Living Sociologically Concepts and Connections

Students are drawn to topics of urgent sociological concern--race, class, gender, family, popular culture, health, and crime--by a need to both understand the forces that shape their world, and their desire to make the world better. It can be challenging, however, for students to link sociological concepts with real-world applications. Living Sociologically: Concepts and Connections helps students make those connections.

Encouraging students to observe, explore, and think critically about the social world, Living Sociologically offers a new, class-tested framework for teaching introduction to sociology. The "paired concepts" approach demonstrates the interdependent ways in which social forces work, and encourages students to engage with complexity and contradiction. It also connects students to a broader set of questions and provides them with critical, analytical tools for their post-college lives.

In addition, each chapter includes an opening vignette, examples of contemporary research, box features that exemplify the five paired concepts, career boxes, methods and interpretation boxes, case studies, review sections, and practical activities.

Ron Jacobs (Ph.D, UCLA) is Professor of Sociology at the University at Albany, State University of New York.

Eleanor Townsley (Ph.D., UCLA) is the Andrew A. Mellon Professor of Sociology and the Director of the curriculum to career program, Nexus, at Mount Holyoke College.

Preface

Part I: The Basics

1. What Is Sociology?
What Is Sociology?
The Sociological Imagination
The Discipline of Sociology
Sociology and Everyday Knowledge
Levels of Analysis
Microsociology
Macrosociology
Institutional Perspectives
Thinking Relationally: The Paired Concepts
Solidarity and Conflict
Power and Resistance
Inequality and Privilege
Global and Local
Structure and Contingency
Why Sociology?
CAREERS Different Careers of Sociology Majors

2. American Sociology: Theory and Contexts
Thinking Like a Sociologist
Critical Questions and the Sociological Imagination
Sociology, Theory, and the Social Sciences
Classical Sociology
The Industrial Revolution
The Democratic Revolution
The Creation of Nation-States
The European Canon
The Forgotten Canon?
Sociology in America
The Chicago School and American Sociology
Conflict, Consensus, and Symbolic Interaction
Sociology Theory Today
Moving Away from Grand Theories
Theories About Difference
The Cultural Turn
Global Context
Sociology Today
Thinking Sociologically
Why Sociology?
Case Study: W. E. B. Du Bois and the History of American Sociology
METHODS AND INTERPRETATION Measuring the Effect of Education on Earnings
CAREERS The Importance of Theory
Paired Concepts
POWER AND RESISTANCE Sociological Theorists in the Real World
INEQUALITY AND PRIVILEGE Forgotten Founders in Sociology
GLOBAL AND LOCAL The Importance of Immigration in American Sociology
STRUCTURE AND CONTINGENCY Inverting and Subverting the Social Script
SOLIDARITY AND CONFLICT The History of SWS

3. Doing Sociology: Research Methods and Critical Literacy
Social Research
Social Research and Ethics
Social Research and Sociology in Media, Politics and Everyday Life
Science and Complex Societies
The Research Process
Data and Measurement
Variables, Data Collection, and Causal Relationships
Three Common Strategies for Sociological Research
Talking to People: Survey Analysis, Interviews, and Focus Groups
Observation: Ethnography and Experiments
Analysis of Publicly Available Data Sources: Media Reports, Government Documents, Official Statistics, and Big Data
The Social Nature of Social Research
The Challenge of Studying People
Basic, Applied, and Public Sociology
Case Study: Doing Sociology in Society (Including Society Online)
METHODS AND INTERPRETATION Data Sources: Major Surveys Conducted by Sociologists
CAREERS Careers in Applied Sociology
Paired Concepts
POWER AND RESISTANCE: Human Subjects Protection in Social Research
SOLIDARITY AND CONFLICT Race, Difference, and the Politics of Medical Research
INEQUALITY AND PRIVILEGE Studying Doormen in New York
LOCAL AND GLOBAL Citizen Science: Using Local Data to Understand Global Patterns
STRUCTURE AND CONTINGENCY The Baby Einstein Phenomenon

Part II: Structure and Control

4. Culture
How Do Sociologists Study Culture?
What Is Culture?
Material Culture and Ideal Culture
Culture and Power
Cultural Power
Resisting Cultural Power
Types of Culture in Today's World
Global Culture
Dominant Cultures and Subcultures
Popular Culture and Commercial Culture in Industrializing Europe and Around the World
High Culture
CASE STUDY Protesting the National Anthem
METHODS AND INTERPRETATION Measuring Culture Using Big Data
CAREERS Working in the Creative Industries
Paired Concepts
STRUCTURE AND CONTINGENCY The Protocols of the Elders of Zion
GLOBAL AND LOCAL The History of Manga
SOLIDARITY AND CONFLICT Music and Social Protest
POWER AND RESISTANCE Fanfiction
INEQUALITY AND PRIVILEGE Who Goes to the Museum and Opera?

5. Socialization, Social Interaction, and Group Life
Socialization and Selfhood
Nature and Nurture
The Social Self
Agents of Socialization
Adult Socialization
Interaction and the Social Construction of Reality
Status and Role
Performance and the Social Self
Social Interaction in a Digital Age
Group Life
Group Size
Primary Groups and Secondary Groups
Reference Groups
Bureaucracy in Group Life
Social Networks in Group Life
Case Study: Caitlyn Jenner and Gender Socialization
METHODS AND INTERPRETATION Life-Course Research on Socialization
CAREERS Getting a Job: The Strength of Weak Ties
Paired Concepts
INEQUALITY AND PRIVILEGE Different Styles of Parenting
STRUCTURE AND CONTINGENCY What is the Meaning of Fair Play? The 2012 Olympic Badminton Controversy
POWER AND RESISTANCE Challenging Gender Stereotypes with the SlutWalk Campaign
SOLIDARITY AND CONFLICT The Stanford Prison Experiment
GLOBAL AND LOCAL Bureaucracy in Singapore

6. Deviance, Crime, and Punishment
Deviance
Why Does Deviance Exist?
The Social Construction of Deviance
Crime
Categories of Crime
Policing Crime
Surveillance
Punishment
Punishment as a Public Display of Morality
Punishment and Treatment
Incarceration
CASE STUDY Why Are Crime Stories So Popular?
CAREERS Careers in the Criminal Justice Field
METHODS AND INTERPRETATION Measuring the Crime Rate
Paired Concepts
STRUCTURE AND CONTINGENCY Is Chewing Gum Deviant?
SOLIDARITY AND CONFLICT The Moral Panic Over School Bullying
POWER AND RESISTANCE What's Wrong with Graffiti?
GLOBAL AND LOCAL The Global Drug Trade
INEQUALITY AND PRIVILEGE Punishment and Plea Bargaining

Part III: Difference and Inequality

7. Inequality, Mobility and Social Change
What Is Inequality?
Is Inequality Natural or Social?
Is Inequality Good or Bad?
Inequality and Stratification
Types of Stratification
Caste Systems
Class Systems
Status Systems
Party Systems: Inequality through Meritocracy
The Role of Consumption in Reproducing Inequality
A Portrait of Stratification Today
Stratification in the US
Global Stratification
Social Mobility
Social Factors Associated with Mobility
Structural Mobility
Social Change and the Attempt to Create More Equality
Social Policy
Social Conflict
CASE STUDY The Bachelor: Crystallizing Stratification on TV
METHODS AND INTERPRETATION Measuring Status Attainment and Social Mobility
CAREERS Social Mobility and Career Planning
Paired Concepts
POWER AND RESISTANCE Ending Apartheid in South Africa
INEQUALITY AND PRIVILEGE Marketing to the Super-Rich
GLOBAL AND LOCAL Wealthy Chinese Students at Elite US Schools
STRUCTURE AND CONTINGENCY Creating Social Security
SOLIDARITY AND CONFLICT A Short History of the Worker's Strike in the United States

8. Race, Ethnicity and Multiculturalism
The Social Construction of Race
Race and Biology
The Changing Understanding of Race Over Time
Race And Ethnicity
Racial and Ethnic Groups in the US
Native Americans
White Ethnic Groups
African Americans
Latinas and Latinos
Asian Americans
Race, Privilege, and Inequality
The Privileges of Being in the Majority Group
Racial Discrimination and Segregation
Consequences of Discrimination
Colorblind Racism
Racial Conflict
Multiculturalism and Diversity
Assimilation and Racial Privilege
Challenging Assimilation
Multiculturalism (Movement and Policy)
Multiracial and Multiethnic Identities
CASE STUDY Intersecting Identities
METHODS AND INTERPRETATION Defining and Measuring Race in Official Government Data
CAREERS Multiculturalism in the Workplace
Paired Concepts
STRUCTURE AND CONTINGENCY The Growth and Success of Native American Casinos
SOLIDARITY AND CONFLICT W.E.B. Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, and the Struggle to Define African American Politics
GLOBAL AND LOCAL Latino Computer Engineers from Columbia and Puerto Rico
INEQUALITY AND PRIVILEGE How Irish Americans Became White
POWER AND RESISTANCE Black Lives Matter

9. Gender, Sexuality and the Body
Sex, Gender, and the Body
Gender and Performance
Gender Stereotypes
Gender and Power
Masculinity and Femininity
The Gender Order
Divisions of Labor
Workplace Harassment and Sexual Exclusions in Work and Public Spaces
Challenging Patriarchy and the History of the Women's Movement
Sexuality and the Body
Romance
Marketing Desire
Heteronormativity
Queer Identities Beyond the Closet
CASE STUDY Gender Intersections at McDonalds
CAREERS Women, Men and Social Networks in Careers
METHODS AND INTERPRETATION Gender Bias in Social Research
Paired Concepts
STRUCTURE AND CONTINGENCY Classifying Intersexed Babies
INEQUALITY AND PRIVILEGE Men in Pink-Collar Work
SOLIDARITY AND CONFLICT Feminist Politics
GLOBAL AND LOCAL Sex Work
POWER AND RESISTANCE Stonewall

Part IV: Institutions and Issues

10. Marriage, Family and the Law
Family and Society
Family, Kinship, and Society
Marriage and Family as Social Institutions
Changes in Marriage and Family
Traditional Families and Nuclear Families
Divorce
Single-Parent Families
Delay and Decline of Marriage
Boomerang Kids and Sandwich Parents
Transnational Families
Challenging Family Forms
Feminist Challenges to the Family
Blended Families
Multiracial Families
Lesbian and Gay Families
CASE STUDY Family Names
CAREERS Marriage and Family Therapists
METHODS AND INTERPRETATION The Debate About Birth-Order Effects
Paired Concepts
INEQUALITY AND PRIVILEGE Legal Biases in Favor of Marriage
SOLIDARITY AND CONFLICT Disagreements Over Parenting Styles
STRUCTURE AND CONTINGENCY "Bird-Nesting" As A Co-Parenting Strategy After Divorce
GLOBAL AND LOCAL Korean "Wild Geese" Families
POWER AND RESISTANCE Loving vs. Virginia

11. Science, Religion and Knowing
Religion and Science as Ways of Knowing the World
Religious Cosmologies
Scientific Cosmologies
Religion as a Social Institution
Elements of Religious Institutions
The Major Religions And Their Global Impact
Modern Society and Secularism
The Secularization Thesis
The Persistence of Religion
Religion and Politics
Science as a Social Institution
The Sociology of Science
Science and Technology Studies
The Crisis of Knowing, and the Importance of Belief
Epistemological Doubts
Can Science and Religion Coexist?
CASE STUDY Debating Evolution In Public Schools
METHODS AND INTERPRETATION Measuring Religious Commitment
CAREERS Women's Careers in STEM
Paired Concepts
POWER AND RESISTANCE Galileo, Darwin and the Church
GLOBAL AND LOCAL Catholicism in Africa
SOLIDARITY AND CONFLICT Religious Proselytizing
INEQUALITY AND PRIVILEGE Science and the Matthew Effect
STRUCTURE AND CONTINGENCY The Invention of Velcro

12. Health, Illness and Medicine
Health
Geography, Class, Race, Gender, Age and Other Differences
Genetics
Environment
An Intersectional Understanding of Health Disparities
Illness
Experiencing Illness Differently
Being a Patient
Medicalization
Medicine
Medical Institutions
Public Health
Social Responses to Sickness and Illness
Access to Health Care
CASE STUDY: Genetic Testing
METHODS AND INTERPRETATION Race-Based Medicine
CAREERS Sociology and Medicine
Paired Concepts
INEQUALITY AND PRIVILEGE How Inequality Shapes Our Final Years
POWER AND RESISTANCE Stigma and Size
SOLIDARITY AND CONFLICT Disruptive Behavior in Medical Settings
GLOBAL AND LOCAL Does Modern Society Make You Sick?
STRUCTURE AND CONTINGENCY Waiting For An Organ Transplant

13. Politics, Media and Social Movements
Politics as the Struggle for Influence
Coercive Power and Persuasive Power
Hegemony, Critique, and Resistance
Politics and Democracy
The Democratic Revolution
Comparing Systems of Representation
Public Opinion and Popular Sovereignty
Representing the People
Mediated Politics
Who Speaks For The Public?
Media and Agenda Setting
Economic Distortions of the Media Agenda
Social Movements
Challenging the Powerful
Organizing for Change
Getting Noticed
Movement Success
CASE STUDY The Strange History of the US Electoral College
METHODS AND INTERPRETATION Does Concentration of Media Ownership Matter?
CAREERS Sociology and Careers in Politics
Paired Concepts
POWER AND RESISTANCE Public Protests in Tahrir Square
INEQUALITY AND PRIVILEGE Who Gets Elected To The US Senate?
SOLIDARITY AND CONFLICT Push Polls and the Politics of Division
STRUCTURE AND CONTINGENCY: Barack Obama and "Joe the Plumber"
GLOBAL AND LOCAL The Creation of Greenpeace

14. Economy, Education, Work and Recreation
What Is Education For?
Literacy, Socialization, Citizenship, and Job Training
Social Sorting, Social Reproduction, and Social Mobility
Childcare and Employment
Going To School
Types of Schools
Teaching, Learning, and Assessment
Making Friends and Building Networks
Work and Recreation
Power, Privilege, and Inequality in the Workplace
The Sociology of Job Satisfaction
Historical Changes in the Economy
The Transition to Capitalism
Post-Industrialism and the Changing Nature of the Economy
Economic Crisis and Insecurity in an Age of Globalization
CASE STUDY. What Kind of Education Do People Need in Today's Economy?
METHODS AND INTERPRETATION Measuring Learning Outcomes and Teaching Effectiveness
CAREERS The Uber-ization of the Economy
Paired Concepts
SOLIDARITY AND CONFLICT The Fight Over Campus Speech Codes
GLOBAL AND LOCAL The Spread of Singapore Math
INEQUALITY AND PRIVILEGE How Elite Students Get Elite Jobs
POWER AND RESISTANCE The #MeToo Movement
STRUCTURE AND CONTINGENCY How Indoor Cycling Became a Multi-Billion-Dollar Industry

Part V: Change, Issues, and the Future

15. Population, Immigration and Urbanization
Population
Demography and Population Growth
Trends in Population Growth
Urbanization
Basic Concepts and Theories of Urbanization
Historical Patterns and Current Trends in Urbanization
Living in Cities
Immigration
Trends in Immigration
What Causes Immigration?
Immigrant Communities
The Politics of Immigration
CASE STUDY: Retirement Immigration to Central America
CAREERS Career Trends in Gerontology
METHODS AND INTERPRETATION Measuring Immigration Flows
Paired Concepts
STRUCTURE AND CONTINGENCY The Growth of Brambleton, Virginia
INEQUALITY AND PRIVILEGE Why London Real Estate Is So Expensive
GLOBAL AND LOCAL How the H1-B Visa Program Transformed Tech and Education in the US and India
SOLIDARITY AND CONFLICT the Jewish-American Diaspora and US Foreign Policy
POWER AND RESISTANCE A Day Without Immigrants

16. EPILOGUE Living on the Planet: Environment, Disaster and Risk
Living in Risk Society
Learning About The Environment: Culture and Socialization, Science and Religion
The Unequal Distribution of Environmental Risk
The Politics and Business of Environmental Destruction and Conservation
Making Wastefulness Deviant: Moments of Environmental Consciousness
Sociological Realism: Limits on Environmental Progress

Glossary
References
Credits
Index