Preface  xi

1. The Discipline of Sociology  

What Is Sociology?  

Sociology is an Academic Discipline: Socioloty is a Perspective  

Sociology Examines the “Social World”  

Sociology Asks Three Questions  

Sociology Focuses on Five Ideas  

Sociology Is a Scientific Discipline  

The Meaning of Sociology: A Summary  

The Beginnings of Sociology  

Science Was an Inspiration…   

And So Were Problems of Industrialization…   

And the Need to Understand Revolution…    

As Well as Experiences with Other Peoples and Societies…   

And a New Culture for New Ideas   

The Development of Sociology  

Conclusion and Summary  

Afterword:Is Sociology a Science?  

Questions to Consider   

References   

Recommended Reading  

2. Sociology as a Perspective: How Sociologists Think   

Humans are Social Beings   

Humans Exist Within Social Patterns  

Humans are Socialized  

Summary: Three Ideas  

Durkheim: The Study of Suicide   

Durkheim’s Theory  

Durkheim’s Evidence  

Extending His Theory  

Durkheim’s Influence  

Sociology: A Summary  

Afterword: How Is Sociology Different from Psychology?   

Questions to Consider   

References   

Recommended Reading  

3. Humans Are Embedded in Social Organization  

Organization Begins with Social Action  

Mutual Social Action is Social Interaction  

Social Interaction is Patterned Social Interaction  

The Forms of Social Organizations  

Dyads Are Twos  

Groups Are Three and More  

Formal Organizations Have Explicit Social Patterns   

Communities Are Self-Sufficient Units of Organization  

Societies Are the Most Inclusive Form of Organization  

Social Oranizations Seem to Sit Right On Top of the Individual  

Afterword   

Questions to Consider   

References  

Recommended Reading  

4. Social Structure  

We All Fill Positions in Social Structure  

Roles are Attached to Positions  

Roles Are Not as Simple as a Script in a Play  

Status Positions Form Our Identities  

Positions Are Unequal  

Unequal Power  

Unequal Prestige  

Unequal Privileges  

Our Positions Also Give us our Perspectives  

Summary: The Meaning and Importance of Structure   

Afterword: Max Weber and Bureaucracy  

Questions to Consider   

References   

Recommended Reading  

5. Inequality in Society  

Income and Wealth in the United States  

Income Inequality  

Wealth and Inequality  

The Meaning of Social Class  

Gender and Race  

Class, Race, and Gender Structures are Special Social Structures  

The Origin of Social Stratification Systems  

Social Mobility  

Structural Change  

Marx’s View of Social Stratification  

Summary  

Afterword A Theory of “Dis-Accumulation” of Opportunity  

Questions to Consider   

References   

Recommended Reading  

6 Culture  

Culture is a Shared Perspective  

Culture is Learned  

Culture is a Social Inheritance  

Culture is a Body of “Truth”  

Culture is a Set of Values  

Values are Reflected in Action  

There is an American Value System, But it is Complex and Often Inconsistent  

Culture is a Set of Goals  

Culture is a Set of Norms  

Culture, Subculture, and Counterculture  

Culture is Important  

The Real Significance of Culture: The Social Construction of Reality  

Afterword: Georg Simmel and the Metropolis  

Summary  

Questions to Consider   

References   

Recommended Reading  

7. Social Institutions

Institutions are Social Patterns  

Institutions are the Most Central Grooves in Society  

Institutions are the Central Ways A Society Functions and Solves Its
  Ongoing Problems  

Institutions are Widely Accepted and Deeply Entrenched  

Institutions are Real Forces Working on Actors  

The Meaning of Institutions: A Summary  

Institutions are Important  

Institutionalization and Deinstitutionalization  

The Rejection of Social Institutions  

Summary  

Afterword: Total Institutions: Mental Patients and Other Inmates   

Questions to Consider   

References   

Recommended Reading  

8. Organizations, Societies, and Globalization  

Social Organizations are Networks  

Society in the World Order  

Karl Marx: A Future Worldwide Capitalist Order  
Globalization in the Twenty-First Century: Economic, Political,
     and Cultural  

Economic Globalization  

Cultural Globalization  

Conclusion and Summary  

Cultural Globalization  

Political Globalization  

Social Organizations are Networks  

Society in the World Order  

The Criticisms of Globalization  

Afterword: Core Societies, Semi-Peripheral Societies, and Peripheral

     Societies   

Core Societies  

Semi-Periphery 

Periphery    

Questions to Consider   

References   

Recommended Reading  

9. Social Order, Social Control, and Social Deviance  

Social Order is Established Through Structure and Culture  

Social Order Depends on Socialization  

Loyalty to the Organization is the Fourth Foundation for Social Order  

Social Controls Contribute to Social Order  

Social Order Depends on Working Institutions  

Social Deviance  

Summary  

Afterword: Cultural Relativism and Values: Harriet Martineau  

Questions to Consider   

References   

Recommended Reading  

10. Social Power  

The Meaning of Social Power  

Three Definitions of Power  

Resources and Social Power  

Control, Influence, and Powerlessness  

Three Types of Authority  

Power Structure: Michels, Weber, and Marx   

Organizations Are the Source of Resources  

Theories of Power: Pluralism, Power Elite, and Corporations  

Pluralism 

The Power Elite  

The Corporate Elite  

Summary  

Afterword: C. Wright Mills’ Research on “The Power Elite”  

Questions to Consider    

References   

Recommended Reading  

11 . Symbols, Self, and Mind: Our Active Nature  

Individuality and Freedom  

How Can We Explain Individuality?  

The Origin of Human Freedom  

Human Beings are Symbol Users  

The Meaning of Symbols  

The Importance of Symbols  

Symbols and Freedom  

We Posses Self and Mind  

Summary  

Afterword: Taking the Role of the Other  

Questions to Consider   

References   

Recommended Reading  

12. Social Change 

Individual Change and Social Change  

Individuals Change Organizations  

Organizations Change Organizations   

Social Conflict Changes Organizations  

Environments Change Social Organizations  

Technology Changes Social Organizations  

Changes in Populations Change Social Organizations  

Social Patterns Influences Other Social Patterns    

Changing Institutions Influences Social Structure and Culture   

Changing Culture Influences Structure and Institutions  

Changing Structure Influence Institutions and Culture  

Summary  

Afterword: Are American Communities Weaker Today Than They Were In

     Past Generations?  

Questions to Consider   

References   

Recommended Reading  

13. The Family in Society  

The Importance of the Family to Sociology  

Meaning of the Family  

Is the Family Universal?  

Why is Definition Difficult?  

The Family: A Primary Group in a Household  

The Family: The Socialization Function  

The Family: Economic and Social Functions  

The Family: The Social Class Placement Function  

The Family: The Expressive Function  

The Meaning of the Family: A Summary  

Marriage as an Institution  

The Changing Structure of Marriage  

Marital Satisfaction  

Children and Socialization in the Family  

Individual Choice and the Changing Family  

Summary  

Afterword: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood Before Marriage  

Research Methods  

Questions to Consider   

References   

Recommended Reading  

14. Religion, Society, and the Individual  

The Industrial Revolution: Religion and the Beginning of Sociology  

Auguste Compte (1798–1857): The Death of the Sacred  

Ferdinand Toennies (1855–1936): Religion and Community  

Karl Marx(1818–1883): Religion as the Opiate of the Masses  

Emile Durkheim (1858–1917): Meaning and Function of Religion  

Religion and the Creation of the Sacred  

Religion is “Eminently Social”   

Religion Creates and Upholds the Morality of Society  

Religion Is Important for the Individual  

The Future of Society  

Max Weber (1864–1920): Religion, the Rationalization of Life, and

     Social Change  

Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism   

Rationalization of Life and the Future of Religion  

Charismatic Authority and the Role of Religion in Social Change  

Weber: A Summary  

The Heritage of Sociology from the Early Sociologists: Conclusion  

The Study of Religion in the Late-Modern World  

Secularization: Is Religion Becoming Less Important Today?  

The Role of Fundamentalism  

Organized Religion and Individual Spirituality  

Summary: The Sociology of Religion  

Afterword: Sociological Research on Religious Identity  

Questions to Consider   

References   

Recommended Reading  

 

15. Education in Society  

Education and Sociological Theory  

Structural Functionalist Theories on Education  

Social Conflict Theories on Education  

Reproduction Theory: Symbolic Violence and Education  

Symbolic Interactionism: Theory on Education  

Functions of Education  

Europe, the United States, and Decentralization: A Brief Look at an

     Evolving System  

Education and Inequality  

Poverty and Education  

Tracking and Inequality  

School Segregation and Academic Achievement Gap  

”Cultural Capital” and Inequality 

Outcomes of Inequality  

Education and Life Chances   

Education and Global Competitiveness   

Summary  

Afterword: Emile Durkheim’s Views on Education and Moral

     Socialization  

Schools and Sex Education  

Research on Sex Education  

Questions to Consider   

References   

Recommended Reading  

16. Epilogue: The Meaning and Uses of Sociology  

The Uses of Sociology  

Questions to Consider  

Reference  

Recommended Reading  

 

Index