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingPart Three: Personal Worlds and Identity Chapter 5: Socialization and the Life Cycle* An Individual or a Social Story?* The Paradox of Socialization* The "Self" in History* Creating the Self* Primary Socialization: The Family* Secondary Socialization* Life Stages and the Life Cycle* Emotion Work in Postmodern Life* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingChapter 6: Sexuality* An Individual or a Social Story?* Naturalism versus Constructivism* Beyond Essentialism* Sexuality before Modernity* Modern Sexuality* Polluting Nonprocreative Sex* Sexualizing Nonwhite Races* Underground Sexual Practices* Sexuality in the Postmodern Transition* Historical Developments* The Women's Movement* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingChapter 7: Marriage and the Family* An Individual or a Social Story?* Marriage and Family: The Social Forces of Change* Marriage and the Transition from Modern to Postmodern Society* The Modern Family* The Postmodern Family: Emerging Possibilities* The Conservative Backlash* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingPart Four: Inequalities and Identities Chapter 8: Inequality* An Individual or a Social Story?* Social Stratification* Social Mobility* Beliefs and Attitudes* Inequality: Past, Present, and Future* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingChapter 9: Gender* An Individual or Social Story?* Hardly Fair Play: Gender and Sports* Gender at Work* A Universal Problem: Exploitation and Violence* Everyday Culture and Mass Media* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingChapter 10: Race and Ethnicity* An Individual or a Social Story?* The Social Construction of "Race" and "Ethnicity"* Minority Group Theory* The Great Debate: Origins of the Racial Underclass in America* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingChapter 11: Crime and Deviance* An Individual or a Social Story?* Defining and Describing Deviance and Crime* Theories of Crime and Deviance* The Future of Crime and Deviance in Postmodern Society* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingPart Five: Institutions Chapter 12: Work and the Economy* An Individual or a Social Story?* Structural and Cultural Dimensions of Work and the Economy* Structure of the Economy: Economic Systems* Organization of Work* Conflict and Control* The Cultural Dimension: Values and Attitudes at Work* The Future of Work, Organization, and the Economy* From Modernity to Postmodernity* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingChapter 13: Education* An Individual or a Social Story?* Education and Modernity* Different Perspectives on Education* Education in a Multicultural, Postmodern Society* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingChapter 14: Health and Medicine* An Individual or a Social Story?* Medicine, Structure, and Organization* Social and Cultural Construction of Health and Medicine* Social Structure and Health Care Inequalities* Race, Ethnicity, and Gender* Health and Medicine in the Twenty-First Century* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingChapter 15: Religion* An Individual or a Social Story?* What Is Religion?* Religion, Modernity, and the Secularization Thesis* The American Christian Mosaic* Religion and Cultural Change* Personal Stories and Ethnographies* New Age* Public Religion* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingPart Six: Politics, Globalization, and Social Change Chapter 16: Urbanism and Population* An Individual or a Social Story?* The Growth of Cities* Urban Sociology in the Twentieth Century* The City of the Future: Postmodern Urbanism* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingChapter 17: Politics, Publics, and the State* An Individual or a Social Story?* States and Impersonal Power* Politics and Personal Power* Citizenship, Publics, and the Civil Sphere* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingChapter 18: Social Change, Collective Action, and Social Movements* An Individual or a Social Story?* Industrial Society* Postindustrial Society* Information Society, Globalization, and Social Movements* Globalization* Conclusion* Exercises* Study Questions* Further ReadingBibliography Index Credits