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Currently enrolled students should use the Blackboard site to access announcements, the current course schedule, quizzes, gradebook and discussion boards.
From the course catalogue: The study of human society: the nature of culture and its organization. Processes of communication, socialization, mobility, population growth. Credit not given for both 101 and 103.
This course introduces students to the fundamental questions and perspectives that guide sociological inquiry. Sociology is the study of people in groups, and we begin the course by understanding the significance of the sociological perspective, and what it means to apply this perspective to everyday phenomena. We will begin by learning about how we are taught to become individuals, and members of society, and then how these individual behaviors aggregate into group dynamics. In particular, we’ll examine organizations, social class and stratification. After spring break, we’ll turn to an examination of the key social dynamos: politics, the economy, racial and ethnic stratification, religion, work, the mass media, the family, religion, education, the health care system and social movement dynamics.
By the end of the term, you should have the basic tools and skills needed to:
1. Understand the role of sociology as a disciplinary pursuit, in particular, its function as a science, a tool for advocacy and social change, and its utility to the economy, the health care system and social change.
2. Understand the connections between events in your own life and the world around you.
3. Proceed to any other sociology course offered in our department.
Required texts
The readings listed below are the required texts for the course. The books are available at the campus bookstore. The text and reader listed below are bundled together.
Anderson, Margaret L, Kim A. Logio, and Howard F. Taylor. Understanding Society: An Introductory Reader. Second Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2005.
Indicated in syllabus as (R).
Anderson, Margaret and Howard Taylor. Sociology: Understanding a Diverse Society. Fourth Edition. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2006.
Indicated in syllabus as (T).
There will be additional readings (indicated in the syllabus as (Addn)); these will be made available as PDF files on Blackboard.
Companion Website:Wadsworth has created a companion website for the text, at which you can find helpful research and study tools. I highly recommend that students utilize this resource; it can be found here.
The course is designed as a lecture course, with discussion and practica secondarily emphasized. Students are expected to attend every class, read the assigned texts prior to the due date, and actively participate in class and on-line discussions.
Practica: We will perform 8 practica over the course of this term. These are exercises designed to utilize your ‘sociological imagination,’ and as such they require that you utilize the course material to illuminate practical experiences designed for you. The preliminary schedule includes watching and responding to a film, creating a budget for a low-income family, and listening to and interrogating a guest speaker. These written assignments should be typed and typically two to three pages in length. They are due at the start of the class period on which they are assigned. Practica will be docked one grade increment (e.g., from an A to an A-) for each DAY they are late, including weekends. For our purposes, the “day” begins at the start of our class period. Practica will not be accepted if they are more than two days late. All papers must be double-spaced, 12 point font, with one-inch margins, and without excessive carriage returns between sections. 5% each; 40% of final grade.
Quizzes: You will complete take-home quizzes on each chapter we read. There are 17 of these over the course of the semester. They will be distributed on-line; specifically, they will be posted on Blackboard at the end of the previous class period. Quizzes are due at the start of the class period on which they are assigned. Quizzes will not be accepted after the start of class. There are no extensions, without an agreement between the dean’s office and the instructor that you have experienced a personal or medical emergency. 2.5% each; 42.5% of final grade.
Book report: You will be responsible for choosing a sociological work (see Appendix A--bottom of web page) and writing a 4-5 page scholarly review. This exercise is designed to get you to think critically about a single work in its entirety. It is expected that you will be reading the book throughout the semester so that you will be able to use the reading to bolster class discussions. We will encourage this by asking you direct questions in class discussion (linking your text to the day’s theme) and by including questions on quizzes pertaining to your book. Your review should model those in the journal Contemporary Sociology, which can be found either in the Central Library or accessed electronically from the library website (see more detailed instructions in Appendix A). Additionally, the review should critically integrate the themes and discussions of the course in the analysis of the book. You will be asked to submit your final selection in writing on Quiz #2 due January 19th. Failure to do so will result in the instructor assigning a text for you. The book review is due on April 20 at 9:30 AM., in class. No electronic submissions will be accepted. Book reports will be docked one grade increment (e.g., from an A to an A-) for each DAY they are late, including weekends. For our purposes, the “day” begins at the start of our class period. Book reports will not be accepted if they are more than two days late. All papers must be double-spaced, 12 point font, with one-inch margins, and without excessive carriage returns between sections. 9.5% of final grade.
Class Participation: Class participation grades are based not only on the frequency of your contributions but their substance. Useful, substantive contributions use course terms or concepts accurately and explicitly, and illustrate a comprehension of the course material and an ability to integrate the text, reader, and current events. Students who are unwilling or unable to participate orally will be expected to participate on-line instead. On-line participation will be located on the Blackboard Discussion Board for our class. Periodically, the instructor will post a topic for discussion, but it is our expectation that students will often post topics for discussion. Topics should explicitly link the course material with sociological dynamics witnessed in everyday life—whether that be gendered interactions at Fraternity Parties, discussions of religion and politics in the Hustler, or news briefs on Sharon’s illness and the consequences for Arab social movements. The same criteria of quality apply to written and oral comments. We have no objective standards of frequency, but I would advise that students contribute substantively to discussion (either on-line or in-class) at least once a week. 8% of final grade.
A grade of A is reserved for truly exemplary work—a mastery of the readings and discussions matched with well-written and insightful text. «A papers» ask questions, even as they propose preliminary or informed answers to others. «A papers» provide substantial evidence for their claims. «A papers» illustrate that the student has not only read the assigned material, but has thought about it and developed their thought through additional research, comparison with other material on the syllabus, material from other classes, etc. Competently completed assignments will earn a B or B+. Incomplete, messy, disorganized or intellectual irresponsible work will earn a C or C-.
All grades are final, unless an error in calculation has been made. The instructor reserves the right to change the substance or weighting of individual assignments, at any time, but with due warning.
Allow me to make some specific general suggestions for your writing, based on prior experience:
1. Write plainly. Avoid rhetorical flourishes. Use the theseurus sparingly.
2. Avoid unsubstantiated claims. If the facts you state are not self-evident, provide supporting evidence, or cite an expert who provides said evidence. Don't say «most Americans think Lost is the best show on television» without citing a scientific study that supports this claim. Don't say «many sociologists argue that Americans have good taste in television» without including a list of those sociologists in parens.
3. Spell and grammar check. If we can't understand what we are reading, we can't gauge its qualities.
4. Add page numbers.
5. Introduce your argument clearly with a thesis statement. Back up your thesis statement with salient points and evidence. Close with a «twist»--encourage your reader to ask this or that question, or investigate some sub-argument more closely.
6. Use course concepts. Define them in your own words (although if you are paraphrasing, you should cite the text page number, parenthetically).
7. Avoid hyperbole and moral evaluations.
Some other things we run into frequently, and dislike:
1. You assert opinion as fact. For example, «Bush's policy on the environment is the best practical approach» is a fine opinion, but until you provide evidence of alternative approaches to environmental policy and illustrate the relatively weak practicality of these approaches, you haven't convinced us of anything.
2. You assert «old» is intrinsically better than «new» (esp. values and culture).
3. You assert humans are stupid and easily manipulated. Or, you assert humans are independent automitons who make decisions and act without any societal influences.
Citations: Please follow the following format in all your Practica (and any other writing assignments for the course):
Citing the textbook:
Anderson & Taylor, page number.
Citing the reader:
Anderson, Taylor and Logio, page number.
Citing class notes:
Class notes, date.
Citing any other material:
Book, One Author
De Anda, Roberto M. 1995. Chicanas and Chicanos in Contemporary Society. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Book, Two Authors
Herrera-Sobek, María and Helena María Viramontes. 1995. Chicana (W)rites: On Word and Film. Berkeley, CA: Third Woman Press.
Chapter in Book
Nathan, Peter E. and Raymond S. Niaura. 1987. "Prevention of Alcohol Problems." Pp. 333-354 in Treatment and Prevention of Alcohol Problems: A Resource Manual, edited by W.M. Cox. Orlando, FL: Academic Press, Inc.
Book, No Author
Manual of Style. 1993. 14th ed. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
Journal Article, One Author
Garcia, Alma M. 1998. "An Intellectual Odyssey: Chicana/Chicano Studies Moving into the Twenty-first Century." Journal of American Ethnic History 18:109.
Journal Article, Two or More Authors
Exum, William H., Robert J. Menges, Bari Watkins, and Patricia Berglund. 1984. "Making it at the top: Women and minority faculty in the academic labor market." American Behavioral Scientist 27:301-324.
Magazine
Jana, Reena. 2000. "Preventing culture clashes - As the IT workforce grows more diverse, managers must improve awareness without creating inconsistency." InfoWorld, April 24, pp. 95.
Newspaper
Rimland, Bernard. 2000. "Do children's shots invite autism?" Los Angeles Times, April 26, A13.
Web Version of Newspapers
Clary, Mike. 2000. "Vieques Protesters Removed Without Incident." Los Angeles Times, May 5. Retrieved May 5, 2000 (http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/updates/lat_vieques000505.htm).
Information Posted on a Web Site
American Sociological Association. 2000. "Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Workshop." Washington, DC: American Sociological Association, Retrieved May 5, 2000 (http://www.asanet.org/members/socwkshp.html).
For those of you who would like additional help with your writing, Vanderbilt's Learning Center provides tutors free of charge. Appointments are recommended, and you can obtain the location and phone number of the Center from the Vanderbilt Directory.
Honesty: Vanderbilt University's honor system was instituted in 1875 and presumes that all student work submitted to fulfill academic requirements (including papers and examinations) is the student's own work, unless otherwise indicated in the text with proper footnoting, bibliographic technique, or as prescribed by the instructor. A complete description of the honor code and types of violations is available in the Student Handbook. Each student bears the responsibilty to read this text, to best protect themselves and their peers. Students should particularly note that acts of plagiarism may not solely include premediated acts of deception, but may be the result of carelessness or ignorance of acceptable citation formats. Plagiarism cases will be handed over to the Honor Council and can result in a failing grade for the course, suspension or expulsion from the University. The instructor strongly encourages students to ask specific questions about what is considered dishonest academic work, if they are ever unsure.
Other Obligations: I will expect you to be respectful at all times. In this context, respect entails showing up to class on time, listening while others are speaking, and turning off your cell phones and pagers. The instructor reserves the right to ask any student to leave the classroom at any time if they violate these simple codes of respect.
A special note to athletes in season: Please inform me in writing ASAP of all approved absences due to travel to away games. If you miss a “regular” class day, please procure notes from a classmate. If you will miss a Practicum, special arrangements need to be made, as follows:
A. If it is an “in class” Practicum, we will schedule a required make-up session and will adjust the due date of the assignment accordingly (you will be given exactly the same amount of time to complete the assignment as your peers).
B. If it is a “take home” Practicum, it is your responsibility to get a copy of the assignment before you leave for your travel, and the due date will be unchanged.
Quizzes are due by the class period on the date assigned, regardless of your travel schedule—you may turn in these assignments early, or submit them electronically. There are no exceptions to this policy. If you are struggling to complete your work and compete on the playing field, I urge you to make an appointment to speak with me—I’m happy to work with you to figure out a solution.
January 12: Introductions
Orientation
January 17: The Sociological Imagination
(T) Chapter 1
(R) Mills, C. Wright. The Sociological Imagination.
(R) Johnson, Allan G. The Forest and the Trees
Quiz: Chapter 1
January 19: Methods
(T) Chapter 2
(Addn.)Dunier, Mitch. Sidewalk. Appendix.
Quiz: Chapter 2 including binding declaration of book selections
January 24: Culture
(T) Chapter 3
(Addn) Grindstaff, Laura. The Money Shot: Trash, Class and the Making of TV Talk Shows
Adbusters Video
Quiz: Chapter 3
January 26: Culture
(R) Kilbourne, Jean. Buy This 24-Year-Old and Get All His Friends Absolutely Free.
Practicum 1: Merchants of Cool
January 31: Socialization, Social Interaction & Social Structure
(T) Chapter 4 (skip pages 92-97, skim pages 86-92 & 99-106) and Chapter 5 (skim pages 121-125)
(R) Anderson, Eli. Streetwise.
Quiz: Chapters 4 & 5
Practicum 1 Writing Assignment due
February 2: Socialization, Social Interaction & Social Structure
(R) Goffman, Erving. The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life.
Practicum 2
February 7: Groups and Organizations
(T) Chapter 6
(Addn) Giddens, Anthony. Selections on Weber from Capitalism & Modern Social Theory.
The Corporation film
Practicum 2 Writing Assignment due
Quiz: Chapter 6
February 9: Groups and Organizations
(R) Erickson, Bonnie. Social Networks: The Value of Variety.
Practicum 3
February 14: Government and Politics
(T) Chapter 19 (skip pages 526-530; skim pages 515-520)
(Addn) Foucault, Michel. Pp. 200-207 inDiscipline and Punish.
Practicum 3 Writing Assignment due
Quiz: Chapter 19
February 16: Social Class and Social Stratification
(T) Chapter 9
(R) Marx, Karl and Friedrich Engels. The Communist Manifesto.
Quiz: Chapter 9
February 21: Social Class and Social Stratification
(R) Conley, Dalton M. Wealth Matters.
Practicum 4
February 23: Economy and Work
(T) Chapter 18
(R) Presser, Harriet B. Toward a 24-Hour Economy.
Quiz: Chapter 18
February 28: Economy and Work
(R) Ehrenreich, Barbara. Nickel-and-Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America.
The Living Wage: film
March 2: Global Work
(R) Hochschild, Arlie Russel. The Nanny Chain.
Practicum 4 Writing Assignment Due.
Spring Break
March 14: Global Stratification, Population, Urbanization and the Environment
(T) Chapter 10 (skim pages 251-256) and Chapter 21 (skim pages 568-573)
(R) Bonancich et. al. The Garment Industry in the Restructuring Global Economy.
Quiz: Chapters 10 & 21
March 16: Race and Ethnicity
(T) Chapter 11
(R) DuBois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk.
(R) Martinez, Elizabeth. Seeing More Than Black & White.
Quiz: Chapter 11
Practicum 5
March 21: Race and Ethnicity
(R) Gallagher, Charles A. Color-Blind Privilege: The Social and Political Functions of Erasing the Color Line in Post Race America.
Practicum 5 Writing Assignment due
March 23: Gender
(T) Chapter 12
(R) Messner, Michael A. The Politics of Masculinities.
(R) Kimmel, Michael S. Masculinity as Homophobia.
Quiz: Chapter 12
HBO documentary: “Middle Sexes: Redefining He and She”
March 28: Sexuality
(T) Chapter 13
(Addn) Carpenter, Laura. Virginity Lost: An Intimate Portrait of First Sexual Experiences.
Quiz: Chapter 13
Practicum 6: Lecture with Laura Carpenter
March 30: Health
(T) Chapter 20
(Addn.) Smith, Allen C. and Sherryl Kleinman. Medical Students’ Contacts with the Living and the Dead.
Quiz: Chapter 20
Practicum 6 Writing Assignment due
April 4: Family
(T) Chapter 15
(R) Coltrane, Scott. Family Rituals and the Construction of Reality.
(R) Arendell, Terry. Divorce and Remarriage.
Quiz: Chapter 15
April 6: Religion
(T) Chapter 17
(R) Chaves, Mark and Dianne Hagaman. Abiding Faith.
(Addn.) Ayella, Marybeth F. Insane Therapy.
Quiz: Chapter 17
Practicum 7
April 11: Education
(T) Chapter 16
(Addn.) Taylor, Howard F. Intelligence.
(R) Orenstein, Peggy. School Girls
Quiz: Chapter 16
April 13: Collective Behavior, Social Movements and Social Change
(T) Chapters 22 and 23
Quiz: Chapters 22 & 23
Practicum 7 Writing Assignment due
April 18: Collective Behavior, Social Movements and Social Change
(R) Barber, Benjamin R. Jihad vs. McWorld.
(R) Ritzer, George. September 11, 2001: Mass Murder and Its Roots in the Symbolism of American Consumer Culture.
April 20: Meta
Book Report due
Practicum 9
April 25: Fads, Fashion, Diffusion, Contagion
(Addn.) Gladwell, Malcolm. The Tipping Point.
Practicum 9 Writing Assignment Due
Appendix A: Book Report
In this appendix, you will find a list of titles, citations, and reviews for each book. You must select one of these books for your book report. Your selection will be due on January 19th, and the book report is due April 20th (see description above). It is your responsibility to procure a copy of the text you have selected (or have been assigned). We have placed copies on paper reserve in Central Library. You will find the call number follows the entry for each book. You may also purchase the text. These are widely available—you should expect to find them for sale at Borders, BookMan/BookWoman, and other local bookstores and of course they are available on all the major web bookstores: Powells.com, Half.com, BN.com, Amazon.com, etc.
Following the list of book choices, we have attached copies of two published book reports, written in the style you should emulate in your own assignment. By emulate, we do not mean copy. Use these as a model of how to evaluate the argument of a sociological monograph: note how the author places the book in the context of larger questions, how they evaluate the evidence, claims, and scope of the text. If these two reviews are insufficient grounds for you to understand the format and content of a book review, then please access Contemporary Sociology, a journal that publishes only sociological reviews. It is available in hard copy in the library: the last year or so are in the Periodical Reading Room, older issues are bound on the six floor. The call number is: HM1 .C65. The journal is also available on-line through ProQuest and JSTOR (although the previous several years may not be posted yet). To access the electronic version, search for the journal title in Acorn, and follow the prompts to the on-line journal sites.
Kotlowitz, Alex. 1992. There Are No Children Here : The Story of Two Boys Growing Up in The Other America. Anchor.
There Are No Children Here, the true story of brothers Lafeyette and Pharoah Rivers, ages 11 and 9 at the start, brings home the horror of trying to make it in a violence-ridden public housing project. The boys live in a gang-plagued war zone on Chicago's West Side, literally learning how to dodge bullets the way kids in the suburbs learn to chase baseballs. "If I grow up, I'd like to be a bus driver," says Lafeyette at one point. That's if, not when--spoken with the complete innocence of a child. The book's title comes from a comment made by the brothers' mother as she and author Alex Kotlowitz contemplate the challenges of living in such a hostile environment: "There are no children here," she says. "They've seen too much to be children." This book humanizes the problem of inner-city pathology, makes readers care about Lafeyette and Pharoah more than they may expect to, and offers a sliver of hope buried deep within a world of chaos. From Amazon.com. HQ792 .U5 K683 1992
Kozol, Jonathan. 1992. Savage Inequalities: Children in America's Schools. New York: Harper.
Kozol believes that children from poor families are cheated out of a future by grossly underequipped, understaffed and underfunded schools in U.S. inner cities and less affluent suburbs. The schools he visited between 1988 and 1990--in burnt-out Camden, N.J., Washington, D.C., New York's South Bronx, Chicago's South Side, San Antonio, Tex., and East St. Louis, Mo., awash in toxic fumes--were "95 to 99 percent nonwhite." Kozol ( Death at an Early Age ) found that racial segregation has intensified since 1954. Even in the suburbs, he charges, the slotting of minority children into lower "tracks" sets up a differential, two-tier system that diminishes poor children's horizons and aspirations. He lets the pupils and teachers speak for themselves, uncovering "little islands of . . . energy and hope." This important, eye-opening report is a ringing indictment of the shameful neglect that has fostered a ghetto school system in America. From Publisher's Weekly. LC4091 .K69 1992
Bowen, William G. and Derek Bok. 2000. The Shape of the River: Long-term Consequences of Considering Race in College and University Admissions. Princeton University Press.
Though the whole idea of racial preferences in higher education has become a flash point of controversy, neither side of the argument has had hard empirical evidence upon which to base its claims. This is precisely the kind of information former university presidents Bowen and Bok attempt to provide, by examining the admissions policies of several (unnamed) institutions and following the fortunes of their minority graduates over a period of years. What they find is certainly provocative--and if, in the end, Bowen and Bok still haven't answered the affirmative-action conundrum, they've taken a valuable first step toward providing some of the necessary facts for an intelligent discussion of the issue. From Amazon.com. LB2351.2 .B696 1998
Hebdige, Dick. 1981. Subculture: The Meaning of Style. New York: Routledge.
"Complex and remarkably lucid, it's the first book dealing with punk to offer intellectual content. Hebdige is concerned with the UK's postwar, music-centred, white working-class subcultures, from teddy boys to mods and rockers to skinheads and punks.' From Rolling Stone. HQ 799 .G7 H4
Matthews, Anne. 1998. Bright College Years: Inside the American College Today. University of Chicago Press.
As the price of higher education escalates and the number of Americans seeking a college degree steadily rises, it is now more important then ever to think about higher education in a different way. In Bright College Years, Anne Matthews paints a provocative yet evenhanded portrait of the American campus. With each chapter dedicated to sections of the academic year, Matthews puts students, professors, and administrators under the magnifying glass. She conducts her investigation in four-year universities all across the country, from enormous state schools like the University of Texas to specialized colleges like Cal Tech. Bright College Years is a fascinating look at the changing face of the American university that will be of interest to prospective students, their parents, and anyone interested in higher education. From the book jacket. LA228 .M38 1997
Levitt, Steven D. and Stephen J. Dubner. 2005. Freakonomics : A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything. William Morrow.
Forget your image of an economist as a crusty professor worried about fluctuating interest rates: Levitt focuses his attention on more intimate real-world issues, like whether reading to your baby will make her a better student. Recognition by fellow economists as one of the best young minds in his field led to a profile in the New York Times, written by Dubner, and that original article serves as a broad outline for an expanded look at Levitt's search for the hidden incentives behind all sorts of behavior. There isn't really a grand theory of everything here, except perhaps the suggestion that self-styled experts have a vested interest in promoting conventional wisdom even when it's wrong. Instead, Dubner and Levitt deconstruct everything from the organizational structure of drug-dealing gangs to baby-naming patterns. While some chapters might seem frivolous, others touch on more serious issues, including a detailed look at Levitt's controversial linkage between the legalization of abortion and a reduced crime rate two decades later. Underlying all these research subjects is a belief that complex phenomena can be understood if we find the right perspective. Levitt has a knack for making that principle relevant to our daily lives, which could make this book a hit. Malcolm Gladwell blurbs that Levitt "has the most interesting mind in America," an invitation Gladwell's own substantial fan base will find hard to resist. From Publisher's Weekly HB74 .P8 L479 2005
Gladwell, Malcolm. 2002. The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make a Big Difference. Back Bay Books.
The premise of this facile piece of pop sociology has built-in appeal: little changes can have big effects; when small numbers of people start behaving differently, that behavior can ripple outward until a critical mass or "tipping point" is reached, changing the world. Gladwell's thesis that ideas, products, messages and behaviors "spread just like viruses do" remains a metaphor as he follows the growth of "word-of-mouth epidemics" triggered with the help of three pivotal types. These are Connectors, sociable personalities who bring people together; Mavens, who like to pass along knowledge; and Salesmen, adept at persuading the unenlightened. (Paul Revere, for example, was a Maven and a Connector). Gladwell's applications of his "tipping point" concept to current phenomena--such as the drop in violent crime in New York, the rebirth of Hush Puppies suede shoes as a suburban mall favorite, teenage suicide patterns and the efficiency of small work units--may arouse controversy. For example, many parents may be alarmed at his advice on drugs: since teenagers' experimentation with drugs, including cocaine, seldom leads to hardcore use, he contends, "We have to stop fighting this kind of experimentation. We have to accept it and even embrace it." While it offers a smorgasbord of intriguing snippets summarizing research on topics such as conversational patterns, infants' crib talk, judging other people's character, cheating habits in schoolchildren, memory sharing among families or couples, and the dehumanizing effects of prisons, this volume betrays its roots as a series of articles for the New Yorker, where Gladwell is a staff writer: his trendy material feels bloated and insubstantial in book form. From Publisher's Weekly HM1033 .G53 2000
Grindstaff, Laura. 2002. The Money Shot: Trash, Class, and the Making of TV Talk Shows. University of Chicago Press.
An assistant sociology professor at the University of California at Davis, Grindstaff draws on the language of pornography in analyzing the sometimes steamy and mostly conflict-driven realm of TV talk shows. In porn films, "the money shot" is the moment of male orgasm, and Grindstaff successfully argues that shows like Jerry Springer and Ricki Lake can only be pulled off if they have an emotionally raw "money shot" moment in which guests weep, throw chairs or fling themselves at another guest. "Like pornography," she writes, "daytime talk is a narrative of explicit revelation in which people `get down and dirty' and `bare it all' for the pleasure, fascination, or repulsion of viewers." Although similar insights have been expressed by other cultural critics, who've gone into some detail about the effects of these programs on media and society, Grindstaff veers in a refreshingly different academic direction. Approaching the subject from the inside, by interviewing producers, assistants and guests, as well as describing her own yearlong internship at two unnamed talk shows, the author provides a behind-the-camera perspective that differentiates her material from other sociology books on the topic. Her preference for academic language occasionally makes for dry reading, but it also keeps the book from being a titillating expos‚ akin to the very shows she's describing. On the whole, she lets her natural curiosity come through as she delves into the motivation of the guests, the frustration of the producers and the sheer inanity of cobbling together a show in which bouncers are forced to separate a wife from her husband's mistress. From Publisher's Weekly PN1992.8 .T3 G75 2002
Carpenter, Laura M.. 2005. Virginity Lost: An Intimate Portrait of First Sexual Experiences. New York University Press.
Nervous, inexperienced, confused. For most, losing your virginity is one of life's most significant moments, always to be remembered. Of course, experiences vary, but Laura Carpenter asks: Is there an ideal way to lose it? What would constitute a "positive" experience? What often compels the big step? And, further, what does "going all the way" really mean for young gays and lesbians? In this first comprehensive study of virginity loss, Carpenter teases out the complexities of all things virgin by drawing on interviews with both young men and women who are straight, gay or bisexual. Virginity Lost offers a rare window into one of life's most intimate and significant sexual moments. The stories here are frank, poignant and fascinating as Carpenter presents an array of experiences that run the gamut from triumphant to devastating. Importantly, Carpenter argues that one's experience of virginity loss can have a powerful impact on one's later sexual experiences. Especially at a time of increased debate about sexual abstinence versus safe sex education in public schools, this important volume will provide essential information about the sex lives of young people. From the book jacket. HQ18 .U5 C35 2005
Ehrenreich, Barbara. 2002. Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America. Owl Books.
In contrast to recent books by Michael Lewis and Dinesh D'Souza that explore the lives and psyches of the New Economy's millionares, Ehrenreich (Fear of Falling: The Inner Life of the Middle Class, etc.) turns her gimlet eye on the view from the workforce's bottom rung. Determined to find out how anyone could make ends meet on $7 an hour, she left behind her middle class life as a journalist except for $1000 in start-up funds, a car and her laptop computer to try to sustain herself as a low-skilled worker for a month at a time. In 1999 and 2000, Ehrenreich worked as a waitress in Key West, Fla., as a cleaning woman and a nursing home aide in Portland, Maine, and in a Wal-Mart in Minneapolis, Minn. During the application process, she faced routine drug tests and spurious "personality tests"; once on the job, she endured constant surveillance and numbing harangues over infractions like serving a second roll and butter. Beset by transportation costs and high rents, she learned the tricks of the trade from her co-workers, some of whom sleep in their cars, and many of whom work when they're vexed by arthritis, back pain or worse, yet still manage small gestures of kindness. Despite the advantages of her race, education, good health and lack of children, Ehrenreich's income barely covered her month's expenses in only one instance, when she worked seven days a week at two jobs (one of which provided free meals) during the off-season in a vacation town. Delivering a fast read that's both sobering and sassy, she gives readers pause about those caught in the economy's undertow, even in good times. From Publisher's Weekly. HD 4918 .E375 2001
Freidman, Thomas. The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Thomas L. Friedman is not so much a futurist, which he is sometimes called, as a presentist. His aim, in his new book, The World Is Flat, as in his earlier, influential Lexus and the Olive Tree, is not to give you a speculative preview of the wonders that are sure to come in your lifetime, but rather to get you caught up on the wonders that are already here. The world isn't going to be flat, it is flat, which gives Friedman's breathless narrative much of its urgency, and which also saves it from the Epcot-style polyester sheen that futurists--the optimistic ones at least--are inevitably prey to. What Friedman means by "flat" is "connected": the lowering of trade and political barriers and the exponential technical advances of the digital revolution have made it possible to do business, or almost anything else, instantaneously with billions of other people across the planet. This in itself should not be news to anyone. But the news that Friedman has to deliver is that just when we stopped paying attention to these developments--when the dot-com bust turned interest away from the business and technology pages and when 9/11 and the Iraq War turned all eyes toward the Middle East--is when they actually began to accelerate. Globalization 3.0, as he calls it, is driven not by major corporations or giant trade organizations like the World Bank, but by individuals: desktop freelancers and innovative startups all over the world (but especially in India and China) who can compete--and win--not just for low-wage manufacturing and information labor but, increasingly, for the highest-end research and design work as well. (He doesn't forget the "mutant supply chains" like Al-Qaeda that let the small act big in more destructive ways.) Friedman tells his eye-opening story with the catchy slogans and globe-hopping anecdotes that readers of his earlier books and his New York Times columns will know well, and also with a stern sort of optimism. He wants to tell you how exciting this new world is, but he also wants you to know you're going to be trampled if you don't keep up with it. His book is an excellent place to begin. From Amazon.com HM846 .F74 2005
Foucault, Michel. 1995. Discipline and Punish: The Birth of the Prison. Vintage.
In this brilliant work, the most influential philosopher since Sartre suggests that such vaunted reforms as the abolition of torture and the emergence of the modern penitentiary have merely shifted the focus of punishment from the prisoner's body to his soul. From Amazon.com. HV8666.F6813 1995
Loic Wacquant. 2003. Body & Soul: Notebooks of an Apprentice Boxer. Oxford University Press.
In this challenging work, French sociologist (and MacArthur Foundation "Genius" Fellow) Wacquant engagingly writes about his participation in a previously foreign social milieu. For Wacquant, it is the world of a famous (and now defunct) Chicago boxing gym in the tough black neighborhood of Woodlawn, just south of the predominantly white University of Chicago neighborhood of Hyde Park, where Wacquant was teaching and living. For three years he "trained alongside local boxers, both amateur and professional, at the rate of three to six sessions a week, assiduously applying myself to every phase of their rigorous preparation," from shadowboxing to sparring in the ring. The result is a detailed and compelling narrative divided into three equally entertaining and distinct parts. The first and most dense, "The Street and the Ring," is an explication of the "social space" of the gym that balances a hardcore theoretical look at the gym as "a complex and polysemous institution" with excellent interviews with the gym's tough-talking owner DeeDee Armour that reveal how the "controlled violence" of the gym stands as an option to the violent street culture on Chicago's South Side. Two shorter essays are less academic in style and show Wacquant to be an excellent reporter. In one, he describes in depth one of the more than 30 boxing tournaments he attended in various nightclubs, movie theaters and sports arenas. In the other, after he is completely accepted by gym patrons, who have named him "Busy Louie," he thrillingly details his own successful competition in the Chicago Golden Gloves, the city's most prestigious amateur tournament. From Publisher's Weekly. GV1136.8 W3213 2004
Duneier, Mitchell. 2002. Sidewalk. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Investigating the complex social ecology of a three-block span of New York's Greenwich Village (a neighborhood that helped shape pioneering urban critic Jane Jacobs's thinking on the structure of cities), Duneier offers a vibrant portrait of a community in the shadows of public life. A white, middle-class sociologist whose Slim's Table won plaudits for its nuanced portrait of urban black men, Duneier infiltrated a stretch of lower Sixth Avenue frequented by scavengers, panhandlers and vendors of used and discounted books and magazines. As participant-observer, he spent months working the vendors' tables, gaining impressive access and insight. He suggests, contrary to Christopher Jencks in The Homeless, that many choose to sleep on the sidewalk even if they have money for a room. He not only observes but experiences arbitrary displays of authority by the police, who tell him to stop selling books and magazines one Christmas. Duneier adroitly explains how disparate policiesAsuch as pressure on the homeless at Penn Station and a law that exempts vendors of written matter from licensingAhave redefined life and business conditions in the city streets. He further argues that, despite the apparent disorder created by the vendors, the sidewalk creates an opportunity for income, respect and social support. In a retort to the influential "broken windows" theory behind community policing, he concludes that policy makers must do better to distinguish between inanimate signs of decline, such as graffiti, and the vendors or panhandlers who strive for better lives. The dozens of photos interspersed throughoutAby Chicago Tribune photographer Carter, a previous collaborator with the authorAadd depth to a book that achieves a remarkably intimate perspective on life on the margins of New York City. From Publisher's Weekly. F 128.68 .G8 D864 1999
Bourgois, Philippe. 1996. In Search of Respect: Selling Crack in El Barrio. Cambridge University Press.
Anthropologist Bourgois chose "addicts, thieves, and [drug] dealers to be [his] best friends and acquaintances" during his three-and-one-half-year research residency in New York City's Spanish Harlem. This experience-packed account of social interactions and relations is the result of great amounts of time spent on the street, in crackhouses, and in the homes of East Harlem's residents, who are caught up in a constant struggle against personal powerlessness. A "wealth" of available drugs fosters major substance abuse that overlays and exacerbates the failure of individuals to overcome poverty and unsupportive if not outwardly antagonistic and racist power structures. Bourgois is not sanguine about the implementation of possible solutions to the not atypical plight of El Barrio's poverty-stricken (nonestablishment) people, who are too often self- or other-destructive in their often futile search for integrity. From Publisher's Weekly HV5810 .B68 2003
Ammerman, Nancy T. 1997. Bible Believers: Fundamentalist in the Modern World. Rutgers University Press.
BX 7800 .F864 A45 1987
Latour, Bruno and Steve Woolgar. 1986. Laboratory Life: The Construction of Scientific Facts. Princeton University Press.
The pioneering 'laboratory study' in the sociology of scientific knowledge. . . . The first and, deservedly, the most influential book-length account of day-to-day work in a single laboratory setting. From Amazon.com. Science Library QH315 .L315
Poletta, Francesca. 2004. Freedom is an Endless Meeting: Democracy in American Social Movements. University of Chicago Press.
Freedom Is an Endless Meeting offers vivid portraits of American experiments in participatory democracy throughout the twentieth century. Drawing on meticulous research and more than one hundred interviews with activists, Francesca Polletta challenges the conventional wisdom that participatory democracy is worthy in purpose but unworkable in practice. Instead, she shows that social movements have often used bottom-up decision making as a powerful tool for political change. Polletta traces the history of democracy in early labor struggles and pre-World War II pacifism, in the civil rights, new left, and women's liberation movements of the sixties and seventies, and in today's faith-based organizing and anti-corporate globalization campaigns. In the process, she uncovers neglected sources of democratic inspiration--Depression-era labor educators and Mississippi voting registration workers, among them--as well as practical strategies of social protest. But Freedom Is an Endless Meeting also highlights the obstacles that arise when activists model their democracies after familiar nonpolitical relationships such as friendship, tutelage, and religious fellowship. Doing so has brought into their deliberations the trust, respect, and caring typical of those relationships. But it has also fostered values that run counter to democracy, such as exclusivity and an aversion to rules, and these have been the fault lines around which participatory democracies have often splintered. Indeed, Polletta attributes the fragility of the form less to its basic inefficiency or inequity than to the gaps between activists' democratic commitments and the cultural models on which they have depended to enact those commitments. The challenge, she concludes, is to forge new kinds of democratic relationships, ones that balance trust with accountability, respect with openness to disagreement, and caring with inclusiveness. For anyone concerned about the prospects for democracy in America, Freedom Is an Endless Meeting will offer abundant historical, theoretical, and practical insights. From book jacket. HN57 .P65 2002
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