Contemporary Society:An Introduction to Social Science

Description

Features

• Draws upon sociology, political science, economics, anthropology, geography, history, psychology, and their related disciplines to give students an integrated overview of the social sciences.

• Provides a thorough overview of the concepts and research in each discipline, as well as current examples of how the discipline affects contemporary life.

• Emphasizes social and cultural change and how they impact the social order.

• Complete chapters are devoted to a number of basic concepts that underlie social behavior(some of which is based on biological facts): personality, group interaction, deviance, gender, sexuality, aging, minority status, stratification, and so on.

• Boxed features throughout the text provide historical and timely topics for class discussion. Some boxes are of the human interest variety, while others show how social scientists arrive at their conclusions.

• Chapter summaries serve as an excellent tool for focusing on the key concepts presented in each chapter.

• Includes a glossary of terms with succinct yet accessible definitions in each chapter.

New to this Edition

• New scholarship, new statistics, new information has been incorporated into chapters throughout the text thereby presenting students with the latest available social scientific arguments.

• New material on terrorism, the global economy, the U.S. economy, the rising inequality in wealth and incomes, immigration, education, & the status of religion in the U.S.

• New Boxes have been added to each chapter. The Boxes offer instructors a point of departure for in-class discussion, and the students another view of the importance of each discipline, or how the social sciences are so thoroughly embedded in life.

Table of Contents

IN THIS SECTION:

1.) BRIEF

2.) COMPREHENSIVE

BRIEF TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Chapter 1: Through the Lens of Science

Chapter 2: In the Beginning . . .

Chapter 3: Culture: Product and Guide to Life in Society

Chapter 4: Group Interaction: From Two to Millions

Chapter 5: Becoming a Person: The Birth of Personality

Chapter 6: Deviance and Criminality: The Need for Social Control

Chapter 7: The Great Divide: Ranking and Stratification

Chapter 8: Minority Status : Race and Ethnicity

Chapter 9: Minority Status: Age, Gender, and Sexuality

Chapter 10: From the Plow to the Computer: Change, Collective Behavior, and Social Movements

Chapter 11: Population, Urbanization, and Environment

Chapter 12: Pivotal Institutions: Marriage and the Family

Chapter 13: Pivotal Institutions: Religion and Education

Chapter 14: Government: The Institution and the Ideologies That Underlie It

Chapter 15: The Government of the United States of America

Chaper 16: Democracy in Action: We the People…

Chapter 17: The Economy: Concepts and History

Chapter 18: Principles of Economic Behavior : Microeconomics and Macroeconomics

Chapter 19: Nation Among Nations: Perspectives on International Relations

COMPREHENSIVE TABLE OF CONTENTS:

*Every chapter concludes with “The Chapter in Brief,” “Terms to Remember,” “Suggested Reading,” and “Websites of Interest.”

1. Through the Lens of Science

The Social Sciences

The Social World Seen through the Lens of Science

The Scientific Method

The Social Science Disciplines

Research Methods in the Social Sciences

2. In the Beginning . . .

The Beginnings of Life

The Emergence of the Theory of Evolution

Genetics

The Long Trek: Human Evolution

Modern Humans: The Road to Homo Sapiens

Agriculture: Cultivation and Domestication

The Evolution of Human Nature

3. Culture: Product and Guide to Life in Society

Culture: Concept and Importance

The Symbolic Nature of Culture

Language: The Most Important System of Symbols

The Content of Culture

The Components of Nonmaterial Culture: Cognitive and Normative

Pivotal Institutions

Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativity

Cultural Differences and Universals

4. Group Interaction: From Two to Millions

How Is the Social System Organized and Structured?

The Multiplicity of Statuses and Roles

Groups

Primary and Secondary Groups

Society

Interaction and Social Processes

Formal Organizations

Bureaucracy

5. Becoming a Person: The Birth of Personality

Personality

Becoming Human: Socialization

Goals and Functions of Socialization

Theories of Socialization

Agents of Socialization

Socialization through the Life Cycle

Some Conclusions

6. Deviance and Criminality: The Need for Social Control

Deviance

The Relative Nature of Deviance

Explaining Deviance

Mental Disorders

Deviance as Seen from a Sociological Perspective

Crime: Deviance that Hurts

Crime Statistics: How Much Crime, and Who Commits It?

7. The Great Divide: Ranking and Stratification

Social Differentiation, Ranking, and Stratification

Stratification

Theoretical Views on Stratification

Dimensions of Stratification: Class, Status, and Power

Systems of Stratification

Determining Social Class

Social Classes in the United States

Social Class and its Consequences

Social Mobility

8. Minority Status : Race and Ethnicity

Majority - Minority Relations: Defining the Terms

Common Characteristics of Minorities

The Making of Pluralist Society

Majority and Minorities: Processes of Coexistence

In the Way: Obstacles to Pluralism

Racial Minorities

Ethnic and Religious Minorities

The New Face of America

9. Minority Status: Age, Gender, and Sexuality

The Aging Society

Women: Differentiation According to Gender

The Cultural Construction of Gender

Sexuality

Explanatory Theories of Homosexuality

10. From the Plow to the Computer: Change, Collective Behavior, and Social Movements

Society and Change

Processes of Social and Cultural Change

The Industrial Revolution

Modernization

Collective Behavior

Social Movements

Revolutionary Movements

11. Population, Urbanization, and Environment

Demographic Processes: Dynamics of Population Change

Characteristics and Composition of a Population

Population Around the World

The Urban Society

Metropolitanization and Megalopolis

The Natural Environment

12. Pivotal Institutions: Marriage and the Family

The Basic Institution: The Family

Marriage

Divorce

The New American Family

13. Pivotal Institutions: Religion and Education

The Great Religions of the World

Religion in the Social Sciences

Religion and Social Control

Religion in America

Education

14. Government: The Institution and the Ideologies That Underlie It

The Institution of Government

Government and Politics

Political Power: Legitimacy and Authority

The State

The Nation State

Nationalism

The Ideologies Behind the State

Autocratic Ideologies

Democratic Ideologies: Democracy

Socialism

15. The Government of the United States of America.

The Constitutional Convention

What Is a Constitution?

The Constitution of the United States

Separation of Powers

The Presidency: The Executive Branch

Congress: The Legislative Branch

The Supreme Court: The Judicial Branch

The Importance of Limited Government.

16. Democracy in Action: We the People….

American Democracy

How Is America Governed?

Interest Groups

Political Parties

The High Cost of Campaigning

Voting

Political Opinionmaking

17. The Economy: Concepts and History

The Economic Institution

Contemporary Economic Systems: How Choices Are Made

Western Economies in Historical Perspective

Aspects of Industrial Capitalism

The Nature of Work in the Industrial Society

The Corporate Bureaucracy

The American Labor Movement

American Labor and the Global Economy

18. Principles of Economic Behavior : Microeconomics and Macroeconomics.

The Small Picture and the Large Picture

Market Mechanisms

Market Forces

A Macro View

Instruments of Public Policy

Fiscal Policy

Monetary Policy

Incomes Policy

19. Nation Among Nations: Perspectives on International Relations

Regions of the World

Theoretical Perspectives

Contemporary Perspectives

Participants in the International System

The Goals of States

Means of Achieving Goals: Foreign Policy

The Role of Ideology

Instruments of Foreign Policy

Diplomacy and Diplomats

Power

The Balance of Power System

Back Cover

This best-selling text, which draws upon sociology, political science, economics, anthropology, geography, history, and psychology, emphasizes that social and cultural change are the pervasive realities of our era.

One of the main themes of Contemporary Society is that the transition from an industrial to a postindustrial order in the modern world is fraught with difficulties, as was the transition from an agricultural to an industrial order in an earlier era. Within this framework, we can observe the increasing fragmentation of the social order, which tends to lead people away from community and a common purpose and often invites conflict and disunity. The text also focuses on the rapid and transformative power of information technology, a fact that propels separate groups of people into a global entity.

The twelfth edition of this text includes new scholarship, statistics, and examples from current events as it presents an integrated social science view of the world.

Reader Review(s)

Ann Creighton-Zollar

Virginia Commonwealth University

"This course is taught in the psychology, politics, economics and sociology departments. We need a book that fits the needs of each department. I believe this book is the most appropriate for this course. It is a very comprehensive book because it addresses the commonalities found in each discipline and it dedicates one to two chapters to each field."

Margaret Tseng

Marymount University