Summary
Highly respected for its quality scholarship and its focused, straightforward approach, Sociology: The Core covers the core sociological concepts with a brief, accessible presentation and at a very affordable price. As in previous editions, the functionalist, conflict, and interactionist perspectives are applied throughout the book, allowing students to develop a solid understanding of the major sociological perspectives and their applications to the topics covered. Completely updated, Sociology: The Core makes sociology come alive as a vital and exciting field, relates principles to real-world circumstances, and attunes students to the dynamic processes of our rapidly changing contemporary society.
Table of Contents
List of Boxes
Preface
Acknowledgements
Visual Preview
Chapter One: Developing a Sociological Consciousness
The Sociological Perspective
New Levels of Reality
The Sociological Imagination
Microsociology and Macrosociology
The Development of Sociology
Auguste Comte: The Founder of Sociology
Harriet Martineau: Feminist and Methodologist
Herbert Spencer and Social Darwinism
Karl Marx: The Role of Class Conflict
Emile Durkheim: Social Integration and Social Facts
Max Weber: Subjectivity and Social Organization
American Sociology
Contemporary Sociology
Theoretical Perspectives
The Functionalist Perspective
The Conflict Perspective
The Interactionist Perspective
Using the Three Perspectives
Conducting Research
The Logic of Science
How Do Sociologists Collect Data?
Steps in the Scientific Method: A Close-Up Look
Research Ethics
The Chapter in Brief
Glossary
Internet Connection
Box 1.1: Social Inequalities: Tallys Corner in the 21st Century
Box 1.2 Doing Social Research: Studying Global Inequality Right Here at Home
Chapter Two: Culture and Social Structure
Components of Culture
Norms
Values
Symbols and Language
Cultural Unity and Diversity
Cultural Universals
Cultural Integration
Ethnocentrism
Cultural Relativism
Subcultures and Countercultures
Social Structure
Statuses
Roles
Groups
Institutions
Societies
The Chapter in Brief
Glossary
Internet Connection
(NEW) Box 2.1 Doing Social Research: Is Culture Unique to Humans?
(New) Box 2.2 Sociology around the World: Is Today Tuesday? That Depends on Culture
Chapter Three: Socialization
Foundations for Socialization
Nature and Nurture
Theories of Socialization
Agents of Socialization
Social Communication
Definition of the Situation
The Self and Socialization
Charles Horton Cooley: The Looking Glass Self
George Herbert Mead: The Generalized Other
Erving Goffman: Impression Management
Socialization across the Life Course
Childhood
Adolescence
Young Adulthood
Middle Adulthood
Later Adulthood
Death
The Chapter in Brief
Glossary
Internet Connection
(New) Box 3.1 Doing Social Research: Does High School Identity Affect Your Adult Life?
(New) Box 3.2 Sociology Around the World: What Makes You an Adult?
Chapter Four: Social groups and Formal Organizations
Group Relationships
Primary Groups and Secondary Groups
In-Groups and Out-Groups
Reference Groups
Group Dynamics
Group Size
Leadership
Social Loafing
Social Dilemmas
Groupthink
Conformity
Formal Organizations
Types of Formal Organizations
Bureaucracy: A Functional Approach to Organizations
Characteristics of Bureaucracies
Problems of Bureaucracy
Conflict and Interactionist Perspectives
Humanizing Bureaucracies
The Chapter in Brief
Glossary
Internet Connection
Box 4.1 Social Inequalities: What Does Bias Come From?Sometimes, Almost Nothing
Box 4.2 Students Doing Sociology: Compete or Cooperate? The Prisoners Dilemma
(New) Box. 4.3 Doing Social Research: Reality TV and Conformity: The Experiment
Chapter Five: Deviance and Crime
The Nature of Deviance
Social Properties of Deviance
Social Control and Deviance
Theories of Deviance
Anomie Theory
Cultural Transmission Theory
Conflict Theory
Labeling Theory
Control Theory
Crime and the Criminal Justice System
Forms of Crime
Measuring Crime
Drugs and Crime
Women and Crime
The Criminal Justice System
The Chapter in Brief
Glossary
Internet Connection
Box 5.1 Students Doing Sociology: Hay, Baby, Want Some Spit? The Social Construction of Deviance
Box 5.2 Doing Social Research: Drink 'til Your Sick: What Explains Binge Drinking?
Box 5.3 Social Inequalities: Race, Crime, and Punishment
Chapter Six: Social Stratification
Patterns of Social Stratification
Open and Closed Systems
Dimensions of Stratification
The American Class System
Is There Inequality in American Society?
Identifying Social Classes
The Significance of Social Classes
Poverty in the United States
Social Mobility
Forms of Social Mobility
Social Mobility and Status Attainment
What Is Happening to the American Dream?
Explanations of Social Stratification
The Functionalist Theory of Stratification
The Conflict Theory of Stratification
A Synthesis of Perspectives
The Chapter in Brief
Glossary
Internet Connection
Box 6.1 Sociology around in the World: Is Race the Basis for an American Caste System?
Box 6.2 Doing Social Research: Income Inequality within Societies: A Look around the World
Box 6.3 Social Inequalities: Why do Doctors Deliver Babies?
Chapter Seven: Inequalities of Race and Ethnicity
Racial and Ethnic Stratification
Races
Ethnic Groups
Minority Groups
Prejudice and Discrimination
Prejudice
Discrimination
Institutional Discrimination
Patterns of Intergroup Relations: Assimilation and Pluralism
Assimilation
Pluralism
Racial and Ethnic Groups in the United States
Hispanics/Latinos
African Americans
Native Americans
Asian Americans
White Ethnics
Sociological Perspectives on Inequalities of Race and Ethnicity
The Functionalist Perspective
The Conflict Perspective
The Interactionist Perspective
The Future of Ethnic and Minority Group Relations
Intergroup Relations
Ethnicity
The Chapter in Brief
Glossary
Internet Connection
Box 7.1 Doing Social Research: Teasing Out Prejudiced Beliefs
Box 7.2 Social Inequality: Affirmative Action Affirmed by High Court
Box 7.3 Sociology around the World: Model Minorities--Does Class or Values Spell Success?
Chapter Eight: Gender Inequality
Gender Stratification
Sexism and Patriarchy
Gender Inequality around the World
Gender Inequality in the United States
The Second Shift
Sources of Gender Differences
Gender and Biology
Gender and Culture
Gender Identities
Sociological Perspectives on Gender Stratification
The Functionalist Perspective
The Conflict Perspective
The Interactionist Perspective
The Feminist Perspective
The Chapter in Brief
Glossary
Internet Connection
Box 8.1 Social Inequalities: For Gender Equality, It Matters Where you Live
Box 8.2 Doing Social Research: How Many People Get Raped?
Box 8.3 Students Doing Sociology: Theres a Totally Cute Girl Smoking a ___ing Cigar!
Chapter Nine: Political and Economic Power
Power, Authority, and the State
The State
Sociological Perspectives on the State
Legitimacy and Authority
Political Power
Types of Government
Political Power in the United States
Models of Power in the United States
Economic Power
Comparative Economic Systems
Transition from a Command to a Market Economy
The Power of Corporations
The Power of National Corporations
The Power of Multinational Corporations in the Global Economy
The Control of Corporations
The Sociology of Work
Changes in the Work Experience
The Significance of Work
Satisfaction and Alienation in Work
The Chapter in Brief
Glossary
Internet Connection
Box 9.1 Social Inequalities: What Oppression Teaches-- The Long Reach of Disenfranchisement
Box 9.2 Doing Social Research: Stealth Democracy
Chapter Ten: The Family
Structure of the Family: A Global View
Forms of the Family
Forms of Marriage
Patterns of Courtship
Marriage and the Family in the United States
Life within Marriage
Parenthood
Two-Income Families
Beyond the Traditional Nuclear Family
Challenges for American Families and American Society
Family Violence, Child Abuse, and Incest
Child Care
Divorce
Care for the Elderly
Sociological Perspectives on the Family
The Functionalist Perspective on the Family
The Conflict Perspective on the Family
The Interactionist Perspective on the Family
The Chapter in Brief
Glossary
Internet Connection
Box 10.1 Sociology around the World: A Wide Variety in Family Values
Box 10.2 Social Inequalities: Family Backgrounds and Unequal Childhoods
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