Contemporary Society: An Introduction to Social Science - Brossura

Perry, John A; Perry, Erna K

Brossura

ISBN 10: 0205020895 ISBN 13: 9780205020898

Casa editrice: Routledge, 2011

Riassunto

This best-selling text emphasizes that social and cultural changes are the pervasive realities of our era. One of the main themes of Contemporary Society is that the transition from an industrial to a post-industrial order in the modern world is fraught with difficulties, as was the transition from an agricultural to an industrial order in an earlier era. Within this framework, we can observe the increasing fragmentation of the social order, which tends to lead people away from community and a common purpose and often invites conflict and disunity. At the same time, countervailing social forces are also at work, providing some stability, some shelter in the storm. Finally, societies are faced with the rapid and transformative power of information technology, a fact that propels separate groups of people into a global entity.

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Contenuti

IN THIS SECTION:  1.) BRIEF 2.) COMPREHENSIVE  BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS:  Chapter 1:  Through the Lens of Science  Chapter 2:  The Beginnings of Life Chapter 3:  Culture: Product and Guide to Life in Society  Chapter 4:  How Is the Social System Organized and Structured?  Chapter 5:  Becoming a Person: The Birth of Personality  Chapter 6:  Deviance  Chapter 7:  The Great Divide: Ranking and Stratification  Chapter 8:  Majority-Minorities Relations: Defining the Terms  Chapter 9:  Minority Status: Age, Gender, and Sexuality  Chapter 10: From the Plow to the Computer: Change, Collective Behavior, and Social Movements  Chapter 11: Population, Urbanization, and Environment  Chapter 12: Pivotal Institutions: Marriage and the Family  Chapter 13: Pivotal Institutions: Religion  Chapter 14: Pivotal Institutions: Education Chapter 17: We The People: Democracy in Action  Chapter 18: The Economy: Concepts and History  Chapter 19: Principles of Economic Behavior: Microeconomics and Macroeconomics  COMPREHENSIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS:  Chapter 1: Through the Lens of Science  The Social Sciences  The Scientific Method  The Social Science Disciplines  Research Methods in the Social Sciences  Chapter 2: In the Beginning  The Beginnings of Life  The Emergence of the Theory of Evolution  Genetics  The Long Trek: Human Evolution  Modern Humans: The Road to Homo Sapiens  Agriculture: Cultivation and Domestication  The Evolution of Human Nature  Chapter 3:  Culture: Product and Guide to Life in Society  Culture: Concept and Importance  The Symbolic Nature of Culture  Language:  The Most Important System of Symbols  The Content of Culture  The Components of Nonmaterial Culture: Cognitive and Normative  Pivotal Institutions  Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativity  Cultural Differences and Universals  Chapter 4: Group Interaction: From Two to Millions How Is the Social System Organized and Structured?  The Multiplicity of Statuses and Roles  Groups  Primary and Secondary Groups  Society  Interaction and Social Processes  Formal Organizations  Bureaucracy  Chapter 5: Becoming a Person: The Birth of Personality  Personality  Becoming Human: Socialization  Theories of Socialization  The Self and the Unconscious: Freud  The Transitional Self: Erikson  Developmental Theories: Piaget  Moral Development: Kohlberg  Agents of Socialization  Socialization through the Life Cycle  Chapter 6: Deviance and Criminality: The Need for Social Control Deviance  The Relative Nature of Deviance  Explaining Deviance  Personality Disorders That May Cause Deviant Behavior  Psychological Explanations  Explaining Deviance from a Sociological Perspective  Crime: Deviance That Hurts  Crime Statistics: How Much Crime, and Who Commits It?  The Criminal Justice System  Chapter 7: The Great Divide: Ranking and Stratification Social Differentiation, Ranking, and Stratification  Stratification  Theoretical Views on Stratification  Dimensions of Stratification: Class, Status, and Power  Systems of Stratification  Determining Social Class: Occupational Prestige and Socioeconomic Status  Social Classes in the United States  Social Class and Its Consequences  Social Mobility  Chapter 8: Majority-Minorities Relations: Defining the Terms  Common Characteristics of Minorities  The Making of Pluralist Society  Majority and Minorities: Processes of Coexistence  In the Way: Obstacles to Pluralism  Racial Minorities  Ethnic and Religious Minorities  The New Face of America  Chapter 9: Minority Status: Age, Gender, and Sexuality  The Aging Society  Women: Differentiation According to Gender  The Cultural Construction of Gender  Sexuality  Chapter 10: From the Plow to the Computer: Change, Collective Behavior, and Social Movements  Society and Change  Processes of Social and Cultural Change  The Industrial Revolution  Modernization  Collective Behavior  Social Movements  Revolutionary Movements  Chapter 11: Population, Urbanization, and Environment  Demographic Processes: Dynamics of Population Change  Characteristics and Composition of a Population  Population around the World  The Urban Society  The Industrial Revolution and the Growth of Cities  Metropolitanization and Megalopolis  The Urban Crisis  Attempts to Reclaim the City  The Natural Environment  Chapter 12: Pivotal Institutions: Marriage and the Family  The Basic Institution: The Family  Marriage  Divorce  The New American Family  Some Unintended Effects of the Changing American Family  Chapter 13: Pivotal Institutions: Religion The Great Religions of the World  Religion in the Social Sciences  Religion and Social Control  Religion in America  Contemporary Trends  Chapter 14: Pivotal Institutions: Education Education  Characteristics of American Education  Chapter 15: Government: The Institution and the Theories and Ideologies That Underlie It  The Institution of Government  Government and Politics  Political Power: Legitimacy and Authority  The State  The Nation-State  The Ideologies Behind the Nation-State  Autocratic Ideologies  Democratic Ideologies: Democracy  Socialism  Chapter 16: The Economy: Concepts and History The Economic Institution  Contemporary Economic Systems: How Choices Are Made  Western Economies in Historical Perspective  Aspects of Industrial Capitalism  Diversification and Multinationalism  The Nature of Work in the Industrial Society  The Corporate Bureaucracy  The American Labor Movement  American Labor and the Global Economy  Chapter 17: Principles of Economic Behavior: Microeconomics and Macroeconomics The Small Picture and the Large Picture  Market Mechanisms  Market Forces  A Macroview  Instruments of Public Policy  Fiscal Policy  Monetary Policy  Incomes Policy  Economic Problems and Government Response  Business Cycles  Fitting into the Global Economy  References  Photo Credits  Index

Dettagli dell?edizione

• Editore: Routledge
• Data di pubblicazione: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0205020895
• ISBN 13: 9780205020898
• Rilegatura: Copertina flessibile
• Lingua: Inglese
• Numero di pagine: 600
• Contatto del produttore: non disponibile