Description
Book SynopsisAn effective supplement to any standard sociology text, this broad and comprehensive sociological description of five diverse contemporary societies with wide geographic distribution - Japan, Mexico, Egypt, Germany and the San peoples of Namibia - is organized around basic sociological topics: culture, social structure, group life, socialization, deviance, social institutions, social stratification, and social change. Fictional vignettes of individuals in each country help students experience first-person viewpoints on life in five very different societies. By comparing other societies with their own, students read about the range of social variation, learn what makes their own society distinctive, and gain a unique and fascinating vantage point on what sociology offers in a world of rapid social change.
Table of ContentsChapter 1. Japan: The Importance of BelongingIntroductionJapan's HistoryJapanese CultureGroup LifeSocializationDeviance in a Demanding SocietySocial Inequality in Japan: Class, Status, and PowerDemographic ChangeJapan’s Future: Crisis And ContinuityChapter 2. Mexico: Conflict and CooperationIntroductionMexican CultureSocial Structure and Group LifeSocial InstitutionsConflict and DevianceSocial Inequality and ConflictChapter 3. The San Peoples of Namibia: Between Subsistence and GlobalizationIntroductionHistory ofthe San? Part I: Reports On Field Research: The Hunting-Gathering LifeSocial Structure and Group LifeSocial InequalityDeviance and Social ControlSocializationPart II: The San in Modern NamibiaChapter 4. Egypt: Youth, Inequality, and Social ChangeIntroductionEgypt's HistoryEgyptian Culture Gender Roles in Egyptian CultureYouth Rises UpSocial Expectations and Inequality in EgyptEgypt’s Authoritarian GovernmentAfter The RevolutionChapter 5. Germany: Diversity in a Modern Nation-StateIntroductionGerman History: Borders and PeoplesChanging Borders: What is GermanyGerman CultureMinority Groups in GermanyDeviance and Diversity Inequality and DiversityDemographic ChangeGermany in An Age of Globalization
