Introduction to sociology / Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P. Applebaum, Deborah Carr

Place of publication from publisher's website

Includes bibliographical references (pages A20-A75) and index

Part I: The study of Sociology -- 1. What is Sociology? -- Basic concepts -- Social construction -- Social order -- Agency and structure -- Social change -- The development of Sociological thinking -- Theories and theoretical approaches -- Neglected founders -- Understanding the modern world: The sociological debate -- Modern theoretical approaches -- Symbolic interactionism -- Functionalism -- conflict theories -- Rational choice theory -- Postmodern theory -- Theoretical thinking in sociology -- How can sociology help us? -- 2. Asking and answering sociological questions -- Basic concepts -- The research process -- Asking and answering sociological questions: historical context -- Asking and answering sociological questions today: research methods -- Ethnography -- Surveys -- Experiments -- Comparative historical research -- Unanswered questions -- Can sociology identify causes and effects? -- How can social research avoid exportation? -- Can we really study human social life in a scientific way? -- Part II: The individual and society -- 3. Culture and society -- Basic concepts -- Cultural universals -- Nonmaterial culture -- Material culture -- The sociological study culture -- culture and change: A "cultural turn" in sociology? -- Early human culture: greater adaptation to physical environment -- Industrial societies: cultural conformity or diversity? -- Unanswered questions -- Does nature or nurture more powerfully influence human behavior? -- Does the internet promote a global culture? -- Does globalization weaken or strengthen local cultures? -- How easily do cultures change? -- 4. Socialization and the life course -- Basic concepts -- Agents of socialization -- Social roles -- Identity -- Socialization through the life course -- Theories of socialization -- G. H. Mead and the development of self -- Charles Horton Cooley and the looking-glass self -- Jean Piaget and the stages of cognitive development -- Sigmund Freud's theory of gender identity -- Nancy Chodorow's theory of gender identity -- Carol Gilligan's theory of moral development -- Research on socialization today: race socialization -- Race socialization -- Unanswered questions -- Are gender differences caused by social influences? -- How do children learn to bully? Can they unlearn? -- 5. Social interaction and everyday life in the age of the internet -- Basic concepts -- Impression management: the world as a stage -- Audience segregation -- civil inattention -- Nonverbal communication -- Response cries -- Focused and unfocused interaction -- Interaction in time and space -- Theories of social interaction -- Erving Goffman -- Edward T. Hall - personal space -- Harold Garfinkel: ethnomethodology -- Contemporary research on social interaction -- Interactional vandalism -- Interactionon the "digital street" -- The macro-micro link: Anderson's streetwise -- Unanswered questions -- How do we manage impressions in the internet age? -- What happens when dating moves online? -- To what extent can electronic communication substitute for face-to-face communication? -- 6. Networks, groups, and organizations -- Basic concepts -- Networks -- Groups -- Conformity -- Organizations -- theories of networks, groups, and organizations -- In-group and out-group -- Reference groups -- The effects of size -- Theories of organizations -- Contemporary research on groups -- The"McDonaldization" of society -- Personal taste -- Obesity -- Unanswered questions -- Is democracy meaningless in the face of increasingly powerful bureaucratic organizations? -- How are late-modern organization reinventing themselves? -- Can the traditional organization survive? -- 7. Conformity, deviance, and crime -- Basic concepts -- What is deviance? -- Norms and sanctions -- Society and crime: sociological theories -- Functionalist theories -- Interactionist theories -- Conflict theory -- Control theory -- Theoretical conclusions -- Research on crime and deviance today -- Race and the criminal justice system -- Mass incarceration -- The death penalty -- Security and terrorism -- Reporting on crime and crime statistics -- Victims and perpetrators of crime -- Unanswered questions -- Why have crime rates gone down? -- Can we reduce crime through new policing techniques? -- Will new surveillance technologies eliminate deviance? -- Can we prevent crime by building stronger communities? -- Part III: Structures of power -- 8. Stratification, class, and inequality -- Basic concepts -- Systems of stratification -- Theories of stratification in modern societies -- Marx: capitalism and the analysis of class -- Weber: class and status -- Davis and Moore: the functions of stratification -- Eirk Olin Wright: contradictory class locations -- Research on social stratification today -- A contemporary portrait of the U.S. class structure -- Social mobility: moving up and down the ladder -- Poverty in the United States -- Unanswered questions -- Is inequality declining or increasing in the United States? -- Why are poverty rates rising in the United States? The sociological debate -- What can be done to combat poverty? -- How will these economic patterns affect your life? -- 9. Global inequality -- Basic concepts -- High-income countries -- Middle-income countries -- Low-income countries -- Is global economic well-being improving? -- Going beyond purely economic measures of global well-being -- Theories of global inequality -- Nonliberal theories -- Dependency theories -- World-systems theory -- The theory of global capitalism -- Evaluating theories of global inequality -- Research on global inequality today -- Health -- Hunger and malnutrition -- Education and literacy -- Unanswered questions -- What are the causes of inequality in the world today? -- Is global poverty increasing or decreasing? -- What about inequality within countries? -- What does rapid globalization mean for the future of global inequality? -- 10. Gender inequality -- Basic concepts -- Understanding sex differences: the role of biology -- Gender socialization: how gender differences are learned -- The social construction of gender: how we learn to "do gender" -- Social construction of gender in other cultures -- Sociological theories of gender inequalities -- Functionalist approaches -- Feminist theories -- Research on gender today: documenting and understanding gender inequalities -- Gendered inequalities in education: unequal treatment in the classroom -- Gendered inequalities in the workplace -- Gendered inequalities in families: division of household labor -- Gender inequality in politics -- Unanswered questions: Why do gender inequalities persist? -- The gender pay gap: why do women earn less than men? -- How does gender inequality affect men? -- Why are women so often the targets of violence? -- 11. Race, ethnicity, and racism -- Basic concepts -- Race -- Ethnicity -- Thinking about racism -- Defining racism -- Racism in the United States today -- Race and racism in historical and comparative perspective -- The rise of racism -- Blacks in the United States -- Hispanics and Latinos in the United States -- Asian Americans -- Models of ethnic integration -- Global migration -- Unanswered questions -- Do new immigrants help or hinder the nation's economy? -- Has real progress been made since the civil rights movement of the 1960s? -- How can ethic conflict be reduced? -- 12. Aging -- Basic concepts -- The graying of society -- How do people age? -- Growing old: theories of aging -- The first generation of theories: functionalism -- The second generation f theories: social conflict -- The third generation of theories: life course -- Research on aging in the United States today -- Who are America's older adults?-- Poverty -- Social isolation -- Prejudice -- Elder abuse -- Health problems -- Lifelong learning -- Unanswered questions: the political and economic impact of population aging -- Do older Americans get an unfair amount of government support? -- Can medicare and social security survive the "graying" of America? -- How will nations of the world cope with global aging? -- 13

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