Sociology

1. WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?.The Sociological Perspective.Studying Sociology.The Development of Sociological Thinking.Theories and Theoretical Approaches.Early Theorists.Modern Theoretical Approaches.Theoretical Thinking in Sociology.Levels of Analysis: Microsociology and Macrosociology.How Can Sociology Help Us in Our Lives?.Summary.2. GLOBALISATION AND THE CHANGING WORLD.Types of Society.A Disappearing World: Pre-modern Societies and their Fate.The Modern World: the Industrialised Societies.Global Development.Social Change.Influences on Social Change.Change in the Modern Period.Globalisation.Factors Contributing to Globalisation.The Globalisation Debate.The Impact of Globalisation.Conclusion: The Need for Global Governance.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Internet Links.3: ASKING AND ANSWERING SOCIOLOGICAL QUESTIONS.Why Hang Out in Public Toilets?.Sociological Questions.Taking a Scientific Approach.The Research Process.Defining the Research Problem.Reviewing the Evidence.Making the Problem Precise.Working Out a Design.Carrying Out the Research.Interpreting the Results.Reporting the Findings.Reality Intrudes!.Understanding Cause and Effect.Causation and Correlation.Research Methods.Ethnography.Surveys.Experiments.Life Histories.Comparative Research.Historical Analysis.Combining Comparative and Historical Research.Research in the Real World: Methods, Problems, and Pitfalls.Human Subjects and Ethical Problems.Is Sociology Merely a Restatement of the Obvious?.The Influence of Sociology.Summary.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Internet Links.4. THEORETICAL THINKING IN SOCIOLOGY.Max Weber: The Protestant Ethic.Four theoretical Issues.1. Structure and Action.2. Consensus and Conflict.3. The Issue of Gender.4. The Shaping of the Modern World.Current Sociological Theory.Postmodernism.Michel Foucault.Four Contemporary Sociologists.Jurgen Habermas: Democracy and the Public Sphere.Ulrich Beck: The Global Risk Society.Manuel Castells: The Network Economy.Anthony Giddens: Social Reflexivity.Conclusion.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Bibliography.5. SOCIAL INTERACTION AND EVERYDAY LIFE.The Study of Daily Life.Nonverbal Communication."Face," Gestures and Emotion.Nonverbal Communication and Gender.The Social Rules of Interaction.Shared Understandings.Garfinkel's Experiments."Interactional Vandalism".Response Cries.Face, Body and Speech in Interaction.Encounters.Impression Management.Personal space.Interaction in Time and Space.Clock Time.Social Life and the Ordering of space and time.Everyday Life in Ccultural and Historical Perspective.The Social Construction of Reality: The Sociological Debate.Social Interaction in Cyberspace.Conclusion: The Compulsion of Proximity?.Summary Points.6. SOCIALISATION, THE LIFE-COURSE AND AGEING.Culture, Society, and Child Socialisation.Theories of Child Development.Agencies of Socialisation.Gender Socialisation.Reactions of Parents and Adults.Gender Learning.Storybooks and Television.The Difficulty of Nonsexist Child Rearing.Gender Socialisation: The Sociological Debate.Socialisation through the Life Course.Childhood.The Teenager.Young Adulthood.Mature Adulthood.Old Age.Ageing.How Do People Age?.Ageing in the UK.The Politics of Ageing.The Greying of the World Population.Summary.Further Reading.Internet Links.7. FAMILIES AND INTIMATE RELATIONSHIPS.Basic Concepts.The Family in History.Families and Intimate Relationships in the UK.Overall Characteristics.Development and Diversity in Family Patterns.Inequality and Violence within the Family.Divorce and Separation.New Partnerships and Reconstituted Families.Alternatives to Traditional Forms of Marriage and Family-life.Theoretical Perspectives on the Family and Intimate Relationships.Functionalism.Feminist Approaches.Recent Perspectives.Conclusion: The Debate About Family Values.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Internet Links.8. HEALTH, ILLNESS AND DISABILITY.The Sociology of Health and Illness.Sociological Perspectives on Medicine.Sociological Perspectives on Health and Illness.The Social Basis of Health.The Sociology of Disability.The Individual Model of Disability.The Social Model of Disability.Disability in the UK and Globally.Summary Points.Further Reading.Internet Links.9. STRATIFICATION AND CLASS.Systems of Stratification.Slavery.Caste Systems.Estates.Class.Theories of Class and Stratification.Karl Marx's Theory.Max Weber's Theory.Erik Olin Wright's Theory of Class.Measuring Class.John Goldthorpe: Class and Occupation.Evaluating Goldthorpe's Class Scheme.Social Class Divisions in Western Society Today.The Question of the Upper Class.The Middle Class.The Changing Nature of the Working Class.The Underclass?.Class and Lifestyle.Gender and Stratification.Social Mobility.Comparative Mobility Studies.Downward Mobility.Social Mobility in Britain.Is Britain a meritocracy?.Conclusion: The Importance of Class.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Internet Links.10. POVERTY, SOCIAL EXCLUSION & WELFARE.Poverty.What is Poverty?.Measuring Poverty.Who are the Poor?.Explaining Poverty.Poverty and Social Mobility.Social Exclusion.What is Social Exclusion?.Examples of Social Exclusion.Crime and Social Exclusion.The Welfare State.Theories of the Welfare State.The Welfare State in the UK.Conclusion: Poverty and Welfare in a Changing World.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Internet Links.11. GLOBAL INEQUALITY AND POPULATION GROWTH.Global Inequality: Differences between Countries.Is Global Inequality Increasing?.Life in Rich and Poor Countries.Health.Hunger, Malnutrition and Famine.Education and Literacy.Can Poor Countries Become Rich?.Theories of Development.Evaluating Theories of Development.The Role of International Organisations and Global Inequality.Why Global Economic Inequality Matters to You.World Population Growth.Population Analysis: Demography.Dynamics of Population Change.Malthusianism.The Demographic Transition.Prospects for Change.Summary.Internet Links.12SEXUALITY AND GENDER.Human sexuality.Biology and Sexual Behaviour.Social Influences on Sexual Behaviour.Sexuality and Procreative Technology.Sexuality in Western Culture.Sexual Orientation.Is One's Sexual Orientation inborn or learned?.Homosexuality in Western Culture.Attitudes Towards Homosexuality.The Movement for Gay and Lesbian Civil Rights.Gender.Gender and Biology: Natural Differences?.Gender Socialisation.The Social Construction of Gender and Sex.Femininities, Masculinities and Gender Relations.Perspectives on Gender Inequality.Exploring Gender Inequalities.Functionalist Approaches.Feminist Approaches.Globalisation.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Internet Links.13. EtHNICITY, RACISM AND MIGRATION.Key Concepts.Race.Ethnicity.Minority Groups.Prejudice, Discrimination and Racism.Racism.Sociological Interpretations of Racism.Ethnic Integration and Conflict.Models of Ethnic Integration.Ethnic Conflict.Migration and Ethnic Diversity.Immigration to the United Kingdom.Ethnic Diversity in the United Kingdom.Immigration and Ethnic Relations in Continental Europe.Global Migration.Conclusion.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Internet Links.14 RELIGION IN MODERN SOCIETY.Sociological Theories and Ideas.The Sociological Study of Religion.Theories of Religion.Real World Religions.Religions Around the World.Religious Organisations.Secularisation and Religious Revival.Religion and Secularisation.Religious Fundamentalism.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Internet Links.15. THE MASS MEDIA.Globalisation and the Mass Media.The Rise of the Mass Media.Old Media.New Media.Theoretical Perspectives on the Media.Functionalism.Conflict Theories.Recent Theories.Bias and the Media.Examining the TV news.Audiences and media Effects.Audience Studies.Media Effects.The Control of the Media.Political Control.Media imperialism?.The Global Media and Democracy.The Media in a Global Age.Music.Cinema.Media 'Supercompanies'.Resistance and Alternatives to the Global Media.Conclusion.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Internet Links.16. ORGANISATIONS AND NETWORKS.Organisations.Organisations as Bureaucracies.The Physical Setting of Organisations.Organisations That Span the World.Economic Organisations.Beyond Bureaucracy?.Organisational Change: the Japanese Model.The Transformation of Management.The Study of Networks.How do Organisations and Networks Affect Your Life?.Social Capital: The Ties That Bind.Bowling Alone: An Example of Declining Social Capital?.Conclusion.Summary Points.17 . EDUCATION.The Importance of Education.Education in the UK.Origins and Development.Secondary Education and Politics.Higher Education in the UK.Comparative Perspectives on British Education.Theories of Schooling and Inequality.Bernstein: Language Codes.Illich: the Hidden Curriculum.Bourdieu: Education and Cultural Reproduction.Learning to Labour: Willis' Analysis of Cultural Reproduction.Learning not to labour: 'macho lads'.Post-modern Approaches to Education.Inequality and Education.Ethnicity and Education.IQ and Education.Education and New Communications Technology.Technology in the Classroom.The Arrival of E-universities?.Education and the Technology Gap.Conclusion: Lifelong Learning.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Internet Links.18. WORK AND ECONOMIC LIFE.What is Work? Paid and Unpaid Work.The Social Organisation of Work.Taylorism and Fordism.The Limitations of Taylorism and Fordism.The Changing Nature of Work and Working.Women and Work.Post-Fordism.Current Trends in the Occupational Structure.Job Insecurity, Unemployment and the Social Significance of Work.The Social Significance of Work.The Rise in Job Insecurity.Unemployment.Conclusion: The 'Corrosion of character'?.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Rreading.Internet Links.19. CRIME AND DEVIANCE.Basic Concepts.Explaining Crime and Deviance: Sociological Theories.Functionalist Theories.Interactionist Theory.Conflict Theories: 'The new Criminology'.Control Theories.Theoretical Conclusions.Patterns of Crime in the United Kingdom.Crime and Crime Statistics.Victims and Perpetrators of Crime.Gender and Crime.Youth and Crime.White-Collar Crime.Organised Crime.Cybercrime.Prisons: the Answer to Crime?.Conclusion: Crime, Deviance and Social Order.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Internet Links.20 POLITICAL POWER, GOVERNMENT AND TERRORISM.Debating Basic Concepts.Power.The State.Types of Political Rule.Monarchy.Authoritarianism.Democracy.Political Parties and Voting in Western Countries.Party Systems.Parties and Voting in Britain.Thatcherism and After.New Labour.The Global Spread of Liberal Democracy.The Fall of Communism.Explaining the Popularity of Liberal Democracy.Democracy in Trouble?.Global Governance.Political and Social Change.Globalisation and Social Movements.Technology and Social Movements.Nationalist Movements.Theories of Nationalism and The Nation.Nations without States.National Minorities and the European Union.Nations and Nationalism in Developing Countries.The Nation-state, National Identity and Globalisation.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Internet Links.21. CITIES AND URBAN SPACES.Theorising Urbanism.The Chicago School.Urbanism and the Created Environment.The Development of the City.Cities in Traditional Surbanisation.The Development of the Modern City.Recent Urban Trends in Britain and the US.Urbanisation in the Developing World.Cities and Globalisation.Global Cities.Inequality and the Global City.Governing Cities in a Global Age.Conclusion: Cities and Global Governance.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Internet Links.22. THE ENVIRONMENT AND RISK.The Environment as a Sociological Issue.Our Common Environment.Concern about the Environment: are there Limits to Growth?.Sustainable Development.Consumption, Poverty and the Environment.Sources of Threat.Risk, Technology and the Environment.Global Warming.Genetically Modified Foods.The Global "Risk Society".Looking Ahead.Summary Points.Questions for Further Thought.Further Reading.Internet Links.GLOSSARY.BIBLIOGRAPHY.