Sociology for Dummies, 2nd Edition
- Length: 384 pages
- Edition: 2
- Language: English
- Publisher: For Dummies
- Publication Date: 2021-03-03
- ISBN-10: 1119772818
- ISBN-13: 9781119772811
- Sales Rank: #882924 (See Top 100 Books)
Understand how society works—and how to make it better
It’s impossible to exist in the contemporary world without being aware that powerful social forces, ideas, and movements—#MeToo, climate change, and Black Lives Matter to name just a few—are having far-reaching impacts on how we think and live. But why are they happening? And what are their likely effects? The new edition of Sociology For Dummies gives you the tools to step back from your personal experience and study these questions objectively, testing the observable phenomena of the human world against established theories and making usable sense of the results.
In a friendly, jargon-free style, sociologist and broadcaster Jay Gabler introduces you to sociology’s history and basic methods, and—once you have your sociological lens adjusted—makes it clear how to survey the big questions of culture, gender, ethnicity, religion, politics, and crime with new eyes. You’ll find everything you need to succeed in an introductory sociology class, as well as to apply sociological ideas to give you extra insight into your personal and professional life.
- Get a working knowledge of Sociology 101
- Understand how human communities work
- Engage more deeply with debates on social justice, healthcare, and more
- Interpret and use sociological methods and research
Whether you’re studying sociology at school or just want to gain deeper insight into our collective life, Sociology For Dummies gives you the tools to understand the mechanisms of the human world—and the knowledge to influence how they work for the better.
Title Page Copyright Page Table of Contents Introduction About This Book Foolish Assumptions Icons Used In This Book Beyond the Book Where To Go From Here Part 1 Getting the Basic Basics Chapter 1 Getting Your Head around Sociology Focusing Your Sociological Lens Defining sociology Knowing the history of sociology Doing sociology The Nuts and Bolts of Society Understanding culture Microsociology Understanding Differences Among People and Groups Social stratification Race and ethnicity Sex and gender Religion Crime, deviance, and social control How People Get Organized (Or At Least Try To) Organizations and networks Social movements and political sociology Urban and rural sociology Changes In Your Life, Changes In Your Society The life course Social change Sociology For Dummies, for Dummies Chapter 2 Knowing Why Sociology Matters Figuring Out What Sociology Is Defining sociology Studying society scientifically Asking and answering sociological questions Discovering Where Sociology Is “Done” Colleges and universities Think tanks and research institutes Nonprofit organizations Government Journalism and reporting Business and consulting Everyday life Recognizing How Sociology Affects Your Life and Your World Thinking about the social world in an objective, value-free way Visualizing connections across times and places Uncovering what really matters . . . and what doesn’t Informing social policy Keeping a unique perspective for everyday problems Chapter 3 Conflict and Cooperation: The History of Sociology So . . . Who Cares about History? Thinking about Society before There Was Sociology People are the same everywhere you go . . . except when they aren’t Pre-sociologists: People with ideas about society Political and industrial revolution: Ready or not, here it comes The Development of “Sociology” Figuring out life with positivism Common themes of early sociologists Sociology: The most ambitious science Sociology’s Power Trio Karl Marx Emile Durkheim Max Weber Sociology in the 20th Century Sociology in America: W.E.B. Du Bois and the Chicago School Mass society: Are we, or are we not, sheep? The Power Elite: Marx’s revenge Sociology Today Chapter 4 Understanding the Research Methods: You Can’t Put Society in a Test Tube Performing Sociological Research Asking your question Checking the literature Operationalizing your question and find your data Analyzing your data Step 5: Interpreting your results Getting to Know the Research Methods Getting quantitative data Gathering qualitative data Choosing hybrid methods Preparing For Potential Pitfalls Using inappropriate data Getting overzealous Overlooking relevant information Misusing statistics Making mistakes . . . just plain oops! Part 2 Seeing Society Like a Sociologist Chapter 5 Getting Some Culture: How Socialization Works Understanding What Culture Is — and Isn’t Defining “culture” Breaking down structure Does culture matter? Studying Culture: Makin’ It and Takin’ It Other angles on culture The production and reception of culture Culture, information, and the news Paddling the “Mainstream” Subculture Microcultures Socialization: Where You Connect in Culture Nature vs. nurture: Social psychology You are who other people think you are Culture Paradox: Pulling Us Together and Pushing Us Apart Uniting through culture Dividing because of culture Chapter 6 Studying Sociology at Its Smallest: Microsociology Grasping the Paradox of Society Social facts: What your society says about you Adaptation and frustration Understanding Why People Make Rational — and Irrational — Choices Making rational choices — or, at least, trying Making bad decisions (we’ve all been there) Getting How Symbolic Interactionism Works Play ball! The rules of the game Stop frontin’: Switching roles, changing frames Part 3 Equality and Inequality in Our Diverse World Chapter 7 Social Stratification: We’re All Equal, But Some of Us Are More Equal Than Others Excavating the Social Strata Understanding social inequality Grappling with the perennial debate: Is inequality necessary? Recognizing the Many Means of Inequality Income and wealth: Making money (or inheriting it) Occupation: Landing in the labor force Innate ability: Capitalizing on your skills Motivation: Getting out of bed in the morning Social connections: Knowing the right people Credentials: Carrying the right cards Education: Learning the ropes Specialized knowledge: Knowing what others don’t Bias and discrimination: Being limited by others’ lack of imagination Considering Global Inequality Chapter 8 Race and Ethnicity: What Others See, Who We Are Race: Real in Its Consequences Knowing the difference between race and ethnicity Grasping the complexities of life in color Debunking the myth of the “model minority” Putting whiteness in the spotlight Considering Individuals and Institutions Racial discrimination: Conscious and unconscious How racism becomes institutionalized Understanding Immigration in a Changing World Crossing borders, keeping ties Immigration today Chapter 9 Sex and Gender: Beyond the Binary Biology Is Not Destiny Distinguishing between sex and gender Understanding the sex and gender spectrum Changing Ideas of Femininity and Masculinity The history of feminism Rethinking masculinity MeToo and a new reckoning Intersectionality: Race and Gender Chapter 10 Getting Religion: Faith in the Modern World Understanding Religion in History Karl Marx on religion: Opium of the people Émile Durkheim on religion: Progressing from specific rules to common principles Weber on religion: A switchman on the tracks Religion in Theory . . . and in Practice Religious ideas, ideology, and values The important role of religious organizations Faith and Freedom in the World Today Shopping for God Belief, action, and everything in between Chapter 11 Crime and Deviance: Who’s in Control? Knowing the Difference between Deviance and Crime Understanding Why People Commit Crimes Theory one: Are criminals bad people? Theory two: Are criminals driven to it? Accepting crime as normal Breaking Down the Social Construction of Crime Writing laws that make sense to a society Enforcing the law Looking Beyond Crime and Punishment Rethinking policing Examining the effects of America’s high incarceration rate Considering whether punishment works Tallying the high costs of incarceration Part 4 All Together Now: The Ins and Outs of Social Organization Chapter 12 Knowing What Works (and Doesn’t): Sociology and Organizations Recognizing the Corporate Conundrum Understanding Weber’s Big Idea About Organizations Getting That People Are More Than Cogs in a Machine Rational systems: Bureaucracy at its purest Natural systems: We’re only human Open systems: The whole wide world of work Seeing Society as a Network Connecting individuals to their society The strength of weak ties Gathering insights from network analysis Exploring the New World of Work Chapter 13 Getting into It: Political Sociology Government: Governing and Being Governed Understanding government as a social institution Knowing what causes political revolution Sharing (or Not Sharing) Power in Society Conflict models: Everyone for themselves Pluralist models: Fair is fair Social Movements: Working for Change Getting off the ground Mobilizing supporters Understanding why social movements succeed — or fizzle Going Viral: How Social Media Transforms Social Movements Chapter 14 Recognizing Why Density and Demographics Matter Studying Sociology in the City Feeling lonely in a crowd: The paradox of social life Observing street corner society Changing Neighborhoods Through History Recognizing the relevance of neighborhoods Understanding how and why neighborhoods change Studying the rise of the suburbs The upper class, the lower class, and the underclass Considering City and Country Who are cities for? Small towns, high hopes Part 5 Sociology and Your Life Chapter 15 Exploring Family and the Life Course as Social Constructs The Social Construction of Age The “invention” of childhood The new senior citizens — and the new young adults Running the Course of Life Demographics and life transitions The changing role of education Taking Care: Health Care and Society Deciding what counts as “healthy” Organizing and distributing health care Families Past and Present The way we never were The family today Chapter 16 Understanding Social Change Understanding How and Why Societies Change Marx: If it’s not one revolution, it’s another Durkheim: Increasing diversity Weber: Into the iron cage Forecasting the Future of Society Globalization: Does the future hold cooperation or conflict? Digital communication: Protecting privacy and freedom in an always-online era Climate change: The unequal effects of a warming world Exploring Sociology . . . of the Future! Social science will be more important than ever Too much information? A good problem to have . . . if you’re a sociologist Will sociology continue to exist? Part 6 The Part of Tens Chapter 17 Ten Sociology Books That Don’t Feel Like Homework W.E.B. Du Bois: The Souls of Black Folk (1903) Erving Goffman: The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life (1959) Randall Collins: Sociological Insight (1982) Arlie Hochschild: The Second Shift (1989) Patricia Hill Collins: Black Feminist Thought (1990) Evelyn Nakano Glenn (editor): Shades of Difference (2009) Annette Lareau: Unequal Childhoods (2003) Lorena Garcia: Respect Yourself, Protect Yourself: Latina Girls and Sexual Identity (2012) Matthew Desmond: Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City (2016) Suk-Young Kim: K-pop Live (2018) Chapter 18 Ten Ways to Use Sociological Insight in Everyday Life Thinking Critically About Claims That “Research Proves” One Thing or Another Being Aware of Unprovable Assertions About Society Understanding Barriers to Effective Communication Knowing the Difference Between the Identity You Choose and the Identities Others Choose For You Understanding Art: If It Seems Confusing, That’s Exactly the Point Being Smart About Relationship-Building Staying Safer in a Pandemic Learning How to Mobilize a Social Movement Running Your Company Effectively Thinking Critically About What You Read and Hear Chapter 19 Ten Myths About Society Busted by Sociology With Hard Work and Determination, Anyone Can Get What They Deserve Our Actions Reflect Our Values We’re Being Brainwashed by the Media Understanding Society Is Just a Matter of “Common Sense” Race Doesn’t Matter Any More Immigration Equals Invasion Bureaucracy Is Dehumanizing People Who Make Bad Choices Are Just Getting the Wrong Messages Society Prevents Us From Being Our “True Selves” There Is Such a Thing as a Perfect Society Index EULA
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