Sociology For Dummies

887 Pages·2012·25.4 MB·English

Sociology

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SRA
Table of Contents
« Introduction
+ About This Book
« Conventions Used in This Book
+ Sociology is Controversial: Brace Yourself!
+ How This Book Is Organized
« Part I: The Basic Basics
«Part II: Seeing Society Like a Sociologist
+ Part TIT: Divided — er, United — We Stand:
Equality and Inequality in Our Diverse
World
+ Part IV: All Together Now: The Ins and
Outs of Social Organization
+ Part V: Sociology and Your Life
Part VI: The Part of Tens
«Icons Used In This Book
+ Where To Go Trom Tere.
«Partl
«Chapler_1: Sociology: Gelung Your Head
Around It
+ Understanding Sociology
+ Defining socivlogy
+ The history of sociology
+ Doing sociolagy
+ Seeing the World as a Sociologist
+ Understanding cullure
+ Microsociology
+ Network sociology
+ Understanding Differences Among People

and Groups
+ Social stratification

+ Race and sex
+ Religion
+ Crime and deviance
+ Social Organization
+ Corporate culture
+ Social movements and political sociology

+ Urban sociology
+ Sociology and Your Life
-T
« Sociology for Dummies, for Dummies
+ Chapler 2: Whal Is Socivlogy, and Why Should
1Care?

+ Figuring Out What Sociology Is
+ Defining sociology
+ Sludying socicly scicnlifically
«Asking and answering sociological

questions

+ Discovering Where Sociology Is "Done"
+ Colleges and universilics
+ 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-tree way
+ Visualizing connections across times and
places
+ Uncovering whal really matters... and
what doesn't
+ Informing social policy
+ Keeping a unique perspective for everyday
problems
«Chapter 3: Making It Up as They Went Along:
The History of Sociology
«So... Who Cares about History?
«Thinking aboul Socicly before There Was
Sociology
+ People are the same everywhere van go .
except when they aren't
+ Pre-socivlogists: People wilh ideas aboul
society
+ Political and industrial revolution: Ready
or not, here it comes
The Development of "Socivlogy"
+ Figuring out life with positivism
+ Common themes of early sociologists
+ Sociology: ‘The most ambitious science
+ Sociology's Power ‘Irio
+ Karl Marx
« Emile Durkheim
+ Max Weber
+ Sociology in the zoth Century
«Taking il lo the slreels: The Chicago

School
Mass society: Are we, or are we not,
sheep?
+ The Power Elile: Mary's revenge
* Sociology Today

+Chapter_4: Research Methods: Becanse You
Can't Put Society in a'lest‘lube

« The Steps of Socivlogical Research
+ Askyour question
+ Check the literature
+ Operationalize vour question and find your

data

+ Analyze your data
+ Interpret vour results

« Choosing a Method
+ Quantitative vs. qualitative
+ Cross-sectional vs. longiludinal
« Hybrid methods

+ Analyzing Analytical Tools
+ Statistics
+ Qualitative data

+ Preparing For Potential Pitfalls
+ Data/theory mismatch
+ Getting overzealous
« The missing links
* Statistical snafus
+ Mistakes just plain oops!

«Part
+ Chapter 5: Socialization: Whalis “Culture,” and
Where Can I Get Some?

+ Understanding What Culture Is — and Tsn't
+ Defining “culture”
+ Breaking down structure
+ Examining the culture-structure

contimmm

+ Studying Culture: Makin' It and ‘akin’ It
+ Other angles on culture
+ The production of cullure
+The reception of culture
+ Paddling the "Mainstream"
+ Subculture
+ Microcullures
+ Socialization: Where You Connect in Culture
+ Nature vs. nurture: Social psychology
+ You are who other people think vou are
+ Cullure Paradox: Pulling Us Together und
Pushing Us Apart
+ Uniting throngh eniture
+ Dividing because of culture

« Chapler 6: Microsocivlogy: If Life Is a Game,
What Are the Rules?

+ Within You and Without You: The Paradox

of Society
+ Social facls: The sum of our paris
+ Use a tool (from your social repertoire) —
don't be one

+ Rational — and Irrational — Choices
+ Making rational choices — or, at_least,
rying Lo
+ D'oh! Making poor choices
Symbolic Interactionism: Life isa Stage
+ Play ball! The rules of the game
* Slop [rontin’: Swilching roles, changing
frames
+ Chapter 7: Canght in the Web: The Power of
Networks
«The Global Village: Seeing Socicly_us_a
Network
+ It's all abont yon: Egocentrie networks
+ Aweb of relationships
« The Surength of Weak Tics
+ Why your acquaintances are more valuable
than your best friends
+ Finda structural hole and jump in!
« Insights from Network Analysis
+The difference hetween "your society" and
your society
+ Opening the channels of communication
+Social_networking online: Making the
invisible visible
«Part IID
+Chapter_8: Social Stratification: We're_All
Equal, But Some of Us Are More Equal ‘Than
Others
« Excavating the Social Strata
+ Understanding sacial inequality
+The _perennial__debate:__Is__inequality
ecessary?
+ The Many Means of Inequality
+ Income and wealth
+ Occupation

+ Innate abilily
« Motivation

+ Connections

+ Credentials

+ Education

+ Specialized knowledge

+ Race/sex/caste discrimination
+ Age discrimination