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Sociology for a New Century
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Sociology for a New Century



March 2001 | 640 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc
· Written with the conviction that sociology can play a major role (perhaps THE major role) in helping college students understand how their lives are shaped by the complexities of global social forces in our new century. · Helps students develop an approach to thinking about social issues and evaluating claims and arguments that they can use long after the course has ended. · Reflects the following qualities from the sociological tradition: a commitment to the principles of scientific investigation, a deep concern for social issues and human welfare, and a macro approach that takes account of history, geography, and relations between the societies and regions of the globe. · Strives less to introduce sociology, and more to demonstrate the power and value of thinking sociologically about societies today. · Centers on a small number of organizing themes and principles, introduced in Chapter 1 and used throughout the remainder of the text (see detailed table of contents). · Contains 16 chapters and 7 topical essays interspersed between Chapters 1-10. The first 10 chapters are the core foundation of the text. Chapters 11-15 apply sociological thinking to a series of significant global issues including war, work, health, and population growth. Chapter 16 brings the text to a close with a discussion of how individuals and organizations can create positive change in the world. · Written to help teach the process of investigation, the sociological craft of research, critical thinking, and careful analysis. Rather than presenting students with answers, the core Chapters 1-10 are each organized around a specific question or problem selected for its interest to students as well as its importance to the U.S. and the world (see table of contents). Thus, sociological terms and concepts are introduced as they become relevant to the analysis --never for their own sake. · The Topical Essays broaden the coverage of issues and diversity of viewpoints in the text, while the book maintains its overall thematic coherence. Most essays are written by leading scholars and researchers in sociology, save one essayist who is an undergraduate student (Tracey Dawson) and one, a cartoonist (Nick Rutter) who has illustrated Gay Seidman's essay on Sweatshops and Chapters 11-16. · Active Learning Exercises extend and reinforce the emphasis on critical thinking throughout the book. · A Web Site specifically devoted to Sociology For a New Century provides many helpful ways students can strengthen their ability to think and see sociologically. · A Sociological Atlas in the back of the book provides 32 four-color maps of global, sociological information as well as a wealth of web sites and other information resources. · Graphical Displays of Social Data and informative Photographs and Cartoons throughout the chapters make learning easier and more fun. · Teaching Resources, available upon adoption of the text, contains an excellent set of various tests, and an annotated set of literary and visual resources, in addition to an annotated bibliography of teaching resource materials.

 
Graphics
 
Preface
Y.W. Bradshaw
1. A Global View of Society. How Can Sociology Help Us Understanding Global Trends
The Interconnected World

 
Sociology's Contribution to Understanding Global Issues

 
A Global Perspective

 
The Book's Themes: Global Trends

 
A Look Forward

 
Key Concepts

 
Active Learning

 
Topical Essay. My Personal Journey to a Global Perspective

T.J. Dawson
J.F. Healey
2. Sociology and Society. How Does Sociological Theory Help Us Interpret the World
The Origins of Sociology

 
The Sociological Perspective

 
The Continuing Relevance of Marx, Weber, and Durkheim

 
Conclusion

 
Key Concepts

 
Active Learning

 
Topical Essay. The Globalization of Taste

N. Hart
J.F. Healey
3. Sociology and Science. How Do Sociologists Investigate Questions about Society?
Using Science to Examine a Social Problem: Is American Society Disintegrating?

 
Approaching the Problem: The Scientific Method

 
Gathering Data

 
Conclusion

 
Key Concepts

 
Active Learning

 
J.F. Healey
4. Culture and Society. Can Local Culture Coexist with Global Culture?
A Sociological Perspective on Culture

 
Culture and Community

 
Elements of Culture

 
The Construction of Culture

 
Culture Change

 
The Globalization of Culture

 
Conclusion

 
Key Concepts

 
Active Learning

 
Topical Essay. How Culture Shapes Schooling

S. Brint
Topical Essay. Loal Gods and Universal Faiths

L.R. Kurtz
J.F. Healey
5. Inequality. Are the Rich Getting Richer and the Poor Getting Poorer?
Sociological Perspective on Inequality

 
The Evolution of Inequality

 
Increasing Inequality in the United States

 
Inequality around the Globe

 
Conclusion

 
Key Concepts

 
Active Learning

 
J.F. Healey
6. Assimilation and Pluralism. Will Racial and Ethnic Groups Persist?
Global Species Consolidation: Analyzing Race and Ethnicity

 
Social Relations in a Differentiated World

 
Contact Situations: Conquest and Colonization

 
Contact Situations: Immigration

 
Conclusion

 
Key Concepts

 
Active Learning

 
P. Fernandez-Kelly & K.M. Fallon
7. Gender. How Is Globalization Affecting Inequalities between Women and Men?
Sociological Perspectives on Gender Relations

 
Gender Inequality Today: A Global Concern

 
Gender in Comparative Perspective

 
Conclusion

 
Key Concepts

 
Active Learning

 
Topical Essay. Sex as a Global Commodity

J. Nagel
D. Lye and Y.W. Bradshaw
8. Families. What Is Happening to Families in a Changing World?
A Sociological Approach to the Family

 
Recent Trends in Family Life

 
The Causes of Family Change

 
The Conseuquences of Family Change

 
Conclusion

 
Key Concepts

 
Active Learning

 
J.F. Healey
9. Crime and Punishment. Can Crime be Controlled?
Defining and Measuring Crime

 
Theorizing about the Causes of Crime

 
Controlling Crime

 
Conclusion

 
Key Concepts

 
Active Learning

 
J. Markoff
10. Economics and Politics. Does Democracy Have a Future?
The Rise of the Modern State

 
Globalization and the State, Yesterday and Today

 
Challenges to the Economic and Political Status Quo

 
Threatened Democracy

 
Attempts by States (and Their Citizens) to Control Globalization

 
Conclusion

 
Key Concepts

 
Active Learning

 
Topical Essa. Activists Crusade against Sweatshops

G.W. Seidman
 
PART II. AT ISSUE: SOCIOLOGY EXAMINES A NEW CENTURY
Y.W. Bradshaw
11. The Changing Face of War
Yugoslavia, 1990s: Lessons Unlearned

 
Voices of War

 
The Responsibility to Stop Someone Else's War

 
The Limitations of Peacekeeping

 
Five Recommendations for Ending War

 
Thinking about the Topic of War

 
K.T. Leicht
12. The Future of Work
Workplace Change and Your Labor Market Prospects

 
The Social Consequences of the Changing Workplace

 
The Hopes and Fears of the New Workplace

 
Thinking about the Topic of Work

 
M.M. Bell
13. Can the World Develop and Sustain Its Environment?
We Consuming Humans

 
Owning Up to What We Own

 
The Sociology of Environmental Inaction

 
The Social Organization of Consumption

 
Social Power and the Social Organization of Consumption

 
Virtual Environmentalism and the Social Reorganization of Consumption

 
Thinking about the Topic of Sustainable Development

 
D. Lye
14. How Many People Is Too Many People?
How Does Population Grow?

 
How Many People Can Earth Support?

 
Can We Slow Population Growth?

 
A Reality Check

 
Thinking about the Topic of Population Growth

 
N. Mbugua
15. The Global Healthcare Challenge
The Grim Reality of Healthcare in Lower-Income Countries

 
The Great Divide: Haves versus Have-nots

 
The Healthcare Challenge of the Twenty-First Century

 
Thinking about the Topic of Healthcare

 
Y.W. Bradshaw
16. Creating Positive Social Change
What Solutions Does Sociology Suggest?

 
What Can Individuals Do?

 
Thinking about the Topic of Positive Social Change

 
 
Authors and Contributors
 
References
 
Photo Credits
 
Glossary/Index
K.M. Fallon
Appendix: A Sociologist's Atlas

"This book engages and challenges from page one. It demonstrates page after page, in both the chapters and topical essays, that the sociological perspective is relevant and valuable for understanding social organization and social life in this age of globalization." 

Tracy Burkett
College of Charleston

"This is clearly a better book than other introductory books that claim to take a global perspective: better because the theoretical lens is more sophisticated and timely; better because the organization makes sense, because the arguments are coherent, and because I can imagine that others will find it possible to use in the classroom."

Peter Bearman
Columbia University

"I like the global approach of the book. Most introductory texts focus narrowly upon American society, and this book does a much better job of locating national analysis within the global context."

Thomas A. Hirschl
Cornell University

"Each chapter contains rich, timely case studies and vignettes¾
on teen suicide, student credit card debt, genocide in Rwanda, the World Trade Organization protests¾
that personalize or contextualize the topic. At the same time, major sociological concepts, theories, and methodological principles are covered and applied. Strong integration between chapters provides continuity and comparison."

Kristin Park
Westminster College

A great resource for looking at issues globally. Good coherant arguments, and plenty of case studies and vignettes. Great use of methodoloigcal principles and their application throughout.

Mrs Sunray Heap
General Education , Cardiff and Vale College
April 27, 2012

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ISBN: 9780803990821
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