Sociology Books

Book SynopsisIn this book, Feagin develops a theory of systemic racism to interpret the highly racialized character and development of this society. Exploring the distinctive social worlds that have been created by racial oppression over nearly four centuries and what this has meant for the people of the United States, focusing his analysis on white-on-black oppression.Drawing on the commentaries of black and white Americans in three historical eras; the slavery era, the legal segregation era, and then those of white Americans. Feagin examines how major institutions have been thoroughly pervaded by racial stereotypes, ideas, images, emotions, and practices. He theorizes that this system of racial oppression was not an accident of history, but was created intentionally by white Americans. While significant changes have occurred in this racist system over the centuries, key and fundamentally elements have been reproduced over nearly four centuries, and US institutions today imbed the racialTable of Contents1. Systemic Racism 2. The Experience of Slavery: Through the Eyes of African Americans 3. The Experience of Slavery: Through the Eyes of Slaveholders 4. Legal Segregation: Through the Eyes of African Americans 5. Legal Segregation: Through the Eyes of White Americans 6. Contemporary Racism: Through the Eyes of African Americans 7. Contemporary Racism: Through the Eyes of White Americans 8. Reprise and Assessment: The Reality and Impact of Systemic Racism 9. Epilogue: Reducing and Eliminating Systemic Racism

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Book SynopsisIn an accessible and droll style, best-selling author Joel Best shines a light on how we navigate these anxious, insecure social times. While most of us still strive for the American Dream-to graduate from college, own a home, work toward early retirement-recent generations have been told that the next generation will not be able to achieve these goals, that things are getting-or are on the verge of getting-worse. In American Nightmares, Best addresses the apprehension that we face every day as we are bombarded with threats that the social institutions we count on are imperiled. Our schools are failing to teach our kids. Healthcare may soon be harder to obtain. We can't bank on our retirement plans. And our homes-still the largest chunk of most people's net worth-may lose much of their value. Our very way of life is being threatened! Or is it? With a steady voice and keen focus, Best examines how a culture develops fears and fantasies and how these visions are created and recreated in every generation. By dismantling current ideas about the future, collective memory, and sociology's marginalization in the public square, Best sheds light on how social problems-and our anxiety about them-are socially constructed.Trade Review"Both professional sociologists and undergraduate students will find part of this small collection thought provoking." * CHOICE *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Preface Acknowledgments PART ONE. CONTEMPORARY CONCERNS 1. Popular Hazards; or, How We Insist Similar Social Problems Are Different 2. American Nightmares; or, Why Sociologists Hate the American Dream Written with David Schweingruber PART TWO. CONSTRUCTING FUTURE PROBLEMS 3. Evaluating Predictions; or, How to Compare the Maya Calendar, Social Security, and Climate Change 4. Future Talk; or, How Slippery Slopes Shape Concern PART THREE. LOOKING BACKWARD AND BEYOND SOCIOLOGY 5. Memories as Problems; or, How to Reconsider Confederate Flags and Other Symbols of the Past Written with Lawrence T. Nichols 6. Economicization; or, Why Economists Get More Respect Than Sociologists Afterword: The Future of American Nightmares References Index

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Book SynopsisThere's a problem with school lunch in America. Big Food companies have largely replaced the nation's school cooks by supplying cafeterias with cheap, precooked hamburger patties and chicken nuggets chock-full of industrial fillers. Yet it's no secret that meals cooked from scratch with nutritious, locally sourced ingredients are better for children, workers, and the environment. So why not empower lunch ladies to do more than just unbox and reheat factory-made food? And why not organize together to make healthy, ethically sourced, free school lunches a reality for all children? The Labor of Lunch aims to spark a progressive movement that will transform food in American schools, and with it the lives of thousands of low-paid cafeteria workers and the millions of children they feed. By providing a feminist history of the US National School Lunch Program, Jennifer E. Gaddis recasts the humble school lunch as an important and often overlooked form of public care. Through vivid narration aTrade Review“The Labor of Lunch lays out how transforming the food culture in American schools can significantly improve both the lives of the country’s low-wage cafeteria workers and those of the millions of children they feed every day.” * Quality Assurance Magazine *"Argues that universally free, from-scratch lunches turns the school cafeteria into a vital community resource: one that helps kids develop healthy eating habits and provides skilled jobs for workers." -- Tom Philpott * Mother Jones *“When we think about the crumbling national infrastructure that holds our country back, Jennifer Gaddis argues that we need to look beyond bridges, broadband, and high-speed rail –– and see the urgency of bringing our nation's 100,000 school cafeterias into the 21st century. She's on exactly the right track. What if our nation's largest restaurant chain –– our 100,000 schools –– could be retooled as an engine for creating good jobs in our communities, building our local farm economies, and nourishing our kids with fresh-cooked food?" -- Curt Ellis * Co-Founder & CEO, FoodCorps *"A welcome addition to the growing library of works focusing on labor in the food system. This topic deserves attention and Gaddis is looking at the plight of an especially neglected group, the people who make and serve food to kids in schools. . . . Let grass-roots advocacy begin!" -- Marion Nestle * Food Politics *"The book seeks to engage the reader to learn about the power struggles of ‘lunch ladies’ and how such discourses are maintained in society. Gaddis is an advocate with a strong interest in environmental justice, which comes through in the writing. The book is more than just an ethnography of school lunches; it is a reminder that we need to revisit our food systems and consider how this policy area is still very much classed, gendered, and racialized. . . . This book reignites the importance of food activism and recognizes historical roots while seeking and creating theories of change." * Contemporary Sociology *"The Labor of Lunch is a comprehensive and readable work of activist scholarship examining school feeding in the US. This work is suitable for advanced undergraduate students, graduate students and scholars of school food policy, institutional feeding and history of food systems, as well as those interested in food movements, and care-labor." * Food, Culture & Society *Table of ContentsList of Illustrations Acknowledgements Introduction: Why We Need to Fix the Food and the Jobs 1 • The Radical Roots of School Lunch 2 • The Fight for Food Justice 3 • From Big Food to Real Food Lite 4 • Cafeteria Workers in the “Prison of Love” 5 • Building a Real Food Economy Conclusion: Organizing a New Economy of Care Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisHow are communities uniting against fracking and tar sands to change our energy future?Working across Lines offers a detailed comparative analysis of climate justice coalitions in California and Idahotwo states with distinct fossil fuel histories, environmental contexts, and political cultures. Drawing on ethnographic evidence from 106 in-depth interviews and three years of participant observation, Corrie Grosse investigates the ways people build effective energy justice coalitions across differences in political views, race and ethnicity, age, and strategic preferences. This book argues for four practices that are critical for movement building: focusing on core values of justice, accountability, and integrity; identifying the roots of injustice; cultivating relationships among activists; and welcoming difference. In focusing on coalitions related to energy and climate justice, Grosse provides important models for bridging divides to reach common goals. These lessons are more relevantTable of ContentsContents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Energy and Political Landscape: Climate Crisis, Extreme Energy, and the Climate Justice Movement 2. The Organizing Landscape: Research Context 3. Idaho Part 1: Talking across Political Lines by Building Relationships 4. Idaho Part 2: Talking across Political Lines by Agreeing to Disagree 5. Working across Intersectional Lines: Youth Values and Relationships 6. Working across Organizational Lines: Grassroots and Grasstops Tensions and Possibilities 7. Two Tales of Struggle: Coalition Building against Big Oil 8. Lessons from Measure P and the Megaloads: Native–Non-Native and Latinx-White Coalition Outcomes Conclusion Notes Bibliography Index

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Book SynopsisHow have global changes in information technology and communications affected environmental policy and governance? Arthur P. J. Mol shows how the information revolution brings about new forms of environmental governance and examines the resulting successes and problems.Table of Contents1. Introduction: new frontiers of environmental governance; Part I. Theory: 2. From information society to information age; 3. Social theories of environmental reform; 4. Informational governance; Part II. Praxis: 5. Monitoring, surveillance and empowerment; 6. Environmental state and information politics; 7. Greening the networked economy; 8. Environmental activism and advocacy; 9. Media monopolies, digital democracy, cultural clashes; 10. Information-poor environments: Asian tigers; Part III. Conclusion: 11. Balancing informational perspectives.

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Book Synopsis"An urgent look at the relationship between the politics of guns, race, and policing in America today"--Trade Review"Co-Winner of the Distinguished Book Award, Sociology of Law Section of the American Sociological Association""No one who reads this [book] will doubt that the Second Amendment has particularly deadly dimensions in minority communities." * Kirkus Reviews *"[E]xamines how the National Rifle Association became a driving influence behind American policing for over a century, and emerges with the idea that policing America has not overcome its racially charged beginning."---RJ Young, New York Times Book Review"This book provides a warning to those police scholars who tend to blindly embrace community policing as the panacea of police reform and an answer to racially biased policing."---David E. Barlow, Ethnic and Racial Studies"Chilling and insightful. . . .Carlson succinctly argues that attitudes about race, most specifically attitudes about African Americans, overwhelm rational debates about law gun use, gun ownership, and the 2nd Amendment itself, specifically within the law enforcement community. Importantly, Carlson brings together an academically rigorous analysis with clear and engaging writing accessible to a wide-ranging audience. For those willing to engage in good-faith debates about gun policy, Carlson’s work provides helpful insights and perspectives."---Staci L. Beavers, Law and Politics Book Review

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"Winner of the History of Sociology and Social Thought Book Award, American Sociological Association""Bortolini's weaving of biography with the interpretation of a lifetime's intellectual labor into a narrative culminates in a picture of Bellah that brings together large‐scale themes with telling detail both familiar and unfamiliar ... [this] terrific book is likely to be the first one to which scholars turn for a rich examination of Bellah's life for a very long time."---Susan E. Henking, Journal of the History of Behavioral Sciences"Bortolini has produced what one imagines will prove to be a matchless achievement."---Bryan S. Turner, Journal of Classical Sociology"Matteo Bortolini has written the definitive biography of the American sociologist Robert Neelly Bellah."---Chad Alan Goldberg, Civic Sociology"Bortolini weaves the strands together effortlessly. Personal loss, friendship, love, and grief are neither afterthoughts nor drivers of this narrative of a life. Rather we come to appreciate how the life and the mind worked together—sometimes in conflict, sometimes in sync. In a standard intellectual biography, life is often the background for thought. In this book, there is no distinction between them."---Joan Scott, Civic Sociology"Robert Neely Bellah makes an excellent subject for a biography, and Matteo Bortolini has written a fascinating biography of him that illuminates his life, his work, and his times all at once."---Philip Gorski, The Hedgehog Review"Bortolini's terrific book is likely to be the first one to which scholars turn for a rich examination of Bellah's life for a very long time."---Susan E. Henking, Journal of the History of Behavioral Sciences"A helpful and enjoyable biography of the American scholar Robert Bellah."---Evan Kuehn, Reading Religion"Bortolini's account of [Bellah's] life is a major achievement for its author, an invaluable companion to Bellah's writings, and indispensable reading for anyone who wants to understand Bellah, his thought, and his times."---Chad Alan Goldberg, Sociological Forum"Matteo Bortolini has made a remarkable contribution to postwar intellectual and social history, using as its prism the trajectory of one scholar to show some of the complex and conflicting tendencies of the time. I believe his book is a resource that any future intellectual or social history of the period would find relevant, and perhaps even indispensable."---Arvind Rajagopal, Civic Sociology"While the book presents a persuasive, if subtle, plea to revive [Bellah’s] hermeneutic insights, another of its many virtues—likely to ruffle far fewer feathers—is that it serves to make vivid what it is about the sociological imagination that makes it so dazzlingly irresistible. For this alone, A Joyfully Serious Man deserves a wide readership."---Galen Watts, Contemporary Sociology"As Matteo Bortolini’s beautiful biography shows over and over, the importance of intellectual curiosity is the ultimate lesson of Bellah’s life and work."---David Yamane, International Sociology Reviews"Bortolini, in this outstanding biography, introduces the readers to not only the oeuvre of a distinguished public intellectual, but also to his personhood, which, amidst personal calamity, could still pave a way as a fierce and passionate independent intellectual."---Alisha Saikia, Religious Studies Review"To my knowledge, very few, if any, sociologists born in the 20th century have so far been the subject of a more documented biography than Matteo Bortolini’s A Joyfully Serious Man, which is additional evidence of Bellah’s importance for new generations of sociologists."---Federico Brandmayr, The American Sociologist"One of the richest aspects of Bortolini’s book is the way in which it enables us to see Robert Bellah against the backdrop of his times, to see his intellectual projects and his character shaped by the events and institutions he lived through."---Laura Ford, The American Sociologist"Reading Bortolini on how Bellah first formulated, then had to defend, and then finally abandoned civil religion, encouraged me to think more systematically about issues that I find inherent in the public-ness of certain types of ideas generally."---Rhys Williams, The American Sociologist"On a second outsider puzzle of interest – Bellah as an emblematic case of mid-century American academic – Bortolini is conspicuously successful. Bellah’s life provides an exceedingly well-documented example of a particular generation of social scientists in America: those who were born in the interwar period and educated in the immediate postwar decades; who were wafted by the explosive growth of academia during the period 1945–1970; and who suffered in their academic primes the rapid transformations of America that took place from 1960 to 1980."---Andrew Abbott, The American Sociologist"A Joyfully Serious Man: The Life of Robert Bellah will be the envy of social scientists and historians who write in the genre of biography, and it will long set the gold-standard for scholarship of this kind."---Charles Camic, The American Sociologist"I think that you will relish the encounter that is available here with Bob Bellah. We owe a debt of gratitude to Matteo Bortolini for his wonderful portrait of this joyfully serious man."---Peter Blum, Tradition and Discovery"Bortolini skillfully and compassionately balances the personal, academic, and cultural elements that comprised Bellah’s life, and presents his theories in understandable and accessible terms."---Brian Bromberger, Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide

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Book SynopsisEver wondered what 'human nature' really means?This new edition of What Makes Us Tick takes us beneath the often overwhelming surface noise of politics, economics, new technology and social change to explore something that hasn't changed: the ten desires that drive us all and, now in a new prologue, the seven characteristics that define us as a species. From our desire to be taken seriously, to be useful and to be loved, to the desire for more, the desire for control and the desire for something to believe in, these universal human motivations powerfully influence our behaviour towards each other. Hugh Mackay goes to the heart of what it means to be human. This is a book that explains us to ourselves and, in the process, helps us understand each other a little better. It also encourages us to lead more generous, compassionate lives.Trade Review‘Hugh Mackay is one of this country’s most perceptive social commentators.’ * Sydney Morning Herald *‘Illuminator of other people’s views ... a reporter of voices. Mackay ... is something of a national treasure.’ * Canberra Times *

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Book SynopsisAn important contributor to our current understanding of critical phenomena, Ma introduces the beginner--especially the graduate student with no previous knowledge of the subject-to fundamental theoretical concepts such as mean field theory, the scaling hypothesis, and the renormalization group. He then goes on to apply the renormalization group to selected problems, with emphasis on the underlying physics and the basic assumptions involved.Table of ContentsINTRODUCTION, MODELS AND BASIC CONCEPTS, The Gaussian Approximation, The Scaling Hypothesis, The Renormalisation Group, Fixed points and Exponents, The Gaussian Fixed Point and Fixed Points in 4-e dimensions, Renormalisation Groups in Selected Models, Perturbation Expansions, The Effect of Random Impurities and miscellaneous topics, Introduction to Dynamics, The Renormalisation Groups in Dynamics, Simple Dynamics Models, Perturbation Expansion in Dynamics.

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Book SynopsisNew edition of classic title on the morality of terrorismTrade Review'Clear, rational and continuously interesting' -- New Statesman'A masterful argument' -- Times Literary Supplement'Inherent interest and importance' -- Times Higher EducationalTable of ContentsIntroduction 1. Wretchedness and Terrorism, and Differences We Make Between Them 2. A Theory of Justice, an Anarchism, and the Obligation to Obey the Law 3. The Principle of Humanity 4. Our Omissions and their Terrorism 5. On Democratic Terrorism 6. Doctrines, Commitments, and Four Conclusions about Terrorism for Humanity Acknowledgements Index

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Book SynopsisDraws on past philosophical debates to propose a new way of conceiving the commons in today's neo-liberal era.Trade Review'A bold, brilliant and ultimately hopeful attempt to build a critique of liberalism and neoliberalism on different foundations' -- Mark Fisher, Goldsmiths'A serious and courageous engagement with the deepest issue of our time. Humanity cannot go on as we are, but how do we change course? Gilbert starts to build a strategy from the wreckage' -- Anthony Barnett, founder of openDemocracy'We live in an interregnum. The old is not yet dead and the new is yet to be born. No one understands this moment better than Jeremy Gilbert.' -- Neal Lawson, Chair for Compass'The task of a philosophy of relation, of a transindividual philosophy, is not just to assert the reality of relations, but to understand how those very relations individuate us. Gilbert's book is an important contribution to such a project' -- Jason Read, The New Inquiry'A bold, brilliant and ultimately hopeful attempt to build a critique of liberalism and neoliberalism on different foundations' -- William Davies, Goldsmiths'Addresses the most urgent practical questions about individualism and collectivism, using the most sophisticated theoretical tools available to progressive thought' -- Lawrence Grossberg, Morris Davis Distinguished Professor of Media Studies & Cultural Studies at UNC, and author of Cultural Studies in the Future Tense (Duke University Press, 2010)'Jeremy Gilbert is a master storyteller, reassembling critical traditions and opening up contemporary cases. In contrast to much theorising of the present, Common Ground honours the liveness and the conceptual vitality of the political: a necessity, in this exciting and terrifying contemporary moment' -- Lauren Berlant, George M. Pullman Distinguished Service Professor, Department of English, University of ChicagoTable of ContentsPreface 1. Postmodernity and the Crisis of Democracy 2. A War of All Against All: Neoliberal Hegemony and Competitive Individualism 3. Leviathan Logics: Group Psychology from Hobbes to Laclau 4. The State of Community Opened: Multitude and Multiplicity 5. The Non-Fascist Crowd: Individuation and Infinite Relationality 6. Feeling Together: Affect, Identity and the Politics of the Common 7. On the Impossibility of Making Decisions: Affect, Agency and the Democratic Sublime Conclusions Notes Index

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Book SynopsisMadonna is perhaps one of the most consistently transgressive and self-transforming artists of the late 20th and early 21st centuries. The recent release of two critically acclaimed and best-selling albums and a sold-out world tour have renewed media and academic interest in the artist. Madonna presents a set of strikingly new challenges to cultural analysis, and new developments in Gender, Queer and Ethnic studies have shed more light on her entire oeuvre. Whilst the contributors do refer to classic cultural theorists such as Baudrillard, Zizek, Foucault and Barthes, new theoretical approaches to Madonna's work feature prominently. In view of this, the present volume offers new perspectives on Madonna's work to date, addressing her configurations of race, gender and sex(uality) and with special emphasis on her resurrection after the Sex backlash in the early 1990s. The collection focuses on new Madonna-related topics such as Hinduism, Judaism, Japanese culture, All-American culture,Trade Review'... the variety of issues discussed in the text should make it a valuable and up-to-date resource with quite a wide audience.' Popular MusicTable of ContentsContents: Who's That Girl?: Introduction: Re-invention? Madonna's drowned worlds resurface, Santiago Fouz-Hernández and Freya Jarman-Ivens. Part I The Girlie Show: Gender Identities: Dragging out camp: narrative agendas in Madonna's musical production, Stan Hawkins; Madonna's girls in the mix: performance of femininity beyond the beautiful, Patricia Pisters; Where is the female body? Androgyny and other strategies of disappearance in Madonna's music videos, Corinna Herr. Part II Post-Virgin: Sexual Identities: Queer hearing and the Madonna queen, Keith E. Clifton; What it feels like for two girls: Madonna's play with lesbian (sub-)cultures, Freya Jarman-Ivens. Part III Drowned Worlds: Ethnic Identities: East is hot! 'Madonna's Indian Summer' and the poetics of appropriation, Michael Angelo Tata; Re-worlding the oriental: critical perspectives on Madonna as geisha, Rahul Gairola; The day the music died laughing: Madonna and Country, Sean Albiez; Crossing the border(line): Madonna's encounter with the Hispanic, Santiago Fouz-Hernández. Part IV Blond Ambition: Consuming Celebrity: Madonna's daughters: girl power and the empowered girl-pop breakthrough, David Gauntlett; Consuming Madonna then and now: an examination of the dynamics and structuring of celebrity consumption, Lisa Peñaloza. Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisThe Japanese geisha is an international icon, known almost universally as a symbol of traditional Japan. Numerous books exist on the topic, yet this is the first to focus on the 'gei' of geisha - the art that constitutes their title (gei translates as fine art, sha refers to person). Kelly M. Foreman brings together ethnomusicological field research, including studying and performing the shamisen among geisha in Tokyo, with historical research. The book elaborates how musical art is an essential part of the identity of the Japanese geisha rather than a secondary feature, and locates current practice within a tradition of two and half centuries. The book opens by deconstructing the idea of 'geisha' as it functions in Western societies in order to understand why gei has been, and continues to be, neglected in geisha studies. Subsequent chapters detail the myriad musical genres and traditions with which geisha have been involved during their artistic history, as well as their position wiTrade Review’This is the first book to focus on the art (gei) of the geisha and to position musical skills at the center of geisha life and identity ... Much of the material about geisha repertoire and history is not readily available in English. The final chapter is especially engaging. Summing Up: Recommended.’ Choice ’... this book is an insightful read, both informative and entertaining, bringing to life an area of Japanese society that continues to be steeped in myth and intrigue.’ Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies ’In this well-crafted book, Kelly M. Foreman takes on the pervasive conception of Japanese geisha as exploited erotic entertainers, and argues that the center of their professional lives is their dedication to traditional Japanese performing arts. ... The Gei of Geisha should attract those interested in the social phenomenon of female performing arts, as well as those interested in the arts themselves.’ International Journal of Asian Studies ’The Gei of Geisha is a beautiful and much needed work that fits nicely into Japanese musical studies. Scholars and everyday readers alike would gain a new perspective on geisha from this book and, ultimately, because of Foreman’s convincing detail, on what truly makes a geisha an artist - her gei (art).’ Ethnomusicology Forum 'This book is essential for anyone considering the scholarly study of geisha from an ethnomusicological or an anthropological perspective.' EthnomusicologyTable of ContentsContents: Preface; Introduction; Repertoire and training; Geisha performances and how they are constructed; Geisha and traditional arts society; Entertainer vs. artist: patronage and the negotiation of identity; Understanding geisha and gei: eroticism through ambiguity; Bibliography; Index.

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Book SynopsisUndoubtedly the most accessible, readable and downright interesting - even amusing - dictionary of its type. In being all of those things - and more - the dictionary does not sacrifice on quality. There are many well-chosen entries and they are quite informative. A useful addition to any scholar's library while at the same time being an excellent resource for both graduate and undergraduate students - George Ritzer, University of Maryland This is a delightful and comprehensive dictionary. The authors write in an engaging and lively style that brings alive the ideas of sociology not only for existing practitioners, but also for a whole new generation of students - Tim May, University of Salford With over 1000 entries on key concepts and theorists, The SAGE Dictionary of Sociology provides full coverage of the field, clarifying the technical use of apparently common words, explaining the fundamental concepts and introducing new and unfamiliar terms. This book provides: authoritative, reliable definitions accessible 'digests' of key arguments contemporary, appealing illustrations of points readability. This is not just another dry guide to the discipline. Engagingly written with its audience firmly in mind, it will be the definitive and chosen companion to established textbooks and teaching materials in sociology.Trade Review"Steve Bruce′s and Steven Yearley′s The SAGE Dictionary of Sociology is undoubtedly the most accessible, readable and downright interesting - even amusing - dictionary of its type. In being all of those things - and more - the dictionary does not sacrifice on quality. There are many well-chosen entries and they are quite informative. A useful addition to any scholar′s library while at the same time being an excellent resource for both graduate and undergraduate students." -- George Ritzer"This is a delightful and comprehensive dictionary. The authors write in an engaging and lively style that brings alive the ideas of sociology not only for existing practitioners, but also for a whole new generation of students." -- Tim May"Prior to seeing the SAGE Dictionary of Sociology, I would have thought that a reference book that reads like a nonfiction bestseller was a conjurer′s illusion. Miraculously, ′The Two Steves′ (Bruce and Yearley) have pulled it off, and with a refreshing sense of ′brio′. This compendium sets a new level of excellence. The authors have succeeded at one and the same time in covering the sociological landscape in a comprehensive and authoritative manner while writing with an insouciance, dry wit and critical edge. They present key concepts, ideas and personalities such that they are fully accessible to undergraduate students while being of practical use to more established scholars. Highly recommended." -- John Hannigan

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Book SynopsisThe book's objective is to help students develop a skill -- their ability to interpret and analyze situations sociologically. - Development of student skills and their sociological eyesight is facilitated through practice using decision cases, relatively short problem-centered narratives that promote critical thinking. - The book's structure promotes the progressive and incremental development of skills. Each chapter in Part I begins with a case. The body of each chapter introduces sociological ideas and concepts by using them to analyze the beginning case. Each chapter concludes with another case so that students can practice the specific skills they have acquired in the chapter, using the chapter's Sociological Eyesight Analysis Guide. Part II contains additional cases, providing more opportunities for students to practice their skills at interpreting situations sociologically, and solving problems. An instructor's manual is available to qualified adopters of Sociology in Action. To read the Introduction to the instructor's manual or to view a Sample Course Outline, click on Additional Materials in the left column under About This Book.Trade Review"That the chapters begin with a case, discuss the case, and end with another case is a most useful structure—one that assists those of us unfamiliar with the process, yet also works for those familiar with cases." -- Sally Raskoff"Using this book will help students gain competency in several areas that are central to the learning goals and outcomes of general education at the baccalaurate level: problem solving, communication, analysis and critical thinking, and perspective. Nothing could be better for introductory sociology today than this innovative text." -- Dean DornTable of ContentsPART ONE: DOING SOCIOLOGY Seeing Society Using Theory Decoding Culture Uncovering Inequalities and Power Imagining Futures PART TWO: DECISION CASES The Worth of a Sparrow Conflict at Riverside Tossin′ and Turnin′ Lucy Allman In the Eye of the Beholder The Case of the Minnetonka Kawn Ordinance Off to College What′s So Scary about the Truth? People Like You Lisa′s Hidden Identity

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Book SynopsisFutures studies is a new field of inquiry involving systematic and explicit thinking about alternative futures. It aims to demystify the future, make possibilities for the future more known to us, and increase human control over the future. This book summarizes and expands contributions of futurists to the envisioning power and well-being of humanity. Bell brings together futurist intellectual tools, describing and explaining not only the methods, but also the nature, concepts, theories, and exemplars of the field.Foundations of Futures Studies fulfills Bell's five main purposes for writing this two-volume effort: (1) to show that futures studies, like other fields from anthropology to zoology, exists as an identifiable sphere of intellectual activity; (2) to create a teaching instrument that can be used as a basic text for core courses in futures studies; (3) to futurize the thinking of specialists in other disciplines; (4) to contribute to the further development aTrade Review"Foundations of Futures Studies represents the finest thinking in the field, as both an original work and a synthesis of existing work.... Destined to become a classic." - Claire W. Gilbert, editor and publisher, Blazing Tattles; "Arguably the most definitive study ever done of the future studies field and a 'must read' for futurists who want a holistic grasp of it." - William C. Johnson, Futurics; "Bell has poured all his knowledge and experience into it, which is no mean matter, and has created a work that is profound, extensive and filled with elements for reflection." - Papers de Prospectiva (Spain); "A must read for almost everyone within the social sciences." - Choice; "This book is a milestone in the development of the futures field...an ambitious attempt to capture what we know about the study of the future - Bell's version of Francis Bacon's Novum Organum." - Peter C. Bishop, Technological Forecasting and Social ChangeTable of ContentsList of Figures List of Tables Acknowledgements Preface to the 2003 Edition Preface 1. Futures Studies: A New Field of Inquiry 2. The Purposes of Futures Studies 3. Assumptions of Futures Studies 4. Is Futures Studies an Art or a Science? 5. An Epistemology for Futures Studies:From Positivism to Critical Realism 6. Methods and Exemplars in Futures Research References Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisIn the course of an impressive career as a writer, Herbert Gold has demonstrated many gifts, among them his talent for mak-ing high drama of ordinary events, ordinary people. -Chicago Tribune Book World Gold...has a sharp eye for detail.-The Washington Times Magazine Not just a good book, but a great one.-Daily Mail (London) Herbert Gold... gives his stories a wry, bright air of wonder...he is a born storyteller.-New York Times One of the most gifted writers in America.-Detroit Times Important writers are expected to gather together collections of their shorter works-the obligatory book of stories or essays. In this collection, Herbert Gold discards convention, and instead combines fiction and non-fiction themes that have been important to him as a writer and social thinker. This interchange between fact and fiction, as Gold writes, presents the picture of an American mind wrestling with the American mentality. And that mind ranges wide: from the miseries of Haiti to the disasters of Biafra; from the new universities and the beatniks and hippies of San Francisco in the 1960s to the literary life and encounters with random violence, love, death, and sexuality in the present. Portions of this book have been published in periodicals as varied as Esquire and Look, Hudson Review, and Tri-Quarterly, and some appear here for the first time. For this edition, Gold bridges the sections with new introductions, which link the specific works, the times, and his life. The book includes the savage and moving story A Death on the East Side, and his meditation on the doom of Biafra and the meaning of its fate. He has added two new essays, King of the Cleveland Beatniks, about his brother, and Quality Time with Sonny Barger, about the former president of the Hell's Angels Oakland Chapter. These show his consistent interest in what many would see as the margins of social life. Of the title, the author writes: The Magic Will seeks to make the real world unreal and magical, and the unreal and magical world practical and real. Amusing, touching, playful, ultimately deeply serious, this book by Herbert Gold further illuminates the mind and heart of a superb writer. It will be a joy to those interested in the humanities, as well as cultural history and social awareness in the broadest sense. Herbert Gold is a novelist, short story writer, essayist, and occasional journalist, who has made his living as a writer for fifty years.Trade Review"In the course of an impressive career as a writer, Herbert Gold has demonstrated many gifts, among them his talent for making high drama of ordinary events, ordinary people." - Chicago Tribune Book World; "Gold...has a sharp eye for detail." - The Washington Times Magazine; "Not just a good book, but a great one." - Daily Mail (London); "Herbert Gold... gives his stories a wry, bright air of wonder...he is a born storyteller." - New York Times; "One of the most gifted writers in America." - Detroit Times"Table of ContentsPROGRAMMING THE PECULIAR THINGS, A SELFISH STORY, THE MAGIC WILL, A DEATH ON THE EAST SIDE, THE LIFE CONTAINED IN NOVELS AND THE NOVELIST’S LIFE, A SURVIVAL, A DAY WITH THE BOGEYMAN, A HAITIAN GENTLEMAN, MAX AND THE PACEMAKER, “I WANT A SUNDAY KIND OF LOVE”, SONG OF THE FIRST AND LAST BEATNIK, THE OLDER WOMAN, LETTER FROM A FAR FRAT, AN EVENING WITH A BEARD IN JOPLIN, MISSOURI, “LET’S KILL THE FIRST RED-HAIRED MAN WE SEE. WAITING FOR THE FORTY-ONE UNION, FROM PROUST TO DADA, YOUNG MAN, OLD DAYS, MY SUMMER VACATION IN BIAFRA, THE DEATH OF BIAFRA AS SEEN FROM SAN FRANCISCO, STORIES I GUESS I WON’T WRITE, QUALITY TIME WITH SONNY BARGER, KING OF THE CLEVELAND BEATNIKS.

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Book SynopsisThis book discusses the definition and types of FGM and explores the common justifications for the practice, along with the incidence in Africa, global laws, legal issues, rights and religion. Ethical considerations are examined, as are progress and the role of culture.

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Book SynopsisIn addition, he includes a new chapter describing Amish recreation and social gatherings, and he applies the concept of "social capitalto his sensitive and penetrating interpretation of how the Amish have preserved their social networks and the solidarity of their community.Trade ReviewThis book is a perfect tool for introducing undergraduates to sociological analysis. Kraybill skillfully depicts an intriguing world that promotes collectivism against the dominant individualism. We come to understand how Amish life makes sense to those who adhere to it. -- Michele Lamont Christian CenturyTable of ContentsContents: 1 The Amish Story 2 The Quiltwork of Amish Culture 3 Symbols of Integration and Separation 4 The Social Architecture of Amish Society 5 Rites of Redemption and Purification 6 Auctions, Frolics, and Gangs 7 Passing on the Faith 8 The Riddles of Technology 9 Harnessing the Power of Progress 10 The Transformation of Amish Work 11 Managing Public Relations 12 Regulation Social Change 13 Exploring Our Common Riddles

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive analysis of the significant questions facing this crucial profession, The American Academic Profession will be welcomed by students and scholars as well as by administrators and policy makers concerned with the future of the academy.Trade ReviewVery highly recommended. Choice The five sections in The American Academic Profession provide a wide range of insights about changes in the faculty role at research universities. -- Todd Lundberg & Clifton F. Conrad Teachers College RecordTable of ContentsPrefaceIntroduction. The Professoriate's Perilous PathPart I: Structural and Cognitive ChangeChapter 1. Optimizing Research and Teaching: The Bifurcation of Faculty Roles at Research UniversitiesChapter 2. Focus on the Classroom: Movements to Reform College Teaching and Learning, 1980– 2008Chapter 3. Whose Educational Space? Negotiating Professional Jurisdiction in the High-Tech AcademyChapter 4. American Academe and the Knowledge-Politics ProblemPart II: Socialization and DevianceChapter 5. The Socialization of Future Faculty in a Changing Context: Traditions, Challenges, and PossibilitiesChapter 6. Professionalism in Graduate Teaching and MentoringPart III: Experience of the Academic CareerChapter 7. Scholarly Learning and the Academic Profession in a Time of ChangeChapter 8. Anomie in the American Academic ProfessionPart IV: Autonomy and RegulationChapter 9. Academic Freedom, Professional Autonomy, and the StateChapter 10. Codes of Commerce: The Uses of Business Rhetoric in the American Academy, 1960– 2000Chapter 11. The Meaning of Regulation in a Changing Academic ProfessionPart V: Contemporary and Historical ViewsChapter 12. Professional Control in the Complex University: Maintaining the Faculty RoleChapter 13. All That Glittered Was Not Gold: Rethinking American Higher Education's Golden Age, 1945– 1970Contributors Index

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Book SynopsisReconnecting State and Kinship seeks to overcome the traditional dichotomy between state and kinship, asking whether concepts associated with one sphere surface in the other, tracking the evolution of these concepts through time and space, and exploring how this binary is reinforced within the social sciences.Trade Review"Arguing that the anthropology of kinship and political anthropology have become two distinct sub-disciplines, mirroring the assumed dichotomy of traditional versus modern societies, this edited volume sets out to demonstrate the theoretical weakness that arises of such positions. Through excellent chapters by experienced anthropologists, we are shown the fallacy of the separation. Kinship and politics emerge as mutually constitutive enriching our understanding of both." * Signe Howell, University of Oslo *"An excellent collection that goes quite some way to suturing the divide between studies of kinship and family and ethnographies of the state. Editors Tatjana Thelen and Erdmute Alber have crafted a coherent volume that speaks to larger themes within contemporary political anthropology, assembling a uniformly strong set of contributions that pull together a number of key threads in ways that make this book very useful for scholars working in gender studies, kinship studies, and the anthropology of the state." * Rebecca Bryant, Utrecht University *"Reconnecting State and Kinship makes a valuable contribution by arguing for the mutual relevance of the fields of kinship and studies of the state. The book's editors and contributors demonstrate how concepts 'travel' between the realms of kinship and the amalgam of actors that animate the state, and in doing so acquire new meanings." * Alice Wilson, University of Sussex *

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Book SynopsisThis book provides a needed survey of a truly remarkable number of different theoretical approaches to the related phenomena of attitude and belief change. It focuses on variable perspective theory which is far more deserving of attention than the present level of research activity.Table of ContentsAttitudes and Persuasion -- Foreword -- Preface -- Attitudes and Persuasion -- Introduction to Attitudes and Persuasion -- Conditioning and Modeling Approaches -- The Message-learning Approach -- Judgmental Approaches -- Motivational Approaches -- Attributional Approaches -- Combinatory Approaches -- Self-persuasion Approaches -- Epilog: A General Framework for Understanding Attitude Change Processes

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Book SynopsisOriented toward the introductory student, The Inequality Reader is the essential textbook for today''s undergraduate courses. The editors, David B. Grusky and Szonja Szelenyi, have assembled the most important classic and contemporary readings about how poverty and inequality are generated and how they might be reduced. With thirty new readings, the second edition provides new materials on anti-poverty policies as well as new qualitative readings that make the scholarship more alive, more accessible, and more relevant. Now more than ever, The Inequality Reader is the one-stop compendium of all the must-read pieces, simply the best available introduction to the stratifi cation canon.Trade Review"Inequality is the central motivating concern of sociology, and there is no better guide to the stratifi cation canon than The Inequality Reader. In this second edition, Grusky and Szelenyi take us on an occasionally challenging, sometimes humorous, often provocative, and always engaging tour of the major works on social stratifi cation." -Dalton Conley, Professor of Sociology, Medicine, and Public Policy, New York University "Grusky and Szelenyi's The Inequality Reader continues to set the standard for comprehensiveness and timeliness as a resource for students of social stratifi cation." -Douglas S. Massey, Henry G. Bryant Professor of Sociology and Public Affairs, Princeton University "The Inequality Reader is a remarkably rich and diverse collection, suitable for undergraduates encountering sociological analysis for the first time as well as graduate students looking for a comprehensive overview of the main strands of sociological thinking and research on inequality." -Erik Olin Wright, Vilas Distinguished Professor, University Of Wisconsin--Madison, and President-Elect, American Sociological Association Praise for the First Edition: "Grusky and Szelenyi have compiled a comprehensive set of essential readings that introduce students to both classical sociological thinking and modern ideas about stratification. This is an excellent resource." -Lisa A. Keister, Professor of Sociology, Duke University "This is a beautifully designed resource for teachers and students. The Inequality Reader reveals not only the comprehensiveness and varieties of inequality, but the interconnectedness of its class-, race-, and gender-based dimensions. With superb selections and a state-of-the-art grasp of the issues, Grusky and Szelenyi show us not only the contemporary depth and breadth of injustice, exclusion, and unfreedom, but also the links between inequality's past and present forms. Highly recommended." -Howard Winant, University of California, Santa Barbara, and author, The World is a Ghetto; Race and Democracy since World War IITable of Contents- Part I: Introduction - 1 David B. Grusky The Stories About Inequality That We Love to Tell - Part II: Does Inequality Serve a Purpose? - 2 Kingsley Davis and Wilbert E. Moore Some Principles of Stratification 3 Claude S. Fischer, Michael Hout, Mart

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Book SynopsisTrade Review"By looking at the power structures of the medical, legal, and professional organizations involved, the politics that devalue women, the organizational arrangements and protocols of hospitals, and the professional standards used in medicine and the insurance industry, she discovers a culture that avoids risk and encourages planning to avoid adverse outcomes...A useful addition to health sciences and academic library collections." * Library Journal *"Must Read! Anyone riveted by Rick Lake's documentary The Business of Being Born should snag a copy of Cut It Out." * Fit Pregnancy *"It is thoroughly researched, cogently argued, and elegantly expressed given the level of detail it provides medical professionals, decision makers in the health sector, and of course actual and potential mothers and fathers who could all benefit from the information it provides." * New York Journal of Books *"Birth by Caesarean section is expensive and carries a higher risk of medical complications than vaginal birth. Yet in 2011, 33% of US births were by Caesarean. To investigate why, sociologist Theresa Morris crunched the numbers and interviewed more than 100 medical staff and mothers. The culprit, she concludes in this excellent and detailed study, is a risk-averse US medical culture that favours heavily managed birthssuch as the overzealous use of fetal heart monitors, which restrict the mother's movementand that frowns on women having vaginal births after Caesareans." * Nature *"Perhaps the most important of all is that Theresa Morris provides lists of things we can actually DO to lower the cesarean section rate. Did I cheer when the first thing she mentioned was recommend that women take an independent birth class? Maybe a little. Morris solutions were more than just for women but for their providers, for insurance companies and policy makers. Cut It Out: The C-Section Epidemic in America, is an important book and one I would strongly encourage anyone who seeks change in childbirth to carefully read." * Mama Birth *"In Cut It Out, she refreshingly steers clear of the home-birthing-good, hospitals-bad dogma that tends to dominate this conversation, instead encouraging empathy with all involved...Morriss impressive research, as well as the solutions she offers to women, providers and policy planners, makes the book an important contribution to the C-section debate." * New York Times Book Review *"Morris provides a thorough analysis of how this epidemic developed and suggests ways that this problem might be ameliorated.Her book is the clearest and fullest sociological analysis of the C-section epidemic that I have seen to date." * American Journal of Sociology *"A Trinity College professor, inspired by her own experiences, takes a critical look at Caesarean sections in her new book, Cut It Out: The C-Section Epidemic in America." -- William Weir * The Hartford Courant *"Engagingly written, rigorously researched, and compellingly argued, this book [is] a must-read not only for womens health advocates and scholars of reproduction, but also for those engaged in health care policy." -- Susan Markens,author of Surrogate Motherhood and The Politics of Reproduction"In this thoughtful and engaging study, Morris demonstrates how hospitals, insurers, and professional societies have defined cesarean surgery as best practice, even when it is not in the interest of either the mother or her baby. In doing so, she illustrates the importance of organizational context in understanding contemporary medical procedures underscoring how these processes are not necessarily good for patients." -- Beth Mintz,author of The Power Structure of American Business"Theresa Morris calls the C-section epidemic a paradox: doctors don't like it, women don't like it, and we know it's a danger to our health. Yet like a bad habit, we can't seem to stop doing more and more cesareans. Why? Morris demystifies the paradox in clear, accessible terms: rather than & patient choice or doctors' convenience, it is our systems and institutions driving this addictive behavior. Morris takes you inside those systems and institutions with a critical eye as well as a compassionate ear for the human beings caught in them, and offers concrete solutions to address this major threat to women's and babies' health." -- Jennifer Block,author of Pushed: The Painful Truth About Childbirth and Modern Maternity Care"Cut It Outserves as an important resource to understand the complex birthingparadox currently at the root of the increasing C-section rate in the United States." * Sex Roles *"The authors suggestions include changing insurance rules to compensate women and children with poor birth outcomes independent of fault; encouraging the use of doulas, midwives, and out-of-hospital care; counting C-section rate as a hospital quality measure; and loosening policies that reduce physician choice. Morriss powerful book deserves the attention of policymakers." * STARRED Publishers Weekly *"A major strength in this book is that Morris examines an assortment of data sources and thus achieves a multifaceted research approach for analyzing the increasing number of C-sections being performed." * Sociology of Health & Illness *"Cut It Outis a compelling examination of the risks associated with cesarean surgery, the reasons for the rise in the cesarean surgery rate, and solutions to address the problem." * The Family Way Publications *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments Introduction Part I. The Root of the Problem1 The Liability Threat in Obstetrics Part II. Control Systems Embedded in Hospitals2 The Tyranny of the Rules 3 Too Much Information: How Technology Raises the Stakes Part III. The Effects of Organizational Constraints4 The Big Kahuna: Repeat C-Sections 5 Women's Lack of Choice in Labor and Birth Conclusion: A Roadmap for Change Methods Appendix NotesReferences Index About the Author

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Book SynopsisOffers a look at the emergence of the study of the body. From prenatal genetic testing and 'manscaping' to televideo cybersex and the 'meth economy', this work digs into contemporary lifestyles and events to cover key concepts and theories about the body.Trade Review"The attention on the body has been growing in the academic discourse over the last years, and The Body Reader...contributes to it greatly." * Metapsychology Online Reviews *"The Body Reader provides an excellent series of in-depth discussions of important issues that are realted to body image and personal identity, as well as of social and cultural perceptions and values. The presentations are definitive, refreshingly original , insightful, and well written. The interdisciplinary approaches to this important topic have been skillfully blended and organized by the editors. This is a theoretically important set of readings that deserves a wide readership among a wide variety of behavioral and biological scientists." -- James A. Moses Jr. * American Psychological Association *"Anyone looking for a research idea or seeking inspiration to write about her or his own embodiment from a scholarly perpective is likely to find it in The Body Reader. This reader is a fascinating read." -- Joan C. Chrisler, Jennifer Bessette * Springer Science and Business Media Journal *"The Body Reader makes you want to sit down immediately and browse, and the reading pays off. The essays are wide-ranging, and each covers its topic with scope and depth. Covering theory, praxis, and critique, this anthology is sure to be a favorite for courses in sociology of the body, disability studies, and a variety of womens/gender studies subjects, including science and technology. I highly recommend it!" -- Judith Lorber,author of Breaking the Bowls: Degendering and Feminist Change"A powerful exploration of the many ways that bodies and embodiment matter. The editors have carefully selected a mix of classic and original articles, and their section introductions alone will prove an invaluable resource for researchers and teachers. This smart collection is certain to shape the interdisciplinary field of body studies." -- Janice Irvine,author of Disorders of Desire: Sexuality and Gender in Modern American Sexology"This collection of essays provides a rich smorgasbord of scholarly approaches to the body, its many meanings and experiences. For readers who want to savor the inter-disciplinarity of this exciting genre of cultural studies, this is an important book to read and have on your shelf." -- Joan Jacobs Brumberg,author of The Body Project: An Intimate History of American GirlsTable of ContentsAcknowledgments viii; Introduction: Not Just the Reflexive Reflex: Flesh and Bone in the Social Sciences 1; Mary Kosut and Lisa Jean Moore;; Part I: Vulnerable Bodies 51; 1. The Body's Problems with Illness 58; Arthur Frank; 2. Laboring Now: Current Cultural Constructions of Pregnancy, Birth, and Mothering 90; Barbara Katz Rothman; 3. Am I Good Enough for my Family? Fetal Genetic Bodies and Prenatal Genetic Testing 121; Kristen Karlberg; 4. Assume the Position: The Changing Contours of Sexual Violence 146; Patricia Hill Collins; 5. The Phenomenology of Death, Embodiment and Organ Transplantation 197; Gillian Haddow; 6. Chemically Reactive Bodies, Knowledge, and Society 226; Steve Kroll-Smith and H. Hugh Floyd;; Part II: Bodies as Mediums 256; 7. "Made by the Work": A Century of Laboring Bodies in the United States 266; Ed Slavishak; 8. Embodied Capitalism and the Meth Economy 291; Jason Pine; 9. Extreme Bodies/Extreme Culture 324; Mary Kosut; 10. The Racial Nose 353; Sander L. Gilman; 11. To Die For: The Semiotic Seductive Power of the Tanned Body 404; Phillip Vannini and Aaron M. McCright; 12. The Naked Self: Being a Body in Televideo Cybersex 450; Dennis D. Waskul;; Part III: Extraordinary Bodies 506; 13. Manscaping: The Tangle of Nature, Culture and Male Body Hair 512; Matthew Immergut; 14. Incongruent Bodies: Teaching While Leaking 545; Lisa Jean Moore; 15. Envisioning the Body in Relation: Finding Sex, Changing Sex 567; Eric Plemons; 16. Scars 588; Jarvis Jay Masters; 17. Slippery Slopes: Media, Disability and Adaptive Sports 593; William J. Peace;; Part IV: Bodies in Media 616; 18. Hey Girl, Am I More than My Hair?: African American Women and Their Struggles with Beauty, Body Image, and Hair 622; Tracey Owens Patton; 19. Fighting Abjection: Representing Fat Women 654; Le'a Kent; 20. Images of Addiction: The Representation of Illicit Drug Use in Popular Media 686; Richard Huggins; 21. The Ana Sanctuary: Women's Pro-Anorexic Narratives in Cyberspace 712; Karen Dias; Contributors 740; Index

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Book SynopsisA sociological study of public restroomsSo much happens in the public toilet that we never talk about. Finding the right door, waiting in line, and using the facilities are often undertaken with trepidation. Don't touch anything. Try not to smell. Avoid eye contact. And for men, don't look down or let your eyes stray. Even washing one's hands are tied to anxieties of disgust and humiliation. And yet other things also happen in these spaces: babies are changed, conversations are had, make-up is applied, and notes are scrawled for posterity.Beyond these private issues, there are also real public concerns: problems of public access, ecological waste, andin many parts of the worldsanitation crises. At public events, why are women constantly waiting in long lines but not men? Where do the homeless go when cities decide to close public sites? Should bathrooms become standardized to accommodate the disabled? Is it possible to create a unisex bathroom for transgendered peTrade ReviewThe politics of the loo, sexual as well as cultural, are taken up in a new book, Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing, edited by Harvey Molotch and Laura Norén. It aims to tackle the language around toilets and open up debates that have gone on, so to speak, behind closed doors and that never get resolved * Irish Times *The 12 essays in Toilet make clear that public toilets are anything but neutral, and argue that, in fact, restrooms-not just their design but where and to whom they are available-are loaded with cultural insights into views on race, sex, ability, and class...Toilet imparts a lesson: Pay attention. Those issues that most quietly fall into the background, unquestioned and seemingly benign, may be the most loaded and deserving of scrutiny. * Bitch Magazine *Peeing is political. The authors of Toilet show us how. In provocative essays from a range of perspectives, we learn what toilets (and their lack) teach us—about hierarchy, inequality, the body, aesthetics and politics. Using toilets as social and cultural prisms, they analyze global collective (in)action, outlining the deeply personal consequences for us all. This is wickedly smart, pointed and passionate public interest scholarship at its best.. -- Lisa Duggan,author of Twilight of Equality: Neoliberalism, Cultural Politics and the Attack on DemocracyWhen Molotch and Norén let slip a few pissings or pees, the book becomes livelier, as is befitting of the subject. And the inclusion of essays from scholars of many different disciplines—gender studies, disability rights, architecture—makes this a toilet book not to be missed. * The New Yorker *Who could have imagined? A book that weaves cutting edge gender theory into urban planning policy by way of the lowly toilet? A wondrous compendium. -- Jane Mansbridge,Adams Professor in the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard UniversityRanging from studies of Roman latrines to quasi-ethnographic studies of contemporary restroom design projects, the authors rigorously and sometimes cleverly expose moral panics, gender ideologies, and contradictions of bathroom design, accessibility, and use. -- J.L. Croissant * Choice *We may not feel comfortable discussing them, but questions of where and how we do our business, particularly in public, have a tremendous impact on our everyday lives. Thats why Toilet: Public Restrooms and the Politics of Sharing, a new collection of academic essays, is so necessary. * Salon.com *In Toilet, academics from the field of sociology, law, urban planning, gender studies, archeology, and architecture ponder the meaning of a room some people can't even call by name. -- Kate Tuttle * The Boston Globe *This profound and surprising book takes up a subject usually kept private: the public restroom. These scholarly but mostly accessible new examinations of the topic provide fascinating insights on cultural notions of cleanliness and filth, public and private. -- Rachel Bridgewater * Library Journal *Toilet is full of such insightsthe prose is clear and readable. -- Kate Tuttle * Boston.com *Toilet opens the door to a profound and fascinating understanding of the way we use and are abused by public conveniences. -- Howard S. Becker,author of Outsiders: Studies In The Sociology Of DevianceAn incredibly smart book about the importance of the toilet, especially for urban dwellers. I will never look at a toilet the same again. -- Mitchell Duneier,author of Sidewalk[T]his book offers precise insights—want to keep a public bathroom clean? Stick some flowers there. And it often cleverly illuminates whats in plain sight—say, the reasons why New York has so few female cabbies—but is usually ignored or assiduously avoided * The Atlantic *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments1 IntroductionHarvey MolotchRest Stop Part I2 Dirty SpaceRuth Barcan Rest StopBryan Reynolds3 Which Way to Look? Exploring Latrine Use in the Roman World Zena Kamash Rest Stop4 Potty TrainingIrus Braverman Rest StoPart I5 Only Dogs Are Free to PeeLaura Noren Rest Stop6 Creating a Nonsexist Restroom Clara Greed Rest Stop7 Sex SeparationTerry S. Kogan Rest Stop8 Pissing without PitDavid Serlin Rest StopPart III: Building in the Future9 The Restroom RevolutionOlga Gershenson Rest StopJonathan Head10 Why Not Abolish Laws of Urinary Segregation? Mary Anne Case Rest Stop11 Entangled with a UserBarbara Penner Rest Stop: Toilet Bloom @ Bryant Park 12 On Not Making HistoryHarvey MolotchNotes About the ContributorsIndex

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Book SynopsisThis volume examines the power that can be imposed, and the misery that is caused, especially for the poor, by the simple act of waiting. Although set in Buenos Aires, Auyero describes a variety of different situations, including waiting for national identity cards, for welfare agencies, and the endless waiting for relocation from the slums.Trade Review“...this [book] is a careful and beautifully written ethnographicinvestigation of the contours of ordinary people’s lives underneoliberalism in Argentina.” - Gianpaolo Baiocchi, American Journal of Sociology“Patients of the State is an insightful and long-overdue exploration of how the worst Latin American welfare programs reinforce powerlessness and subcitizenship even as they sporadically relieve economic misery. Vividly describing the phenomenally cavalier ways in which the governmental agencies of Buenos Aires waste poor people’s time and resources, Javier Auyero calls attention to the insidious violence of systems that sap political initiative and hobble complex and delicate urban survival strategies. With this study, he has once again opened new pathways for the study of contemporary Latin American poverty.”—Brodwyn Fischer, author of A Poverty of Rights: Citizenship and Inequality in Twentieth-Century Rio de Janeiro“In this brilliant, insightful, and sensitive investigation, Javier Auyero brings careful ethnographic research to bear on the routine temporal experiences of people who seek help and social services from the state. In doing so, he shows us how the state constructs political dominance through the control of its citizens’ time and temporal experience. By making the urban poor wait for whatever they need, the state creates subordination and political resignation. Patients of the State will have a major impact on scholarly and public discourse; it helps us see what is happening to millions of people around the world.”—Michael G. Flaherty, author of The Textures of Time: Agency and Temporal Experience"Patients of the State shines in providing empiricalevidence in support of the importance of waiting for understanding the ways in which power and domination are played out in practice in the relations between the urban poor and the front-line bureaucrats of the state.... [It] shines in providing empirical in support of the importance of waiting for understanding the ways in which power and domination are played out in practice in the relations between the urban poor and the front-line bureaucrats of the state." -- Marcela López Levy * Journal of Latin American Studies *Table of ContentsAcknowledgments xi Introduction. Tempography: Waiting Now and Then 1 1. The Time of the Denizens 23 2. Urban Relegation and Forms of Regulation Poverty 36 3. Poor People's Waiting: Speeding Up Time, but Still Waiting 64 4. The Welfare Office 92 5. Periculum in Mora: Flammable Revisited 128 Conclusion 153 Epilogue 162 Methodological Appendix 165 Notes 169 Works Cited 175 Index 191

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Book SynopsisThe contributors to this comprehensive anthology critique sociology's disciplinary engagement with colonialism in varied settings, while also highlighting the field's significant contributions to the theory and history of imperialism.Trade Review"From the sociology of empire to the empire in sociology, this is a book of immense erudition and encyclopedic reach. By bringing colonialism, imperialism, and empire to its center, George Steinmetz and his collaborators recalibrate the history of sociology and endow contemporary research with a badly needed global reflexivity."—Michael Burawoy, University of California, Berkeley, and President of the International Sociological Association"This is superior, highly innovative work, well-choreographed by the masterly hand of George Steinmetz. It makes a uniquely valuable contribution to historical and cultural sociology. Despite a growing interest in sociology's complicity in imperialism, there is nothing else like this book. It is attentive to networks and localities, as well as global concerns; contains wonderfully variegated cases, from countries including Italy, Russia, France, the Philippines, and the United States; and offers consistently brilliant field analyses. Sociology and Empire is an exceptional volume."—Peter Beilharz, La Trobe University“This rich, agenda-setting book will quickly become required reading for all historical sociologists. Essential.” -- J. Li * Choice *"George Steinmetz, who has edited this big and complex book, is well known for his pioneering work on the role of the social sciences in German overseas imperialism. He has invited 19 excellent social scientists to explore the links between sociology and empire. They have produced fresh and provocative knowledge, aiming to put an end to a long disciplinary amnesia." -- Jean-Louis Fabiani * Social Anthropology *“This is overall an ambitious volume which does what it aims to do, that is, to drag sociology out of its amnesia and recognize its historical role in colonial research, and to foreground current sociological research on imperialism today. … [A] necessary and significant contribution.” -- Yoke-Sum Wong * Sociology *"Sociology and Empire is a comprehensive and interdisciplinary inquiry into the imperial entanglements not only of a discipline but of the modern and present-day academy. The sort of unhindered self-analysis featured in this volume should be of interest and benefit to historians and science studies scholars of all stripes." -- Theodora Dryer * ISIS *"This is a momentous volume in terms of vision, content, and—at more than 600 pages—sheer size. It will become essential reading in the field of historical sociology and a valuable resource for historians interested in sociological theory." -- Britta Schilling * Central European History *"Sociology and Empire should be seen as an important intervention in a longstanding trend whereby sociologists have charted a new course for the future by rewriting the history of the past." -- Zine Magubane * Contemporary Sociology *"A treasure trove of insightful essays outlining in lucid sociologese the many entanglements of empire, empire production, and empire decay. . . . Sociology and Empire will no doubt have a lasting impression." -- Demetrius A. Lamar * Humanity and Society *Table of ContentsPreface / George Steinmetz ix 1. Major Contributions to Sociological Theory and Research on Empire, 1830s–Present / George Steinmetz 1 Part I. National Sociological Fields and The Study of Empire 2. Russian Sociology in Imperial Context / Alexander Semyonov, Marina Mogilner, and Ilya Gerasimov 53 3. Sociology's Imperial Unconscious: The Emergence of American Sociology in the Context of Empire / Julian Go 83 4. Empire for the Poor: Imperial Dreams and the Quest for an Italian Sociology, 1870s–1950s / Marco Santoro 106 5. German Sociology and Empire: From Internal Colonization to Overseas Colonization and Back Again / Andrew Zimmerman 166 6. The Durkheimian School and Colonialism: Exploring the Constitutive Paradox / Fuyuki Kurasawa 188 Part II. Current Sociological Theories of Empire 7. The Recent Intensification of American Economic and Military Imperialism: Are They Connected? / Michael Mann 213 8. The Empire's New Laws: Terrorism and the New Security Empire after 9/11 / Kim Lane Scheppele 245 9. Empires and Nations: Convergence or Divergence? / Krishan Kumar 279 10. The New Surgical Imperialism: China, Africa, and Oil / Albert J. Bergesen 300 Part III. Historical Studies of Colonialism and Empire 11. Nation and Empire in the French Context / Emmanuelle Saada 321 12. Empire and Development in Colonial India / Chandan Gowda 340 13. Building the Cities of Empire: Urban Planning in the Colonial Cities of Italy's Fascist Empire / Besnik Pula 366 14. Japanese Colonial Structure in Korea in Comparative Perspective / Ou-Byung Chae 396 15. Native Policy and Colonial State Formation in Pondicherry (India) and Vietnam: Recasting Ethnic Relations, 1870s–1920s / Anne Raffin 415 16. The Constitution of State/Space and the Limits of "Autonomy" in South Africa and Palestine/Israel / Andy Clarno 436 17. Resistance and the Contradictory Rationalities of State Formation in British Malaya and the American Philippines / Daniel P. S. Goh 465 Conclusion. Understanding Empire / Raewyn Connell 489 Bibliography 499 List of Contributors 575 Index

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Book SynopsisEveryday life in contemporary rural China is characterized by an increased sense of moral challenge and uncertainty. Ordinary people often find themselves caught between the moral frameworks of capitalism, Maoism and the Chinese tradition. This ethnographic study of the village of Zhongba (in Hubei Province, central China) is an attempt to grasp the ethical reflexivity of everyday life in rural China. Drawing on descriptions of village life, interspersed with targeted theoretical analyses, the author examines how ordinary people construct their own senses of their lives and their futures in everyday activities: building houses, working, celebrating marriages and funerals, gambling and dealing with local government. The villagers confront moral uncertainty; they creatively harmonize public discourse and local practice; and sometimes they resolve incoherence and unease through the use of irony. In so doing, they perform everyday ethics and re-create transient moral communities at a tiTrade Review “Steinmüller’s Communities of Complicity is a fascinating and vivid ethnography which examines the ethical reflexivity of the everyday lives of ordinary people in rural China… and provides a rich and nuanced account of the rapid social change faced by villagers… Overall, this is a book that is both empirically rich and theoretically interesting. Despite current headline-grabbing statistics on urbanisation, Communities of Complicity is an important testament to the continued necessity of understanding rural China if one is really to get to grips with how Chinese development works. It should be of interest to scholars and students of Chinese rural change, local politics and culture, as well as to anthropologists of “ordinary ethics” beyond China Studies.” · LSE Review of Books “…what makes the book really interesting beyond the disciplinary boundaries of anthropology is its dialogue with one of the most challenging and thought provoking topics in the study of Confucian ethics. Steinmüller’s take on productive embarrassment makes a very important contribution to the study of li in contemporary rural China.” · Journal of Royal Anthropological Institute “Communities of Complicity does an admirable job presenting everyday life in a Chinese rural community. Its great strength is that it introduces us to many people and detailed accounts of everyday life, testifying to the author’s unswerving commitment to anthropological fieldwork. We meet people from all walks of life and learn how they and their social groups fare in China’s dramatic transition process, in which nobody and nowhere are unaffected.… [It is] a hugely valuable contribution to the anthropology of China, which obviously is struggling against many odds. It is highly recommended to students and researchers trying to comprehend the immense changes now taking place in Chinese rural areas.” · China Information “Hans Steinmüller’s ‘Communities of Complicity’ is a shining example of ethnography’s relevance to contemporary understandings of China… [His] careful combination of rich ethnographic writing, eloquent theory, and clearly outlined methodology also makes it an excellent reading for students. His ethnography stands testament to the depth of insight possible through a more classical anthropological project. With the anthropology of China increasingly engaging with urbanization, mobility, and wider macro forces, Steinmüller’s village ethnography is a refreshing reminder of the importance of the rural in understanding contemporary China.” · Anthropos “…an ethnographically rich and theoretically innovative book. Innovative because the theory is very much developed out of the ethnography, rather than imposed on it.” · Asian Anthropology “This rich ethnography… is a very valuable and unique contribution to the growing body of literature concerned with morality and moral uncertainties within a rapidly changing contemporary China.” · The China Journal “…a fascinating and vivid ethnography which examines the ethical reflexivity of the everyday lives of ordinary people in rural China. It… provides a rich and nuanced account of the rapid social change faced by villagers there. Steinmüller’s work is theoretically extremely rich.” · LSE Review of Books “This book is both strong on ethnographic detail as well as theoretical ambition. Its unique contribution is to see the relationship between postsocialist state and rural communities, and therefore the development of everyday ethics in contemporary China, in a new light – namely through the lenses of irony and cultural intimacy.” · Susanne Brandtstädter, University of Oslo “The author does an excellent job of providing a theoretical context or frame in which some material that might seem ‘mundane’ becomes seen as having very important stakes about the contested moralities of everyday life in contemporary China. The examination of the everyday ironies that people use in talking about social expectations is particularly exciting… He engages some very relevant arguments both within anthropology and beyond it in philosophy and literature.” · Alan Smart, University of CalgaryTable of Contents Illustrations Acknowledgements Notes on the Text Introduction Chapter 1. A Remote Place from Three Angles Chapter 2. Gabled Roofs and Concrete Ceilings Chapter 3. Work Through the Food Basket Chapter 4. Channelling Along a Centering Path Chapter 5. The Embarrassment of Li Chapter 6. Gambling and the Moving Boundaries of Social Heat Chapter 7. Face Projects in Rural Construction Conclusion: Everyday Ethics, Cultural Intimacy, and Irony Appendix A: Newspaper Report Appendix B: Expenses for the Construction of a House Appendix C: List of Money Gifts and Tasks Appendix D: Subsidies Given to Three Households Glossary Bibliography

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Book SynopsisExamines the interaction between labour markets and the welfare state at the institutional level. Topics discussed include the legislative structuring of programmes, how the characteristics of programmes have changed over time, and the private and public mix of programmes.Table of ContentsFigures, Tables, Preface, 1 Welfare States and Employment Regimes, 2 Social Expenditure: A Decompositional Approach, 3 Income Distribution and Redistribution in the Nordic Welfare States, 4 The Three Political Economies of the Welfare State, 5 The Interaction of Welfare States and Labor Markets: The Institutionai Level, 6 Sick-Leave Regimes: The Private-Public Mix in Sickness Provision, 7 The Private-Public Mix in Pension Policy, Index, Contributors

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Book SynopsisA rich source of ideas about sociological research methods to assist the researcher in determining what method will provide the most reliable and useful knowledge, how to choose between different methodologies, and what constitutes the most fruitful relationship between sociological theories and research methods.Table of ContentsI: The Translation of Human Events; 1: Communication: The Context of Change; 2: The Mathematics of Communication; 3: Feedback; 4: A Transactional Model of Communication; 5: Social Perception and Appraisal; 6: Some Tentative Axioms of Communication; II: The Symbolic Significance of Behavior; 7: Social Interaction in Everyday Life; 8: The Nature of Symbolic Interactions; 9: Symbolic Strategies; 10: Facial Engagements; 11: When People Talk With People; 12: Language Within Language; 13: Communication Without Words; 14: Defensive Communication; III: The Structure of Communicative Acts; 15: Communication Boundaries; 16: Turn-Taking in Conversations; 17: Visual Behavior In Social Interaction; 18: Hand Movements; 19: The Significance of Posture in Communication Systems; 20: Communicative Silences: Forms and Functions; IV: The Intersubjectivity of Understanding; 21: Understanding Ourselves; 22: Interaction and Interexperience in Dyads; 23: Intersubjectvity and Understanding; 24: Elements of the Interhuman 1; V: The Environment of Communication; 25: Communication: The Flow of Information; 26: The Medium Is The Message; 27: Intercultural Communication; 28: Adumbration As a Feature of Intercultural Communication; 29: Man At The Mercy of Language; Postscript

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Book SynopsisThis book provides an invaluable insight into the contradictions that drive U.S. policy toward Iran. It is helpful in dissecting the trite, politically motivated threat assessments of Iran''s nuclear program and its alleged support of international terrorism.

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