The Sociology Project 2.5 Introducing the Sociological Imagination

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For courses in Introductory Sociology

 

Inspire each student’s sociological imagination

Authored collaboratively by members of the NYU Sociology Department, The Sociology Project 2.5 draws on the collective wisdom of expert faculty to reveal how individuals are shaped by the contexts in which they live and act. Organized around the big questions in every subfield of the discipline, The Sociology Project 2.5 shows how sociologists analyze our world and sets students off on their own journeys of sociological inquiry. At its core, The Sociology Project 2.5 seeks to inspire each student’s sociological imagination and instill in each reader a new determination to question the world around us.

Written collaboratively by members of the NYU Sociology Department, including: Jeff Manza, Richard Arum, Lynne Haney, Vivek Chibber, Troy Duster, Paula England, Thomas Ertman, Kathleen Gerson, Jeff Goodwin, Ruth Horowitz, Guillermina Jasso, Jennifer L. Jennings, Colin Jerolmack, Eric Klinenberg, Steven Lukes, Gerald Marwell, Harvey Molotch, Ann Morning, Caroline H. Persell, Patrick Sharkey, Florencia Torche, and Lawrence L. Wu.

I. Brief Table of Contents

1. The Sociological Imagination
2. Social Theory
3. Studying the Social World
4. Social Interaction
5. Social Structure
6. Culture, Media, and Communication
7. Power and Politics
8. Markets, Organizations, and Work
9. Cities and Communities
10. Social Stratification, Inequality, and Poverty
11. Race and Ethnicity
12. Gender and Sexuality
13. Families and Family Life
14. Sociology of Religion
15. Education
16. Health and Medicine
17. Deviance and Social Control
18. Crime and Punishment
19. Social Movements and Revolutions
20. Environmental Sociology
21. Population
22. Immigration
23. Globalization


II. Comprehensive Table of Contents

1. The Sociological Imagination
by Jeff Manza, Lynne Haney, and Richard Arum
The Big Questions
1.1 What Is the Sociological Imagination, and Why Is It Worth Acquiring?
1.2 What Are Social Contexts, and Why Do They Matter?
1.3 Where Did Sociology Come From, and How Is It Different from Other Social Sciences?
Conclusion: Looking Ahead
The Big Questions Revisited 1

2. Social Theory
by Jeff Manza, Thomas Ertman, Lynne Haney, and Steven Lukes
The Big Questions
2.1 What is Social Theory?
2.2 How Did the Early Social Theorists Make Sense of the World?
2.3 What Innovations in Social Theory Emerged in the Mid-Twentieth Century?
2.4 How Has a New Generation of Social Theory Evolved?
Conclusion: Social Theory and the Sociological Imagination
The Big Questions Revisited 2

3. Studying the Social World
by Lynne Haney
The Big Questions
3.1 Where Do Sociological Questions Come From?
3.2 What Is the Best Method to Research Different Sociological Questions?
3.3 What Challenges Do Sociologists Face When Collecting Data?
3.4 How Do Sociologists Make Sense of Their Findings?
Conclusion: Thinking Critically About Research
The Big Questions Revisited 3

4. Social Interaction
by Harvey Molotch
The Big Questions
4.1 How Do We Develop a Sense of Self?
4.2 How Do We Make Sense of Our Worlds?
4.3 What Challenges Do We Face as We Move from One Social Context to Another?
Conclusion: What We Know and What We Don’t Know
The Big Questions Revisited 4

5. Social Structure
by Jeff Manza
The Big Questions
5.1 What Is Social Structure?
5.2 How Do Roles and Social Hierarchies Shape Our Life Chances?
5.3 How Do Norms and Institutions Influence Social Life?
5.4 How Do Social Structures Influence Our Daily Lives and Social Interactions?
5.5 Why Are Social Structures Slow to Change?
Conclusion: Social Structure
The Big Questions Revisited 5

6. Culture, Media, and Communication
by Eric Klinenberg
The Big Questions
6.1 What Is Culture?
6.2 How Does Culture Shape Our Collective Identity?
6.3 How Do Our Cultural Practices Relate to Class and Status?
6.4 Who Produces Culture, and Why?
6.5 What Is the Relationship Between Media and Democracy?
Conclusion: Culture, Media, and Communication
The Big Questions Revisited 6

7. Power and Politics
by Steven Lukes and Jeff Manza
The Big Questions
7.1 What Are the Distinct Forms of Power?
7.2 What Is the State, and How Does It Distribute Power in a Society?
7.3 Who Has Power in the United States Today?
Conclusion: Power and Politics
The Big Questions Revisited 7

8. Markets, Organizations, and Work
by Richard Arum and Jeff Manza
The Big Questions
8.1 How Do Social Factors Impact Markets?
8.2 Why Are Organizations Important for Social and Economic Life?
8.3 What Is the Relationship Between Organizations and Their External Environment?
8.4 How Is Work Inside Organizations Structured?
8.5 How Do We Measure Work Satisfaction?
Conclusion: Markets, Organizations, and Work in the Twenty-First Century
The Big Questions Revisited 8

9. Cities and Communities
by Patrick Sharkey
The Big Questions
9.1 What Draws People to Cities?
9.2 How Do Neighborhoods Form and Change?
9.3 How Do Cities Influence Who We Are, Who Our Friends Are, and How We Live?
9.4 Why Are So Many Social Problems Found in Cities?
9.5 How Will Cities Change in an Increasingly Connected World?
Conclusion: Our Urban Future
The Big Questions Revisited 9

10. Social Stratification, Inequality, and Poverty
by Florencia Torche, Richard Arum, and Jeff Manza
The Big Questions
10.1 What Is Inequality?
10.2 Why Is America So Unequal?
10.3 Do We All Have an Equal Opportunity to Succeed in Life?
10.4 How Much Poverty Exists in the United States and Around the World?
Conclusion: Should We Be Concerned About Excessive Inequality?
The Big Questions Revisited 10

11. Race and Ethnicity
by Ann Morning
The Big Questions
11.1 What Is the Difference Between Race and Ethnicity?
11.2 Is Race Real?
11.3 What Is Racism?
11.4 Do Race and Ethnicity Matter Anymore?
11.5 How Are Race and Ethnicity Changing in the Twenty-First Century?
Conclusion: Developing a Sociological Imagination on Race and Ethnicity
The Big Questions Revisited 11

12. Gender and Sexuality
by Paula England
The Big Questions
12.1 Where Do Gender Differences Come from?
12.2 How Have the Lives of Women and Men Changed in the Last 50 Years?
12.3 How Are Our Sex Lives Shaped by Biology and Society?
12.4 How Has Sexual Behavior Changed in the Last 50 Years?
Conclusion: The Puzzle of Gender Inequality
The Big Questions Revisited 12

13. Families and Family Life
by Kathleen Gerson
The Big Questions
13.1 What Is a Family?
13.2 Why Are Families Changing?
13.3 What Challenges Do We Face as We Develop Relationships and Balance Family and Work?
13.4 What Is It Like to Grow Up in a Twenty-First-Century Family?
13.5 What Social Policies Around the World Best Support Changing Families?
Conclusion: The Future of Families
The Big Questions Revisited 13

14. Sociology of Religion
by Gerald Marwell
The Big Questions
14.1 What Is Religion, and What Are Its Functions?
14.2 How Does Social Structure Impact Religious Choice?
14.3 Why Are Some People More Religious Than Others?
14.4 Why Do People Kill Each Other in the Name of Religion?
14.5 What Is the Future of Religion?
Conclusion: Sociology of Religion
The Big Questions Revisited 14

15. Education
by Caroline H. Persell with Dirk Witteveen
The Big Questions
15.1 Why Is Formal Education Universal?
15.2 How Is Education Related to Important Life Outcomes?
15.3 Is Education Equally Available to All?
15.4 How Is the American Educational System Different from Other Countries?
Conclusion: The Future of Education in a Global Economy
The Big Questions Revisited 15

16. Health and Medicine
by Ruth Horowitz and Jennifer Jennings
The Big Questions
16.1 How Do Social Contexts Affect Health?
16.2 Who Gets Sick, and Why?
16.3 How Did Modern Medicine Emerge?
16.4 How Does Physician/Patient Interaction Affect Health and Illness?
16.5 Why Is Healthcare in America More Expensive and Less Effective Than in Other Countries?
Conclusion: Health and Medicine
The Big Questions Revisited 16

17. Deviance and Social Control
by Troy Duster and Jeff Manza
The Big Questions
17.1 What Is Deviance?
17.2 How Is Social Control Imposed on Society?
17.3 How Is Moral Behavior Defined and Regulated?
17.4 How Do Power and Inequality Impact Deviance?
Conclusion: Deviance and the Sociological Imagination
The Big Questions Revisited 17

18. Crime and Punishment
by Jeff Manza, Patrick Sharkey, and Troy Duster with Offer Egozy, Delaram Takyar, and Matthew Wolfe
The Big Questions
18.1 What Constitutes a Crime, and What Are the Different Offense Types?
18.2 How Much Crime, Particularly Violent Crime, Exists in America?
18.3 How Do Sociologists Seek to Understand Crime and Punishment?
18.4 Why Is Mass Incarceration Controversial?
18.5 What Are the Consequences of Mass Incarceration?
Conclusion: Crime and Punishment and the Sociological Imagination
The Big Questions Revisited 18

19. Social Movements and Revolutions
by Jeff Goodwin
The Big Questions
19.1 What Are Social Movements?
19.2 Why Do Movements Emerge, and Who Joins Them?
19.3 What Tactics Do Movements Use, and What Outcomes Do They Achieve
19.4 What Are Revolutions, and Why Do They Occur?
Conclusion: The Future of Movements and Revolutions
The Big Questions Revisited 19

20. Environmental Sociology
by Colin Jerolmack
The Big Questions 490
20.1 How Does Social Life Relate to the Natural Environment?
20.2 How Has Human Activity Harmed the Environment?
20.3 How Do Environmental Factors Impact Inequality?
20.4 How Can We Create More Sustainable Societies?
Conclusion: Linking Environmental and Social Facts
The Big Questions Revisited 20

21. Population
by Lawrence L. Wu
The Big Questions
21.1 Why Study Population?
21.2 How Do Populations Change over Time?
21.3 What Factors Influence Fertility?
21.4 How Are Trends in Aging and Mortality Emerging as Critical Issues in Many Societies?
Conclusion: Population
The Big Questions Revisited 21

22. Immigration
by Guillermina Jasso
The Big Questions
22.1 What Is Immigration, and How Do Governments Regulate It?
22.2 What Is the History of Immigration in the United States?
22.3 Why Do People Move?
22.4 How Do Immigrants Fare in Their New Environments?
22.5 What Are the Consequences of Immigration?
Conclusion: Immigration and the Future
The Big Questions Revisited 22

23. Globalization
by Vivek Chibber
The Big Questions
23.1 What Is Globalization?
23.2 How Far-Reaching Is Globalization?
23.3 What Drives Globalization?
23.4 What Are the Benefits and Drawbacks of Globalization?
Conclusion: Globalization in Retrospect and Prospect
The Big Questions Revisited 23