Product Description
The book that set the standard for sports textbooks has been extensively revised and updated for its new eighth edition. Among the many new topical additions are elite child athletics, gambling in college sports, performance enhancement drugs, sport and nationalism after 9/11, the Beijing Olympics, Nike and other corporations, the power of media in sport, and more on minorities and on disabilities in sport. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

just how it described
I received this item fairly fast, just like it said it would be delivered. I was pleased with this item. ... Read more

Product Description

Examining the role of mass media and information technology in contemporary society

This specially priced comprehensive introductory text emphasizes the increasing diversity and globalization of societies everywhere, and the special role of mass media and information technology in contemporary society.

Customer Reviews (1)

Society in Focus Book
I recieved the book later than all of my other books that I purchased on the same day, but still got it within the 14 day period. ... Read more

Product Description

The urban world is a provocative terrain on which to contemplate the central institutions, structures and problems of the social world and how they have transformed over the last 200 years. This Reader traverses this terrain through sections on urban social theory, social difference in the city, culture in everyday life, culture and the urban economy, globalization and the world system and urban social movements.

Drawing together seminal selections covering the nineteenth to the twenty-first centuries, this Reader includes forty significant writings from eminent names such as Simmel, Wirth, Park, Burgess, Zukin, Sassen, Smith and Castells. Selections are predominantly sociological, but some readings cross disciplinary boundaries.

Providing an essential resource for students of urban studies, this book brings together important but, till now, widely dispersed writings. Editorial commentaries precede each entry; introducing the text, demonstrating its significance, and outlining the issues surrounding its topic, whilst the associated bibliography enables deeper investigations.

Product Description

Product Description
An ideal "essentials" text for introductory courses, The Sociology of Gender, Third Edition, provides a concise--yet also in-depth--overview of basic sociological concepts and perspectives on gender. Focusing primarily on the contemporary United States, author Laura Kramer integrates history, theory, and research in order to examine the current gender system and the ways in which macro-, middle-, and micro-level societal forces have changed that system over time. In addition, Kramer's explicitly sociological approach provides an alternative to--and critiques of--prevailing biological and psychological approaches to gender and sexual orientation.

Featuring an exceptionally accessible and engaging writing style, The Sociology of Gender explores how race, ethnicity, and social class affect the meaning of gender. A chapter on culture provides a close look at traditionally dominant versions of femininities and masculinities and how they are communicated through language, mass media, and religion. The concepts of individual agency and resistance, introduced in the first chapter, resurface throughout in discussions of culture and socialization. The third edition provides increased coverage of such cutting-edge topics as men and masculinity, intersectionality, and the body and sexuality (including homosexuality). An updated Instructor's Manual and Test Bank is available to adopters.

Enhanced by numerous real-world examples, a glossary, and evocative discussion questions, The Sociology of Gender, Third Edition, is an accessible and lively overview that is ideal for introductory sociology courses. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

Review
This seller never confirmed that my book was being sent, and it took almost 3 weeks for me to get the book. I would never buy a book from this person again.

Student Purchase
Purchased Textbook as part of required books for college.Great deal.

Powerful, passionate, and compelling
In this book aimed mainly at undergraduates, Laura Kramer writes with compassion & understanding about the sociology of gender.Although she favors a multiracial feminist perspective, she sympathetically reviews other leading perspectives on gender, including radical, socialist, postmodernist, and liberal feminism. For each issue she addresses, she shows how other perspectives shed light on a different piece of the puzzle.

A great strength of the book is Kramer's historical perspective on gender issues.She notes that we are now in the "third wave" of feminist activism, and she shows how definitions of "problems" and "solutions" have changed over the past 100 years."Femininity" and "masculinity" are not fixed categories but rather have evolved as American culture and social structure have changed.Underlying much of her analysis is the assumption that economic forces, especially changing employment opportunities, account for a great deal of the change in gender ideology and politics.

Students will find the 5 page glossary of key terms and the 16 page references section invaluable for further research.Each chapter ends with 3 discussion questions.Non-students will learn much from Kramer's lucid explanations and detailed examples.She cares deeply about the issues in this book, and it shows. ... Read more

Product Description

The Handbook of Economic Sociology, Second Edition is the most comprehensive and up-to-date treatment of economic sociology available. The first edition, copublished in 1994 by Princeton University Press and the Russell Sage Foundation as a synthesis of the burgeoning field of economic sociology, soon established itself as the definitive presentation of the field, and has been widely read, reviewed, and adopted. Since then, the field of economic sociology has continued to grow by leaps and bounds and to move into new theoretical and empirical territory.

The second edition, while being as all-embracing in its coverage as the first edition, represents a wholesale revamping. Neil Smelser and Richard Swedberg have kept the main overall framework intact, but nearly two-thirds of the chapters are new or have new authors. As in the first edition, they bring together leading sociologists as well as representatives of other social sciences. But the thirty chapters of this volume incorporate many substantial thematic changes and new lines of research--for example, more focus on international and global concerns, chapters on institutional analysis, the transition from socialist economies, organization and networks, and the economic sociology of the ancient world. The Handbook of Economic Sociology, Second Edition is the definitive resource on what continues to be one of the leading edges of sociology and one of its most important interdisciplinary adventures. It is a must read for all faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates doing work in the field.

• A thoroughly revised and updated version of the most comprehensive treatment of economic sociology available
• Almost two-thirds of the chapters are new or have new authors
• Authors include leading sociologists as well as representatives of other social sciences
• Substantial thematic changes and new lines of research, including more focus on international and global concerns, institutional analysis, the transition from socialist economies, and organization and networks
• The definitive resource on what continues to be one of the leading edges of sociology and one of its most important interdisciplinary adventures
• A must read for faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates doing work in the field

Customer Reviews (1)

A great overview of economic sociology
This is an excellent handbook. Both the organization of the book and the contents of each chapter provide a precise and complete state-of the-art of economic sociology. ... Read more

Product Description

“A great source for kinesthetic learning activities. I’ve used the book for designing my course for multiple learning styles.”
-Megan Thiele, University of California, Irvine

This student workbook is designed to allow you to easily integrate multiple active learning exercises into your Introduction to Sociology courses. Many teachers want to use “active learning” in their class, but don’t have the materials commensurate with that pedagogy. These 51 active learning exercises have been carefully selected from a nationwide search of the best class-tested active learning material available in sociology. Affordably priced, this workbook provides the best that sociology has to offer!

Key and New Features

• Offers many fresh exercises-about 40% of the assignments are new to this edition
• Features tear-out worksheets for ease of submission and grading
• Presents a wide variety of exercises in terms of content, time required, usefulness for individual or group completion, and relevance for in-class or out-of-class practice

Accompanied by High-Quality Ancillaries!
Instructor Resources on CD provide detailed information on using, grading, and adapting the exercises. In addition the CD also includes commentary from the contributing authors explaining their experiences with the exercises, including how they promote specific learning goals and how current instructions to students facilitate the assignment. This CD-ROM features new components to the summary chart for instructors that indicate which assignments have web components, which have global aspects, and other criteria to help professors select the most useful exercises for their teaching needs. Qualified instructors may receive a copy by contacting SAGE at 1-800-818-SAGE (7243) between 6 am – 5 pm, PST.

Intended Audience
The book is designed as the ideal active learning companion to virtually all Introduction to Sociology texts, making it an ideal supplemental text for any undergraduate Introduction to Sociology or Principles of Sociology course.

Contributor to the SAGE/Pine Forge ASA Teaching Innovations & Professional Development Awards Fund

Customer Reviews (2)

Teacher's Guide
Prior to ordering this product I called the customer service department (1-800-818-SAGE) to make sure I could obtain a teacher's guide for the workbook.I was told because I teach high school sociology, not at the university level, I cannot obtain a teacher's guide.Needless to say I will not be purchasing this item.Please be cautious before ordering.

Wonderful Resource for Active Learning Oriented Instructors
In this book and its essential companion, The Instructor's Manual, McKinney, Beck, and Heyl have provided an amazing resource for instructors who use an active learning perspective (versus the old, "sage on the stage" one-way talk method).The student handbook presents instructions and worksheets (when needed) for 50 exercises in 10 topic areas and 2 more general classroom process areas: theory & methods, culture, socialization and interaction, groups and social influence, stratification, organizations and bureaucracy, race & gender & sexual orientation, deviance & crime, collective behavior, social institutions, multi-topic assignments, and course structure & process.

Each set of short instructions follows the same format: rationale, instructions on actually doing the exercise, and how it will be graded.Some exercises require worksheets, which are included.The exercises were contributed by faculty who actually developed and tested them, and so most of the bugs have already been worked out.Instructors who use these exercises can modify them to suit their own classes, but they are so well-designed that I suspect most will just use them "as is."

The accompanying instructor's manual is an absolute necessity. The table of contents gives a short description of each exercise, as well as a chart indicating whether the exercise is for individuals or groups, and how much time is needed for the exercise.Each contributor has provided several pages of background for each exercise, following the same format: history and context, purpose, instructions for facilitating the exercise, other suggestions, and hints about time use.

An entire introductory sociology course could be designed around this book, or entire sections of it could be used for specific courses, e.g. on stratification or social movements.With this book and some rich supplementary readings, your students would probably not need a textbook.

The authors have provided a wonderful resource for those of us teaching from an active-learning perspective.I highly recommend the book AND the instructor's manual. ... Read more

Product Description
Sociologists who study the arts have focused on constructing images of "the artist" as a social type and have, therefore, been criticized by art professionals for a lack of attention to the creative process and individual artistic personalities.In this book, the author examines the diverse theoretical approaches to the study of the arts and develops a sociological approach that acknowledges the importance of aesthetic imperatives and the individual creative process while also assessing the institutional, economic, and political influences on the creation of art. The author focuses on the ways in which people become artists, the institutions in which their careers unfold, the public they need to please, and the institutional and political pressures with which they must contend. Particular subjects covered include the differing relations of art to primitive and industrialized societies; the process by which works are "recreated" at different times for new social purposes; the role of the audience in the realization of artistic experiences; and the reasons for the evolution of artistic styles.This book makes a major contribution to the development of a sociology of the arts at a time when the role of the arts in society has become a subject of increasing concern to social scientists. ... Read more

Product Description
Revised and updated in its second edition, The Sociology of American Drug Use is an ideal text for drug courses offered in sociology and criminology departments. Presenting a broader sociological perspective on drug use in American society than any other text, it includes extensive coverage of various methods and statistics for measuring drug use, a topic that is particularly relevant for sociology students. The authors open with an examination of the construction of drug use as a social problem, setting the stage for the rest of the book. The first section of the text addresses basic conceptual, methodological, and theoretical issues in the study of drug use, while the second section analyzes its various social correlates: demographic, institutional, health, economic, cultural and subcultural, and violent and criminal. The final section focuses on societal reaction to drug use, with discussions of prohibition, decriminalization, and legalization policy options and drug treatment, drug education, and drug testing. In contrast with most texts--which present chapter-by-chapter treatments of various types of drugs--this unique book condenses that information into a single chapter, providing students with an organizational framework that is similar to that of other criminology courses.

Completely updated throughout, the second edition of The Sociology of American Drug Use treats demographic and institutional correlates in separate chapters, adding discussions of religion to the institutional chapter. It also provides more coverage of college students and drug use and additional material on over-the-counter drugs, prescription drugs, and methamphetamines. The text is enhanced by several helpful pedagogical tools in each chapter, including two types of text boxes: "Drugs: Myths and Reality" (new to this edition) and "Drugs and Everyday Life." "Critical Thinking" questions encourage students to consider the issues in depth, while "Learning from the Internet" exercises (new to this edition) require them to research specific topics outside of the text and the classroom. An Instructor's Manual on CD contains an overview, learning objectives, a detailed outline, and test questions (multiple-choice, true-false, and essay) for each chapter. It also offers a list of important internet resources and PowerPoint lecture slides. ... Read more

Product Description
This book was written to bring a more cohesive thematic approach - emphasizing social/global change - to the introductory course and to give students a better understanding of sociology as it is applied to the real world. The text is accessible, while advanced students will be challenged with material in the exhibit boxes such as 'Sociological Methods' and 'Mapping Social Change'.

This comprehensive, student-friendly introductory textbook emphasizes the reality of social change and its impact on individuals, groups, and societies throughout the world. The text carefully balances contemporary and classic theory and research, with special attention to the works of female and minority social scientists and cross-cultural studies. Kornblum applies all the major perspectives of sociology without giving undue emphasis to any single approach. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

What a WASTE of money!!!
This might be a good book for those who are related to the field of sociology, or are more involved on it. I am a nursing student and I had to take this introductory course. The book was SO confusing, in some parts not so clear, I really hated it. I had to buy it because it was the book required for my course, but I think there would be many other books out there better than this, and easier to understand.The worst part is that it is SO expensive. What a waste of money!

Sociology is the key
This is a great book for beginning students.I am just starting out in this field and this is my first class in the filed.When I first saw this book I was attracted to the cover and the design.It is a beautiful bookand very colorful.This pages are also well presented with color andgraphic design.The cover ripped the frist time I opened the book so becarefull with this.Although I'm not a teacher I believe that this book isa good source for education.This book can be used as an everyday clssroombook or as a distance learning text as I'm using it.The publishers have aweb site that is full of teacher guides and questions for the students tohelp them with test and quizes.I believe that this text will becomepertanent for educating at the college level. ... Read more

Product Description
The most student-oriented book available for environmental sociology courses, Twenty Lessons in Environmental Sociology introduces undergraduates to the subject in a groundbreaking new way. Instead of compiling articles from professional journals, this innovative reader presents twenty classroom-tested "lessons" from dedicated, experienced teachers. These diverse readings examine key topics in the field, from the social construction of nature to the growing influence of global media on our understanding of the environment.

Building this collection on the model of a successful undergraduate classroom experience, coeditors Kenneth A. Gould and Tammy L. Lewis asked the contributors to choose a topic, match it with their favorite class lecture, and construct a lesson to reflect the way they teach it in the classroom. The result is an engaging, innovative, and versatile volume that presents the core ideas of environmental sociology in concise, accessible chapters. Each brief lesson is designed as a stand-alone piece and can be easily adapted into an existing course syllabus.

Ideal for any course that looks at the environment from a sociological perspective, Twenty Lessons in Environmental Sociology offers an insightful introduction to this dynamic subject. ... Read more

Product Description

This comprehensive and bestselling reader examines the most pressing topics in sociology and education while exposing students to examples of sociological research on schools. Drawing from classic and contemporary scholarship, noted sociologist Alan R. Sadovnik has chosen readings that examine current issues and reflect diverse theoretical approaches to studying the effects of schooling and society. The second edition provides students with seven new readings from some of the best theorists and researchers in education including James S. Coleman, Madeleine Arnot, and Claudia Buchman. Through full, rather than excerpted primary source readings, students have the opportunity to read sociological research as it is written and engage in critical analyses of readings in their entirety. Including comprehensive section introductions, questions for reflection and discussion, and suggested readings, Sociology of Education will stimulate student thinking about the important roles that schools play in contemporary society and their ability to solve fundamental social, economic and political problems.

Customer Reviews (2)

Very useful collection
Very useful collection of articles on the main topics in sociology of education. The editor's chapter presents a very comprehensive and concise overview of theoretical approaches that makes it easy to navigate the book. Definitely worth the money.

Excellent book if you are studying Sociology of Education
It is a very usefull book if you are taking a course of Socioogy of Education.There are articles from the most famous academics on the field of sociology of education. ... Read more

Product Description
This second edition of Allan G. Johnson's one-volume dictionary includes 75 new entries, as well as an expanded biographical section, extensive revisions and updates, and more thorough cross-referencing. The combination of clear prose, engaging examples, a single author's voice, and minimal assumptions about the average reader's prior knowledge of the field, makes this a distinctive and valuable reference work. Johnson defines amorphous and fuzzy sociological concepts in a lively and sensible way and his book provides an introduction to what it means to think sociologically. For a deeper understanding of social life, and of the only discipline dedicated to making sense of it in all its diversity, this Dictionary is a perfect guide. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Inadequate in comparison with other Sociology Dictionaries
I was so disapointed with this book! In comparison to similar dictionaries I have consulted,I found it to be quite inadeqate and at times not quite accurate in some of the explanations given.There were so many vital concepts,theorists,and theories absent, that it is not really possible to consider it a comprehensive reference for undergrad students embarking on a study of Sociology for the first time.I am almost at Doctoral level and I can honestly say I found relatively little in the book that was of any use to me, whereas I have other dictionaries which I purchased as an undergrad that I still find extremely useful when writing. All in all a very disappointing purchase.

Very valuable,worth the price in every Sociology class
I found this dictionary very very valuable.Ipassed it around my Sociological Theory class so everyone could read its definitions and section on major theorists, and we all found it a wonderfull resource thatprovides solid definitons, as well as concise reviews on every theorist Ihave ever heard of. I wish I would have had this when I started my major. ... Read more

Product Description

For undergraduate/graduate courses in the Sociology of Religion in departments of Sociology; and for courses such as Religious Perspectives on Social Issues in departments of Theology.

A reader that seeks to explore the relationship between the structure and culture of religion and various elements of social life in the U.S.

Product Description
Randall Collins traces the movement of philosophical thought in ancient Greece, China, Japan, India, the medieval Islamic and Jewish world, medieval Christendom, and modern Europe.What emerges from this history is a social theory of intellectual change, one that avoids both the reduction of ideas to the influences of society at large and the purely contingent local construction of meanings.Instead, Collins focuses on the social locations where sophisticated ideas are formed: the patterns of intellectual networks and their inner divisions and conflicts.Amazon.com Review
In just under 900 pages (with another 100 or so pages of notes and bibliography), sociologist Randall Collins elaborates upon his proposed model for how intellectuals--"people who produce decontextualized ideas"--work among one another. Borrowing Erving Goffman's concept of the "interaction ritual," Collins discusses how "intellectuals gather, focus their attention for a time on one of their members, who delivers a sustained discourse. The discourse itself builds on elements from the past, affirming and continuing or negating." Or, to put it more simply, intellectuals attend a lot of lectures and have discussions afterwards.

General readers may be put off by a hefty tome with chapters given such titles as "The Post-revolutionary Condition: Boundaries and Philosophical Puzzles" (which includes the subsection "The Vienna Circle as a Nexus of Struggles"), but those with a dedicated interest in the history of philosophy will find much to enjoy in the multicultural examples Collins draws upon. Ancient China, classical Greece, medieval Islam, and the French existentialists are just the tip of the iceberg illustrating his theory that intellectual progress is made through the personal interaction of philosophers and other thinkers. "Great intellectual work," Collins writes, "is that which creates a large space on which followers can work," and The Sociology of Philosophies certainly qualifies. --Ron Hogan ... Read more

Customer Reviews (11)

Comprehensive and painstaking
I was very impressed by the breadth and scope of this work. Collins demonstrates a remarkable grasp of the history of ideas, refusing to gloss over any historical period or important thinker. To fully appreciate this book, however, the reader will need a sufficient introduction to the history of philosophy. Before reading this, I had read, among other things, F.C. Copleston's multi-volume history of western philosophy. This gave me an adequate background for Collins' coverage of Greek, Hellenistic, Medieval, and European philosophy. However, I had no background in Chinese or Indian philosophy, so I couldn't appreciate Collins' coverage of these traditions. I had to turn elsewhere to get an overview of their history. This is a historical analysis, directed towards those already familiar with the history of philosophy.
Collins is a non-Marxist conflict theorist as well as a constructivist. His analysis reflects this worldview, but he takes great pain to construct his theories on the historical record; it would be difficult to accuse him of bending history to support his ideas. An essential read for those interested in philosophy.

A beginner's guide

Randall Collins has provided a comprehensive overview of the major philosophical ideas that interested non philosophers can use as an introduction without fear of missing anything important. As a physician grappling daily with the issues of knowledge assessment, the extensive overview was well worth the few weeks it took to read the book. Many descriptions are nevertheless brutally summarized so that I often used on line encyclopedias to provide necessary background. Bertrand Russell's " A History of Western Philosophy" is more accessible, but is now out of date, and not nearly as comprehensive. By dividing philosophers into schools by century and location, providing easily understandable charts of the interconnections of various schools, and brief summaries of their positions, one builds a very humanized, inclusive picture. The description of science as rapid discovery based primarily on technological innovation certainly resonated strongly and came as a new insight in spite of spending the last 40 years in such an endeavor. The same arguments aboutknowledge growth are repeatedly emphasized, but at least there is a slight difference in perspective. Summarizing the big problems of ontology and epistemology by how and when they appeared in Western, Islamic, Chinese, Japanese, and Indian cultures gives an excellent overview. The final chapter on sociological realism based on the previous discussion provided a sound foundation for building the arguments, and placing the ideas in perspective. I came away with a better idea of where to go next and that even though the search for enlightenment is unending, a few successes, no matter how minor, can be very satisfying.

A new way to view philosophy
I have a Ph.D. in history of philosophy, but I now follow it as an interested layman rather than a professional.In short, this review is written from the viewpoint of someone whose background and interests lie in philosophy rather than sociology.

For me, this was an interesting and useful book for a couple of reasons:

1. It discusses philosophers in the context of social networks, where the thinkers are linked by relationships such as: was the student of, reacted against, was married to the sister of, etc.

Often, philosophy is taught (or studied) by looking only at the works of philosophers, in isolation from the philosophers' relationships with others around them.Placing a philosopher in the context of a network of relationships helps considerably in understanding what the philosopher is trying to do, and why.In short, it can help you better to understand any particular philosopher that you are studying.

2. I found the author's notion of an "attention space" very interesting.The notion of an "attention space" in the history of philosophy seems to me similar to Thomas Kuhn's notion of a "paradigm" in the history of science.Philosophers' roles in the history of philosophy are described as moving the attention space, or elaborating within the attention space, and so on, where moving the attention space is comparable to Kuhn's "paradigm shift" and elaborating within the attention space is comparable to Kuhn's "normal science".This approach to the history of philosophy is, I think helpful.It gives you genuine insight into the history of philosophy.

I recommend this book.You may not wish to read it all -- Ididn't -- but if you dip into it here and there, at spots that look interesting to you, you will encounter ideas and concepts that are useful, stimulating and thought-provoking.

Great classroom reference
I received this welcome book free in the mail years ago with the suggestion that it be a text book for a philosophy course. While it certainly is an important, interesting book on philosophy, it offers little as a philosophy text book. But over the years I have found lots of opportunities to refer to it in class as a resource.
Some specific things I find come up frequently:
1. The concept of the sociological cogito -- this strikes me as a wonderful way of applying Augustine, via Descartes' cogito via Leibniz, Hegel, Wittgenstein (private language argument) to interest the class on what we know for certain. It was the first I saw the argument presented this lucidly.
2. Applying the template of social networks to the development of ideas - and this I connect to current complex systems work such as Kennedy's Swarm Intelligence. I love passing the book around so everyone can see the network charts.
3. The relationship between points of view moving through intellectual space following standard patterns, much as Hegelian dialectic describes, but in easier terms.
4. Since I also routinely discuss sociologizing sociology, it certainly is fair that I discuss sociologizing philosophy as well.

There is a disappointment: the book stops. Understood, the effort would have been a tremendous one as the information explosion changes the patterns. But this is precisely the concern. What changes with the information explosion? We did not have to touch Quine to be strongly influenced though meeting him was certainly an event to be remembered. This is an approach I would like to see explored further.

Reading Global History of Philosophy With a Thesis
For all interested in global history of philosophy, this is the book to get.

First, each section on a particular philosophical tradition (e.g. ancient Greece, Indian, Medieval Islamic, Chinese, Modern) is an interesting high-level history of tradition in its own rights.This alone makes the price tag worthwhile.

More importantly, Collins included very interesting insights about individual period that is not covered by other general histories:
1) How some schools of thoughts become popular not because they are correct but because they are extreme
2) Parallelisms that occur in different periods of the same tradition (e.g. Post-Shankara positions in India has its parallel during the hey-day of Buddhist philosophy)
3) Parallelisms that occur across traditions (e.g. compelling coverage of how medieval Christian & Islamic philospophy shares a similar structure)

With these characteristics, I think this book clearly satisfies the need us interested in global history of philosophy, for which Collins is clearly very passionate about.

On the sociology theoretical piece, I think the theory is fine: it articulates a lot of aspects of which most students of philosophy has a vague sense.The theory is almost 'common sense'-- just that it doesn't seem to have been clearly articulated that way in academic circles.As such, the theory piece is less interesting, but it is not intruding and it provides a sound umbrella thesis for Collins' insights on individual traditions.

Lastly, one point about the 'data' that Collins use-- the 'maps' that link the different philosophers in networks.I think it is interesting to read (because it includes a lot of interesting names-- familiar or otherwise), but they don't really provide the 'data' on which the sociological theory can be based. I think Collins himself recognized this-- and thus his appendix about the important 'isolates' like Ibn Sina. ... Read more

Product Description
This sociological text on deviance and difference provides an exploration into unconventional individuals and their place in "normal" society. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

excellent college paper source
This book may be old, but it still does apply today.This is an excellent source into the understanding of labeling theory that - yes - is stilled used today within American society.
I used this source in a college paper I wrote and found it very 'quotable' on a college level viewpoint.This sociological theory also applies to psycological theories within a psychoanalytic and cognitive approach in counseling.

13
REEFER MADNESS & HOMOPHOBIA ON THE HOOF. I FILED MY COPY IN THE CIRCULAR FILE. DO PEOPLE REALLY THINK LIKE THIS? DID THEY? WOW!

Written over 30 years ago, but still relevant today.
Outsiders is an excellent introduction to the study of deviance, and I would especially recommend it to all sociology undergraduate students.

Although written long ago (first copyrighted in 1963) thematerial is still revlevant to today's social world.Becker begins thiswork by defining deviance, how others define deviance, and what classifiesone as deviant.

As a particular case example Becker examines the issue ofmarihuana users (see the relevance?).He discusses how one becomes amarihuana user, how they learn their techinques, how a user becomes arepart of a group, and why a user may become labeled a deviant, i.e. thewhole process of going from what is "normal" to being whatsociety has defined as "deviant".

Other topics discussed arelabeling theory and moral entrepreneurs. The later refers to those peoplein society who benefit from labeling a group or particular type of behavioras deviant.A very interesting topic, one I think that isn't discussedvery often.

The only weekness the book has is the case study written ondance musicians which compriseschapters 5 and 6.These chapters discusspeople who made their living as dance musicians during the late 1940s and Ifound it difficult to connect with just because of the time frame.Perhapsother readers will not suffer such a handicap.

Bottom line: A greatbook! A must have for sociology majors or those people who make orinfluence social policy and laws. ... Read more

Product Description
Composed entirely of specially commissioned chapters by some of the outstanding scholars in medical sociology, this edition reflects important changes in the study of health and illness. In addition to updated and reconceived chapters on the impacts of gender, race, and inequality on health, this volume has new chapters on topics that include:



--social networks, neighborhoods, and social capital

--disability

--dying and "the right to die"

--health disparities

--the growing influence of the pharmaceutical industry

--the internet

--evidence-based medicine and quality of care

--health social movements

--genetics

--religion, spirituality, and health ... Read more

Product Description
In this briefer, less expensive edition of his acclaimed sociology text, David M. Newman invites students into the world of sociological thought using a captivating writing style, compelling new examples, and a focus on the sociology of everyday life. This briefer version of Sociology: Exploring the Architecture of Everyday Life is streamlined while still exposing students to the key points of Newman’s proven text. In his signature style, Newman shows students the two-way connection between the most private elements of their lives and the cultures, groups, organizations, and social institutions of today’s society. ... Read more

Product Description

The title says it all. This tenth edition of the best-selling Sociology is a comprehensive book and multimedia package that offers readers a global perspective to help them better understand their own lives, provides a strong focus on social diversity that allows them to see the impact of race, class, and gender, and focuses on critical thinking. With technology integrated throughout, this new edition features hundreds of new research citations, as well as recent data from Census 2000 to present a cutting-edge picture of life both in the United States and around the world. Covering all aspects of sociology, this book describes sociological investigation, culture, society, interaction in everyday life, groups and organizations, deviance, sexuality, social stratification, social class in the United States, global inequality, gender stratification, race and ethnicity, aging, the economy, politics and government, family, religion, education, health and medicine, population and urbanization, collective behavior and social movements, and social change. An excellent resource for professionals in the field of sociology, this book is also an excellent read for non-academic hobbyists and life-long learners.

Customer Reviews (6)

Retitle book please.
Seller was great. Thanks! Fast shipping and a proper product.
Maybe this is what Sociology is SUPPOSED to be about. I don't know. But the author has such a blatantly slanted view of the world that it is quite disheartening. The book contains an overly pessimistic and biased take on a great number of subjects. The tone that resonates throughout is such that you would think the author is fed up with the world and has considerable resistance to adjusting to change.
I pray that the author finds some balance to his viewpoints and considers that constantly giving thought to negativity and despair is a destructive practice. I am happy to have had the chance to experience a dose of what is sociology, and am confident that chances are now very slim that I will choose this path as a major.

Too good to be true!
I am very very happy with my purchase! Purchaser is honest and trust worthy! I am always afraid to purchase things online but I am so satisfied with this transaction! I will always get my future texts from this person whenever it's available. I am so glad I choose to buy my book from them!!!!

good intro to sociology
covers the basics. If you want to study sociology start here. There is also on-line help with this series and a CD.

Happy with the service
I received the book in a timely manner and happy with the condition. Definitely will order from this seller again.
Trong

Speedy Delivery
I did not expect the book for at least 6-7 days but within four days I had it. I could not be happier. ... Read more