UNIT 1. Culture

Part A. Modern, Traditional, and Unusual Cultures

1. Modernization’s Challenge to Traditional Values: Who’s Afraid of Ronald McDonald?, Ronald Inglehart and Wayne E. Baker, The Futurist, March/April 2001

The authors report on a major survey, the World Values Survey, which documents strong differences between the worldviews of the peoples of rich and poor societies. The two major dimensions of cross-cultural variation are traditional versus secular/rational values and survival versus self-expression values.

2. The Mountain People, Colin M. Turnbull, Intellectual Digest, April 1973

Colin Turnbull’s study of the Ik tribe shows what happens to social relationships in a culture when certain elements in the environment threaten its existence.

Part B. American Culture and Cultural Change

3. More Moral, David Whitman, The New Republic, February 22, 1999

According to David Whitman, the much-discussed “moral decline of America” thesis turns out to be false, since numerous indicators of moral trends have been positive for a decade or two.

4. American Culture Goes Global, or Does It?, Richard Pells, The Chronicle of Higher Education, April 12, 2002

Richard Pells challenges the thesis that the culture of America is Americanizing the world. He points out that much of American culture is imported. “American culture has spread throughout the world because it has incorporated foreign styles and ideas.”

5. What’s so Great About America?, Dinesh D’Souza, The American Enterprise, April/May 2002

As an immigrant Dinesh D’Souza can see the United States both as an outsider and an insider. He is able, therefore, to identify many wonderful aspects of America that amaze and attract foreigners. D’Souza emphasizes, in addition to the wealth, the sense of equality and the freedom of choice that even the poor, who live comparatively well, have.

UNIT 2. Socialization and Social Control

Part A. Childhood and Influences on Personality and Behavior

6. Boys Will Be Boys, Barbara Kantrowitz and Claudia Kalb, Newsweek, May 11, 1998

The authors review new research on child development comparing boys and girls, with a special emphasis on understanding the behavior of boys and the model of maleness that they aspire to and require of each other.

7. Born to Be Good?, Celia Kitzinger, New Internationalist, April 1997

What makes people behave in moral and even altruistic ways? Empathy, moral reasoning, and the rewards of goodness may be part of the answer, but this overemphasizes individual factors when moral behavior is, in fact, a social issue. Celia Kitzinger argues that social pressure spurs people to both altruistic and cruel behavior.

Part B. Crime, Law Enforcement, and Social Control

8. Preventing Crime: The Promising Road Ahead, Gene Stephens, The Futurist, November 1999

Gene Stephens reports the results of research on over 500 crime prevention programs in an effort to find out what works and what does not work. There are many surprising results, especially in what does not work.

9. Pedophilia, John Cloud, Time, April 29, 2002

Why do people sexually molest children? John Cloud canvasses the psychological community to find out. Pedophilia, sexually desiring children, is a psychiatric illness that is estimated to afflict 4 percent of the population, but not all pedophiles act on their urges, and many children are sexually abused by nonpedophiles. Fortunately, treatment programs tend to be very successful when used.

UNIT 3. Groups and Roles in Transition

Part A. Family, Marriage and Divorce

10. The American Family, Stephanie Coontz, Life, November 1999

Stephanie Coontz explains that modern families are better than the way the media portray them and that families of the past were probably worse. She corrects many myths about the modern family with many underreported facts.

11. Divorce and Cohabitation: Why We Don’t Marry, James Q. Wilson, Current, June 2002

Despite its title, this article focuses on the shocking increase in the proportion of mothers who are unmarried. In explaining this phenomenon, James Wilson examines the role of welfare, which he argues is small. The big cause is cultural change, which removes the stigma of welfare and of unmarried motherhood and weakens the moral underpinnings of marriage. He also shows how children suffer from these changes.

12. Should You Stay Together for the Kids?, Walter Kirn, Time, September 25, 2000

Walter Kirn reviews the hot debate over whether parents who are in bad marriages should stay together for the sake of the children. Clearly the children suffer from the divorce of their parents, and in many cases, the damage lasts for a long time; but incompatible marriages can also be harmful.

Part B. Sex, Gender, and Gender Roles

13. Now for the Truth About Americans and Sex, Philip Elmer-Dewitt, Time, October 17, 1994

The author reviews the findings of the only reliable large-scale survey of American sexual attitudes and practices. This study corrects a number of myths with substantial data, including evidence that Americans are sexually less active and more faithful than is commonly supposed.

14. Shades of Gay, John Leland, Newsweek, March 20, 2000

John Leland reports on a new survey on public attitudes toward gays. The new survey shows that prejudice toward them has declined, and they are more accepted by straights, but that they continue to run into roadblocks on some key issues.

15. When Careers Collide, Susan Caminiti, Working Woman, February 2001

Gender equality in marriages has increased greatly, but if the husband’s career does not automatically come before the wife’s, how do egalitarian couples work out extremely difficult career conflicts? Susan Caminiti discusses this question largely by telling stories about how numerous couples have dealt with conflicting issues.

Part C. City and Community

16. Where Everyone’s a Minority, Ron Stodghill and Amanda Bower, Time, September 2, 2002

Within a half century, no group will be a majority in the United States; today this is true of Sacramento, California. The authors examine how this situation works out in America’s most integrated city. Twenty percent of babies are multiracial, and though racial tensions exist, they are relatively minor.

UNIT 4. Stratification and Social Inequalities

Part A. Income Inequalities

17. Still the Land of Opportunity?, Isabel V. Sawhill, The Public Interest, Spring 1999

Isabel Sawhill reports on the current state of the American stratification system with particular emphasis on the equality of opportunity and the prospects for mobility.

18. The Great CEO Pay Heist, Geoffrey Colvin, Fortune, June 25, 2001

Geoffrey Colvin explains why executive compensation has risen to absurd levels that are often unrelated to performance and why this absurdity will continue.

Part B. Welfare and Welfare Reform

19. Corporate Welfare, Donald L. Barlett and James B. Steele, Time, November 9, 1998

In this essay, the authors explain how hundreds of companies get on the dole to the tune of 2 weeks’ pay for every working American. The federal government has issued over $125 billion to corporate America, which tilts the playing field toward the already powerful in society.

20. From Welfare to Work, Isabel V. Sawhill, Brookings Review, Summer 2001

What have been the results of the 1996 welfare reform laws that force most welfare mothers to work? Isabel Sawhill reviews the evidence. Caseloads have dropped from 5 million to 2.2 million, and 60 percent of those who leave welfare are working. But it is hard to determine whether these changes are due mostly to what has been a good economy or to welfare reform itself.

Part C. Racial and Ethical Issues and Inequalities

21. Racism Isn’t What It Used to Be, Ed Marciniak and Don Wycliff, Commonweal, June 1, 2001

Ed Marciniak reviews the racial changes that have taken place since the 1960s and the need for an appropriate racial vocabulary. Then, Don Wycliff acknowledges, that the United States has made an amazing racial revolution over the last three and one-half decades, but more is needed to complete the job.

22. Why We Hate, Margo Monteith and Jeffrey Winters, Psychology Today, May/June 2002

The authors demonstrate the prevalence of prejudice and hatred in America and explain this in terms of social identity theory. Whenever people are divided into groups, negative attitudes develop toward the “out” group.

23. The Melting Pot, Part I: Are We There Yet?, Anne Wortham, The World & I, September 2001

Anne Wortham explores the subject of assimilation in its many dimensions. The United States may have an enviable record of assimilation, but its limitations are great. Rising intermarriage statistics demonstrate increasing assimilation, but continuing housing segregation is one indicator of impediments to assimilation.

Part D. Sex Inequalities and Issues

24. The Past and Prologue, Judy Olian, Vital Speeches of the Day, April 15, 2001

Judy Olian demonstrates with numerous facts that America is still far from achieving gender equality. She explains the inequality in terms of many factors, including different formative experiences and the attitudes that they instill, the numerous reasons why women have fewer career take-off experiences, less-extensive networks, the effects of style, and “pure discrimination.”

25. Violence Against Women, Toni Nelson, World Watch, July/August 1996

A major civil rights failure worldwide is the widespread suppression of women and violence against women as expressed in rape, female infanticide, bride burning, enforced prostitution, domestic abuse, and female genital mutilation. These are most common in less developed countries, but the problem of rape and wife abuse is still common in the United States.

UNIT 5. Social Institutions: Issues, Crises, and Changes

Part A. The Political Sphere: Power, Politics, and Administration

26. Who Rules America?, G. William Domhoff, from Who Rules America? Power and Politics in the Year 2000, Mayfield Publishing Company, 1997

G. William Domhoff is the leading proponent of the power elite view of American politics, which is explained in this article as it applies to political influence in the United States today.

27. Where the Public Good Prevailed, Stephen L. Isaacs and Steven A. Schroeder, The American Prospect, June 4, 2001

We are well acquainted with many stories about the influence of money on public policies that benefit the few at the expense of the many, but we also need to learn the stories about when the public good prevails. The authors provide such stories.

Part B. The Economic Sphere: Consumption, Corporations, and Workers

28. In Corporate America, It’s Cleanup Time, Jerry Useem, Fortune, September 16, 2002

Jerry Useem reports on the widespread self-reform occurring in corporate America. Even honest corporations are instituting numerous changes to avoid all appearances of impropriety and to persuade investors that their reports can be trusted. Most businesses are moving out ahead of the government reform regulations curve.

29. Work, Work, Work, Work!, Mark Hunter, AARP Modern Maturity, May/June 1999

According to Mark Hunter, the place of work in the lives of Americans is changing. Work time is increasing and the line between work life and private life is fading. Increasingly, work is seen as a means of self-fulfillment and our careers start earlier and end later. Hunter discusses many other changes in the lives of Americans that are related to the changes in the meaning and conditions of work.

Part C. The Social Sphere: Education, Abortion, Health, and Religion

30. Schools That Develop Children, James P. Comer, The American Prospect, April 23, 2001

James Comer says of 15 proposed school reforms that they “can’t work or, at best, will have limited effectiveness” because “they all are based on flawed models.” The model that he proposes is based on current knowledge of child and youth development and features “positive and powerful social and academic interactions between students and staff.”

31. The Future of Humanity, Colin Tudge, New Statesman and Society, April 8, 2002

DNA research has opened up breathtaking possibilities and inscrutable moral dilemmas at the same time. Now society has to decide whether to continue to leave the creation of humans to providence or evolution or to genetically engineer our offspring. In this article, Colin Tudge presents the issues, options, and debates.

32. Seeking Abortion’s Middle Ground, Frederica Mathewes-Green, Washington Post, July 28, 1996

America is deeply polarized over the abortion issue and needs more spokespersons for the middle ground, says Frederica Mathewes-Green. Her focus is on making abortion unnecessary.

33. The Future of Religion in America, Andrew M. Greeley, Society, March/April 2001

Andrew Greeley proves that nine common assumptions about religion in America are wrong. In doing so he provides a wealth of information on the subject. He concludes that the future of religion is bright.

UNIT 6. Social Change and the Future

Part A. Population, Environment, and Society

34. Sixteen Impacts of Population Growth, Lester R. Brown, Gary Gardner, and Brian Halweil, The Futurist, February 1999

The authors discuss the many impacts of world population growth on the environment, food production, depletion of resources, biodiversity, climate change, jobs, income, housing, education, and urbanization.

35. Feeling the Heat: Life in the Greenhouse, Michael D. Lemonick, Time, April 9, 2001

Michael Lemonick reviews the evidence for and the impacts of global warming. In the past century, the increase in temperatures was only 1 degree Fahrenheit, but scientists predict that it will increase between 2.5 degrees Fahrenheit and 10.4 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.

Part B. Technology for Better or for Worse

36. The Secret Nuclear War, Eduardo Goncalves, The Ecologist, April 2001

An extremely consequential technology is a product of the nuclear industry. Nuclear energy has greatly benefited mankind, but at what price? Eduardo Goncalves reports on all the nuclear accidents, testings, experiments, leaks, production, cover-ups, and storage and reuse of nuclear materials that he can find out about. The death toll could already be as high as 175 million, and the behavior of countless agencies is shocking.

37. Grains of Hope, J. Madeleine Nash, Time, July 31, 2000

Madeleine Nash tells of the development of a rice that was genetically engineered to contain beta-carotene so that, in less developed countries, consumption will strengthen children’s resistance to infectious diseases. This story brings into focus the hopes and fears of agricultural biotechnology, which can produce great benefits but that many fear could create great unanticipated dangers.

Part C. The New Crisis: Terrorism

38. A New Strategy for the New Face of Terrorism, L. Paul Bremer III, The National Interest, Thanksgiving 2001

The world faces a new kind of terrorism as described in this essay, and it must devise a new strategy for countering terrorism. State support for terrorism must be ended, and an international consensus built against it. Fellow members of ethnic and religious groups to which the terrorists belong must condemn terrorism.

39. Why Don’t They Like Us?, Stanley Hoffmann, The American Prospect, November 19, 2001

America is now the prime target for terrorist attacks. Stanley Hoffman explains why. The basic reason is that the United States is the current hegemon power and “through the ages, nobody—or almost nobody—has ever loved a hegemon.” The full explanation requires Hoffmann to discuss the new world order, which is very disorderly; America’s international failures; and the antipathy of many against current processes like globalization, for which America is blamed.

Part D. The Reshaping of the World

40. Between Two Ages, William Van Dusen Wishard, Vital Speeches of the Day, January 15, 2002

Armed with many interesting statistics on trends, William Van Dusen Wishard argues that the world is undergoing a great transition that is based on globalization, rapid technological development, and “a long-term spiritual and psychological reorientation that’s increasingly generating uncertainty and instablity.” As a result, “the soul of America—indeed, of the world—is in a giant search for some deeper and greater expression of life.”

41. Community Building: Steps Toward a Good Society, Amitai Etzioni, Current, January 2001

As Americans become more diverse and more unequal, can we build community? Identity politics has partly corrected past injustices “but have also divided the nation along group lines.” According to Amitai Etzioni, a new thrust is needed. He reviews the threats to community and recommends communitarian solutions, including ways to curb inequality, ways to increase bonding, and ways to increase value commitments.

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