Social Blueprints

Each chapter ends with Suggestions for Further Study 1. Individuality, Society, and Identity: Cornerstones of Sociological Reasoning Vivifying the Mundane: The Sociological Imagination The Sociological Imagination: C. Wright Mills Individual v. Social Problems The Sociology of Celebrities: Individuals in Social Context The American Preoccupation with Individualism in Cultural, Political, & Economic Life The Sociology of Identities Individuals as Webs of Group Affiliation Social Identities: Repertoire Selection, Multiple Consciousness, and Ambiguity The Contested Terrain of Sociological Knowledge Some Cautionary Notes about Sociology v. Psychology The Reality of the Social: Social Facts The Logical Gulf Between Fact and Value Statements Muddying the Waters: The Politics of Social Knowledge Conclusion 2. Social Theories: Their Interplay and Contradictions The Nature and Relevance of Social Theories Theories as Paradigms Theoretical Reasoning: Inductive and Deductive Four Broad Types of Social Theory Rational Choice Theories: Individuals Pursuing Interests Where Do Desires Come From? The Free-Rider Problem: Are Rational People Honest? Do People Choose to be Unequal? Functional Theories: Harmony and Necessary Differences Basic Functionalist Imagery Is Social Inequality Simply Necessary? Symbolic Interactionist and Social Constructionist Theories Interaction, Meaning, and Everyday Life Mind, Self, and Society Modern Symbolic Interactionism Symbolic Interactionism/Constructionism: Are the Trees Hiding the Forest? Conflict Theories: Arenas of Power and Inequality The Interplay of Conflict Theory with Other Perspectives Karl Marx's Enduring Legacy Weber's Multidimensional Conflict Theory Conflict Theories: Too Much Pessimism, or Sober Realism? Conclusion 3. Culture, Structure, and Interaction: Unraveling the Fibers of Everyday Life Distinguishing Social Structure, Culture, and Interaction Social Structural Determinism or Cultural Autonomy Beyond Good and Evil: Religion as an Emblem of Society Beyond Cold Hard Cash: The Sociology of Money Understanding Culture and Social Power Cashing in on Culture: The Flow of Cultural, Social, and Economic Capital Roads Between High Culture and Popular Culture Interpreting Pink Flamingoes: Everyday Expressions of Social Positions "Lions & Tigers & Bears--Oh My!": The Cultural and Political Construction of Social Problems Cultural Production, Distribution, and Interpretation A Basic Model of Cultural Production Processes Making Chili Peppers: Organizational Processes in the Rise of a Band Pets or Meat? The Interpretation of Cultural Products Conclusion 4. Power and Authority: In Social Movements, States, and Organization A Sociological Perspective on Power The Power Prism and its Refractions: An analytical Tool Social Power and Social Movements Reading Power into Political Protests Power, States, and Legitimacy Spreading Social Power in Authoritarian Regimes Theaters of War: The Social Construction of State Legitimacy Power in Organizations Power and Control in Work Places Bureaucratic Organizations and Abstract Social Power The Symbolic Architecture of Organizational Power Conclusion 5. Globalization: Conteptualizing 21st Century Social Change Introduction Is Globalization Really New? Economic and Political Aspects of Globalization The Ideological and Policy Basis of The New World Order: Neoliberalism and It's Critics The Global Power of Transnational Corporations International Governmental and Non-governmental Organizations: International Monetary Fund, World Bank, World Trade Organization, and the G-8 Bittersweet Chocolate: Abuse of Child Slave Labor in West Africa So Long Nation, Hello Corporation International Social Movements Mexico: Poverty and Protest in a "Model" free Trade Nation Cultural Globalization Limiting Factors Concerning Cultural Globalization Global Consumerism: You Gotta Shop Around, Even If It's All the Same Global Tourism: Individual Freedom or Structural Determinism? Conclusion