Down to Earth Sociology; Introductory Readings, Fourteenth Edition

For thirty-five years and through thirteen editions, Jim Henslin'sDown to Earth Sociologyhas opened new windows onto the social realities that shape our world. Now in its fourteenth edition, the most popular anthology in sociology includes new articles on our changing world while also retaining its classic must-read essays. Focusing on social interaction in everyday life, the forty-six selections bring students face-to-face with the twin projects of contemporary sociology: understanding the individual's experience of society and analyzing social structure.The fourteenth edition's exceptional new readings include selections on the role of sympathy in everyday life, mistaken perceptions of the American family, the effects of a criminal record on getting a job, and the major social trends affecting our future. Together with these essential new articles, the selections by Peter Berger, Herbert Gans, Erving Goffman, Donna Eder, Zella Luria, C. Wright Mills, Deborah Tannen, Barrie Thorne, Sidney Katz, Philip Zimbardo, and many others provide firsthand reporting that gives students a sense of "being there." Henslin also explains basic methods of social research, providing insight into how sociologists explore the social world. The selections inDown to Earth Sociologyhighlight the most significant themes of contemporary sociology, ranging from the sociology of gender, power, politics, and religion to the contemporary crises of racial tension, crime, rape, poverty, and homelessness.

James M. Henslin is Professor Emeritus of Sociology at Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville. He is the author of many textbooks, including Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, 7th ed.; Essentials of Sociology: A Down-to-Earth Approach, 6th ed.; and Social Problems, 7th ed.

Credits and Acknowledgments v Preface to the Fourteenth Edition xvii About the Contributors xxiii I. THE SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE 1 Exploring the social world 1. Invitation to Sociology / Peter L. Berger 3 An overview of sociology 2. What Is Sociology? Comparing Sociology and the Other Social Sciences / James M. Henslin 8 The sociological imagination 3. The Promise / C. Wright Mills 20 II. DOING SOCIOLOGICAL RESEARCH 29 How sociologists gather data 4. How Sociologists Do Research / James M. Henslin 35 Interviewing in a difficult situation 5. "Riding the Bull at Gilley's": Convicted Rapists Describe the Rewards of Rape / Diana Scully, Joseph Marolla 48 Using experiments to uncover causation 6. Would You Hire an Ex-Convict? / Devah Pager 63 Learning the ropes: Fieldwork in an urban setting7. Doing Research with Streetcorner Crack Dealers / Bruce A. Jacobs 73 III. THE CULTURAL CONTEXT OF SOCIAL LIFE 83 Ritual and magic in everyday life 8. Body Ritual Among the Nacirema / Horace Miner 87 Where violence is taken for granted 9. Doing Fieldwork Among the Yanomamo / Napoleon A. Chagnon 92 Conforming to internalized culture 10. The Sounds of Silence / Edward T. Hall, Mildred R. Hall 109 Following rules we don't even know we have 11. Sympathy in Everyday Life / Candace Clark 118 Impression management 12. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life / Erving Goffman 135 IV. SOCIALIZATION AND GENDER 147 Learning to be human 13. Extreme Isolation / Kingsley Davis 151 Learning to be male 14. On Becoming Male: Reflections of a Sociologist on Childhood and Early Socialization / James M. Henslin 161 Learning to be female 15. On Becoming Female: Lessons Learned in School / Donna Eder 173 Putting boundaries around the sexes 16. Sexuality and Gender in Children's Daily Worlds / Barrie Thorne, Zella Luria 180 Talking past one another 17. "But What Do You Mean?" Women and Men in Conversation / Deborah Tannen 192 V. SOCIAL GROUPS AND SOCIAL STRUCTURE 199 Gender and selling cars 18. Attacking Nicely: Women Selling Cars / Helene M. Lawson 203 Making our bodies conform 19. Religion and Morality in Weight Loss Groups / Kandi M. Stinson 217 Desexualizing social interaction 20. Behavior in Pubic Places: The Sociology of the Vaginal Examination / James M. Henslin, Mae A. Biggs 229 The discards of industrial society 21. The Lives of Homeless Women / Elliot Liebow 242 Preparing for final farewells 22. Handling the Stigma of Handling the Dead / William E. Thompson 249 VI. DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL 265 Conformity and group pressure 23. If Hitler Asked You to Electrocute a Stranger, Would You? Probably / Philip Meyer 269 Doing the unthinkable 24. Eating Your Friends Is the Hardest: The Survivors of the F-227 / James M. Henslin 277 Neutralizing extreme deviance 25. Becoming a Hit Man / Ken Levi 287 How labels affect life 26. The Saints and the Roughnecks / William J. Chambliss 299 The deviance of social control 27. The Pathology of Imprisonment / Philip G. Zimbardo 315 What is normal? 28. On Being Sane in Insane Places / David L. Rosenhan 322 VII. SOCIAL INEQUALITY 335 Physical appearance 29. The Importance of Being Beautiful / Sidney Katz 341 Gender oppression 30. Fraternities and Rape on Campus / Patricia Y