New Arrivals: HM 571 - HM 620.9999
Showing 1 - 12 of 12 new items.
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© 2014,Society Explained introduces students to key concepts in sociology through engaging narrative examples. After an overview of the history of sociology, the book walks readers through subjects that include individualism; culture; socialization and imagination; values, money, and politics; marriage and family; religious diversity; and education and social change. Nathan Rousseau engages readers with personal examples and those drawn from wider society. Each chapter covers leading thinkers and critical concepts, and chapters build on each other to helps readers acquire a holistic view of society and their role in it. This concise book is an ideal introduction to the sociological imagination.
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© 2014,Society Explained introduces students to key concepts in sociology through engaging narrative examples. After an overview of the history of sociology, the book walks readers through subjects that include individualism; culture; socialization and imagination; values, money, and politics; marriage and family; religious diversity; and education and social change. Nathan Rousseau engages readers with personal examples and those drawn from wider society. Each chapter covers leading thinkers and critical concepts, and chapters build on each other to helps readers acquire a holistic view of society and their role in it. This concise book is an ideal introduction to the sociological imagination.
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© 2015,Critical realism is a philosophy of science that positions itself against the major alternative philosophies underlying contemporary sociology. This book offers a general critique of sociology, particularly sociology in the United States, from a critical realist perspective. It also acts as an introduction to critical realism for students and scholars of sociology. Written in a lively, accessible style, Douglas V. Porpora argues that sociology currently operates with deficient accounts of truth, culture, structure, agency, and causality that are all better served by a critical realist perspective. This approach argues against the alternative sociological perspectives, in particular the dominant positivism which privileges statistical techniques and experimental design over ethnographic and historical approaches. However, the book also compares critical realism favourably with a range of other approaches, including poststructuralism, pragmatism, interpretivism, practice theory, and relational sociology. Numerous sociological examples are included, and each chapter addresses well-known and current work in sociology.
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© 2015,Navigating a career in sociology can be challenging, but as these essays reveal, it is also intensely rewarding. Sociologists' Tales brings together the thoughts and experiences of key UK sociologists--many internationally recognized--as they reflect on why they chose a career in sociology, how they did it, and what advice they have for the next generation. After an introduction outlining the landscape, approach, and findings from these narratives, the collection is organized thematically, providing rare insight into the field and its importance. The first book of its kind, Sociologists' Tales will appeal to students and young sociologists contemplating their future.
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© 2015,In qualitative research, one can often hear the statement that research results are just (social) constructions. In criminal cases and in court hearings, we tend to expect that the true sequence of events has to be found rather than just any story. Here the author shows that qualitative social research can be conducted in the manner of police work or court proceedings. He does so by exhibiting how short pieces of transcriptions can be approached to uncover who, when, where, and how participated, what kind of social situation produced the transcription, and so on without any background knowledge other than that talk itself. Commenting on transcriptions of a researcher in the course of doing rigorous data analysis, readers learn doing ethnographically adequate accounts and critical institutional ethnography "at the elbow" of an experienced practitioners. Further topics include the role of turn sequences, the ethnomethods of knowledge-power and institutional relations, the documentary method of interpretation, and time-sensitive social analysis.
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© 2014,A pioneering approach to social theory that rectifies overreliance on Western historical experience of development and modernization. -
© 2013,In this ambitious and bold book, Ralph Schroeder develops a new social theory centred on the notion of limits. The current era, from the 1970s onwards, has seen a departure from the three defining trends of the modern age: the struggle for social citizenship rights, the disembedding of markets, and the transformation of nature. Based on a comparative-historical analysis, the book argues that there are now similar constraints on social development throughout the global North and beyond. These constraints include the waning of conflicts driving the extension and deepening of rights, the instability of increasing financialization, and the progressive lack of control over the exploitation of natural resources. The key challenge for social theory therefore lies in identifying the cleavages between the dominant political, economic and cultural powers, and countervailing forces that can potentially overcome them.The book explores several advanced Western democracies in depth, as well as China and India. It will fundamentally challenge our theoretical understanding of contemporary societies and their dynamics. -
© 2008,Contested Knowledge is a well-established text offering up-to-date perspectives on social theory by one of the most important thinkers of our time. This fourth edition includes an exploration of globalization and a new section on the theories of global and world order. It provides a thoughtful and rigorous, yet highly accessible and reader-friendly account of social theory. Responds to current issues, debates, and new social movements Reviews sociological theory from a truly contemporary perspective Examines both classical and contemporary theories Combines social analysis and moral advocacy to demonstrate how social theory contributes to the making of a better world Challenges social scientists to renew their commitment to the important moral and political role social knowledge plays in public life A thoughtful and rigorous, yet highly accessible and reader-friendly account of social theory An accompanying website containing additional support for lecturers and students is available at www.blackwellpublishing.com/seidman -
© 1999,What is sociology? Simply it is the study of how society functions (or not). Osborne, a lecturer in Philosophy at London's Guildhall University, traces the origins of these differing conceptual systems, from Enlightenment thought and the pioneering work of Auguste Comte, to subsequent developments in Karl Marx, Spencer, Durkheim and Max Webber. -
© 2013,Power is the central organizing principle of all social life, from culture and education to stratification and taste. And there is no more prominent name in the analysis of power than that of noted sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. Throughout his career, Bourdieu challenged the commonly held view that symbolic power--the power to dominate--is solely symbolic. He emphasized that symbolic power helps create and maintain social hierarchies, which form the very bedrock of political life. By the time of his death in 2002, Bourdieu had become a leading public intellectual, and his argument about the more subtle and influential ways that cultural resources and symbolic categories prevail in power arrangements and practices had gained broad recognition. In Symbolic Power, Politics, and Intellectuals , David L. Swartz delves deeply into Bourdieu's work to show how central--but often overlooked--power and politics are to an understanding of sociology. Arguing that power and politics stand at the core of Bourdieu's sociology, Swartz illuminates Bourdieu's political project for the social sciences, as well as Bourdieu's own political activism, explaining how sociology is not just science but also a crucial form of political engagement. -
© 2013,Rethinking Contemporary Social Theory outlines a new theoretical paradigm emerging from out of social construction theory, conflict theory, Marxism and critical theory and argues that these insights are redefining social theory as a whole.The authors select ten fields within sociology and in each one trace the reception and impact of the new paradigm. The fields include gender, sexuality, race/ethnicity, media and the sociology of family life.Drawing on Thomas Kuhn's The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, the authors identify causes for this paradigm shift, which include the contributions of specific individuals, the general intellectual climate and various social changes such as globalisation and neoliberalism. -
© 2014,Learn Sociology creates a new paradigm for student-centered learning in introductory sociology courses. Written with 21st century students in mind, this text presents introductory sociology content in a highly interactive format that is both easy to use and highly compatible with digital applications. Drawing on best practices in educational pedagogy, Learn Sociology emphasizes "immersive learning," an approach that pairs critical analysis of sociological concepts with examples from everyday life to engage students actively with the material. Weaved through the text are recurring themes that put sociology into context, such as social structure, social control, social inequality, the social construction of reality, scientific knowledge, and social change.Learn Sociology optimizes learning through enhanced coverage, study, testing, and review while emphasizing the "applying" that reinforces comprehension. Based on a modular concept format, each chapter in Learn Sociology addresses a major concept in the introductory sociology curriculum. Associated with each module are key learning objectives, preview statements, illustrations, and a concept learning check assessment. With Learn Sociology, students have access to immediate computer-based feedback on essay questions that helps them practice writing and revising, reason critically, and grapple with real-world issues.All content in Learn Sociology is highly visual, current, and easy to understand while avoiding distracting and off-topic material. Visual overviews play to dynamic learning and underscore important points. The result is an introductory sociology curriculum that is engaging, consistent, and complete while providing students with a roadmap for learning, reviewing and self-assessment.