The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology, Third Edition
The Practical Skeptic: Readings in Sociology, Third Edition
The Practical Skeptic: Core Concepts in Sociology Introduction So, What Is Sociology? The Value of Sociology to Students Tips for Studying Sociologyand an Invitation Chapter 1 Responding to Chaos: A Brief History of Sociology Inquiries into the Physical World Technology, Urbanization, and Social Upheaval The Origins of Modern Sociology in France: mile Durkheim EXCERPT: MILE DURKHEIM, From Suicide (1897) and The Rules of the Sociological Method (1904) The Origins of Modern Sociology in Germany: Ferdinand TEnnies, Max Weber, and Karl Marx EXCERPT: FERDINAND TENNIES, From Gemeinschaft and Gesellschaft (1887) Karl Marx The Origins of Modern Sociology in England: Herbert Spencer Sociology in the United States The Place of Sociology in Modern Society Chapter Review Chapter 2 The Sociological EyeThe Focus on the Social Skepticism Nail down that distinction between manifest and latent functions! Chapter Review Chapter 3 Science and Fuzzy Objects: Specializationin SociologDividing Up the Task Topic Area or Subject Matter Theoretical Perspectives (Paradigms): Functionalist, Conflict, and Symbolic Interactionist The Functionalist Paradigm
The Conflict Paradigm
The Symbolic Interactionist Paradigm
Which Paradigm Is Correct? Levels of Analysis: Microsociology and Macrosociology Chapter Review Chapter 4 Who's Afraid of Sociology?The Empirical World and Inconvenient Facts Ethnocentrism Avoiding Ethnocentrism Can Be Difficult Cultural Relativism Chapter Review Chapter 5 The Vocabulary of ScienceVariables HypothesesKinds of Variables: Independent Versus Dependent Kinds of Relationships: Directionality Operational Definitions Tables and Figures Chapter ReviewBack to Top Chapter 6 Doing Social ResearchTwo Traditions: Quantitative and Qualitative ResearchFirst Things First: The Lit Review The Survey Types of Survey Questions Six guidelines for crafting survey questions The Art of Asking Questions The Experiment Five rules for doing true experiments ObservationUnobtrusive (Nonreactive) Research Artifacts
Use of Existing Statistics
Content Analysis The Importance of Triangulation Sampling Ethics and social research Chapter Review Chapter 7 CultureMaterial and Nonmaterial Culture Nonmaterial culture
Symbols
Language
Norms
Types of norms
Sanctions The power of informal sanctions Values What do Americans value? Ponder Contents xi Ideology Statements of Belief Ideas and Beliefs How It Adds Up Culture as a Product of Action Culture as a Conditioning Element of Further Action Problems identified and resolved in all known cultures Varieties of cultural wisdom Social Institutions Social Change: Cultural Diffusion and Leveling Subcultures and Countercultures EXCERPT: MARGARET VISSER, From Much Depends on Dinner (1986) Chapter Review Chapter 8 Social StructureStatuses Roles Tricky Situation 1: Role Strain
Tricky Situation 2: Status Inconsistency
Tricky Situation 3: Role Conflict Tricky tricky situations Master Status Groups Primary and Secondary Groups
Formal Organizations and Bureaucracies
Ideal-Type Bureaucracies Chapter Review Chapter 9 Society and Social InstitutionsSocietal Needs The Nature of Social Institutions Institutions Are Generally Unplanned; They Develop
Gradually
Institutions Are Inherently Conservative; They Change,
But Slowly
A Particular Society's Institutions Are
Interdependent; Because of This, Change in One
Institution Tends to Bring About Change in Others
The Statuses, Roles, Values, and Norms Associated
with an Institution in One Society Frequently Bear
Little Resemblance to Those in Another Society Polygamy and monogamy Social Change: The Trend Toward Increasing Specialization Chapter Review Chapter 10 Socialization Nature and Nurture: Biological and Social Processes How Socialization Works
The Looking-Glass Self: Charles Horton Cooley
The "I" and the "Me": George Herbert Mead
Family EXCERPT: GEORGE HERBERT MEAD, From Play and Games in the Genesis of Self (1934) School
Mass Media
Peer Groups Rites of passage The Workplace Resocialization and Total Institutions Ponder Chapter Review Chapter 11 Deviance and Social ControlThe Relativity of Deviance (What We Already Know) Nonsociological Theories of Deviance Sociological Theories of Deviance: mile Durkheim and Suicide The Collective Conscience and Structural Strain
Egoism and Anomie More Structural Strain: Robert Merton and Anomie Anomie and Modern Social Structure
Responses to Anomie Legitimate Versus Illegitimate Means Learning to Be Deviant: Howard Becker's Study of Marijuana Use Learning to Smoke Learning to Perceive the Effects Learning to Enjoy the Effects The Societal Reaction Perspective: Labeling Theory The Functions of Deviance: Maintenance of the Status Quo and Social Change Ponder Chapter Review Chapter 12 Stratification and InequalityCaste Systems Estate Systems A year in the life of the peasant Class Systems Theoretical Conceptions of Class Ponder Some Words About Slavery Social Mobility and Open Versus Closed Systems Chapter Review Chapter 13 Inequality and Achievement: Social Class The Matthew effect Explaining Social Stratification Cultural Explanations Structural Explanations Beyond academics The Pygmalion Effect: The Power of Expectations The Fallacy of Hard Work Ponder Social Mobility, Social Structure, and Social Change Chapter Review Chapter 14 Inequality and Ascription: Race, Ethnicity, and GenderWhy a Dollar Is Not Always a Dollar Prejudice Discrimination Discrimination and "Isms" The Social Construction of Minority Groups Gender Chapter Review References Glossary/Index Credits Back to Top
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The Practical Skeptic: Readings in Sociology Part One The Sociological Imagination 1 C. Wright Mills The Promise 2 Stephanie Coontz How History and Sociology Can Help Todays Families 3. Lisa J. McIntyre Hernando Washington Part Two THE RESEARCH CRAFT 4 Simon Davis Men as Success Object and Women as Sex Objects: A Study of Personal Advertisements 5 David A. Karp and William C. Yoels Student Participation in the College Classroom 6 Lisa J. McIntyre Doing the Right Thing: Ethics in Research 7 Philip Meyer If Hitler Asked You to Electrocute a Stranger, Would You? Probably Part Three CULTURE 8 Clyde Kluckhohn Queer Customs 9 Horace Miner Body Ritual Among the Nacirema 10 Poranee Natadecha-Sponsel The Young, the Rich, and the Famous: Individualism as an American Cultural Value 11 Theodore Caplow Rule Enforcement Without Visible Means: Christmas Gift Giving in Middletown 12 Elijah Anderson The Code of the Streets 13 Michael A. Messner, Margaret Carlisle Duncan and Kerry Jensen Separating the Men from the Girls: The Gendered Language of Televised Sports Part Four SOCIAL STRUCTURE 14 Erving Goffman The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life 15 Philip Zimbardo The Pathology of Imprisonment 16 Deborah Tannen Marked: Women in the Workplace 17 Greta Feoff Paules “Getting” and “Making” a Tip 18 William E. Thompson Handling the Stigma of Handling the Dead: Morticians and Funeral Directors 19 Harvey Molotch The Rest Room and Equal Opportunity Part Five SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS AND SOCIALIZATION 20 Myra Sadker and David Sadker Hidden Lessons 21 Peter W. Cookson, Jr., and Caroline Hodges Persell Elite Boarding Schools: Curricula as Cultural Capital 22 Nancy Tatom Ammerman The Nurture and Admonition of the Lord: Raising Children 23 Philip Cowan and Carolyn Pape Cowan New Families: Modern Couples as New Pioneers 24 Gwynne Dyer Anybody’s Son Will Do 25 Thomas J. Schmid and Richard S. Jones Suspended Identity: Identity Transformation in a Maximum Security Prison 26 Patti A. Giuffre and Christine L. Williams Not Just Bodies: Strategies for Desexualizing the Physical Examination of Patients Part Six DEVIANCE AND SOCIAL CONTROL 27 Emile Durkheim The Normality of Crime 28 Wiliam J. Chambliss The Saints and the Roughnecks 29 D.L. Rosenhan On Being Sane in Insane Places 30 A. Ayres Boswell and Joan Z. Spade Fraternities and Collegiate Rape Culture: Why Are Some Fraternities More Dangerous Places for Women? 31 Emily E. LaBeff, Robert E. Clark, Valerie J. Haines, and George M. Diekhoff Situational Ethics and College Student Cheating 32 Michael L. Benson Denying the Guilty Mind: Accounting for Involvement in White-Collar Crime Part Seven INEQUALITY 33 James Loewen The Land of Opportunity 34 Melvin M. Tumin Some Principles of Stratification: A Critical Analysis 35 Barbara Ehrenreich Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America 36 Katherine Newman and Chauncy Lennon The Job Ghetto 37 Joe R. Feagin Racism 38 Robin D. G. Kelley Confessions of a Nice Negro, or Why I Shaved My Head 39 Yin Ling Leung The Model Minority Myth: Asian Americans Confront Growing Backlash 40 Adriane Fugh-Berman, M.D. Tales Out of Medical School Back to Top | 
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