Contemporary Readings in Sociology

Edited by:

Kathleen Odell Korgen - William Paterson University

Other Titles in:
Sociology (General)

April 2008 | 296 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

Contemporary Readings in Sociology selects some of the most contemporary, engaging, and esteemed journal articles in the field and presents them in a well-edited format, making them perfect for undergraduate students. Giving students access to the important topics in sociology through the words of original authors, this comprehensive reader provides an opportunity for students to explore important topics in depth.

Key Features and Benefits

- Focuses on teaching the 'sociological eye' or sociological perspective to undergraduate students so they can learn more about the activities of actual sociologists.

- Features rigorous research in an edited format, making important articles more accessible for - and still challenging to - undergraduate students

- Offers an emphasis on contemporary readings to introduce students to cutting-edge sociology research

- Includes more than 30 readings, including articles on social interaction, social institutions, the media, deviance, social stratification, race and ethnicity, sex and gender, global issues, and social movements, providing a well-rounded collection of original material on core topics

- Combines an array of unique pedagogy to make the reader even more valuable and user-friendly, including a topics guide to help instructors choose the best readings for specific course subjects, a detailed list of Internet resources, and discussion questions for each article

Section 1: Culture and Social Interaction

1. When Fiends become Friends: The Need to Belong and Perceptions of Personal and Group Discrimination

Mauricio Carvallo and Brett W. Pelham

2. Authentic Identities: Straightedge Subcultures, Music and the Internet

Patrick Williams

3. Differences between Actual and Perceived Student Norms: An Examination of Alcohol Use, Drug Use, and Sexual Behavior

Matthew P. Martens, Jennifer C. Page, Emily S. Mowry, Krista M. Damann, Kari K. Taylor, M. Dolores Cimini

4. The Influence of Friendship Groups on Intellectual Self-Confidence and Educational Aspirations in College

Anthony Lising Antonio

Section 2: Social Structure, Social Institutions, and the Media

5. Unmarried with Children

Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas

6. Student Disengagement and the Socialization Styles of High Schools

Lisa A. Pellerin

7. “Regarding the Pain of Others”: Media, Bias and the Coverage of International Disasters

Susan D. Moeller

Section 3: Deviance and Crime

8. Political Culture and the Penalty

Patrick Fisher and Travis Pratt

9. Social Capital, Too Much of a Good Thing? American Religious Traditions and Community Crime

Kraig Beyerlein and John R. Hipp

10. Reconsidering Peers and Delinquency: How do Peers Matter?

Dana L. Haynie and D. Wayne Osgood

11. Exposure to Community Violence and Childhood Delinquency

Justin W. Patchin, Beth M. Huebner, John D. McCluskey, Sean P. Varano, and Timothy S. Bynum

12. Bullies Move Beyond the Schoolyard: A Preliminary Look at Cyberbullying

Justin W. Patchin and Sameer Hinduja

Section 4: Social Stratification and Power

13. Mass Imprisonment and the Life Course: Race and Class Inequality in U.S. Incarceration

Becky Pettit and Bruce Western

14. Talk of Class: The Discursive Repertoires of White Working- and Upper-Middle-Class College Students

Jenny M. Stuber

15. A Place in Town: Doing Class in a Coffee Shop

Carrie Yodanis

16. Professional Capital: Blue-Collar Reflections on Class, Culture and the Academy

Mary Kosut

Section 5: Race and Ethnicity

17. Race as Class

Herbert J. Gans

18. A Distorted Nation: Perceptions of Racial/Ethnic Group Sizes and Attitudes Toward Immigrants and Other Minorities

Richard Alba, Rubén G. Rumbaut, and Karen Marotz

19. The Opportunity Costs of Admissions Preferences at Elite Universities

Thomas J. Espenshade and Chang Y. Chung

20. Circles of Influence and Chains of Command: The Social Processes Whereby Ethnic Communities Influence Host Societies

Anthony M. Orum

Section 6: Sex and Gender

21. Divorce Culture and Marital Gender Equality: A Cross-National Study

Carrie Yodanis

22. I Just Want to Play: Women, Sexism, and Persistence in Golf

Lee McGinnis, Julia McQuillan, and Constance L. Chapple

23. I’m Not Thinking of It as Sexual Harrassment: Understanding Harassment across Race and Citizenship

Sandy Welsh, Jacquie Carr, Barbara MacQuarrie, and Audrey Huntley

24. Multiple Masculinities? Teenage Boys Talk about Jocks and Gender

C.J. Pascoe

25. William Wants a Doll. Can He Have One? Feminists, Child Care Advisors, and Gender-Neutral Child Rearing

Karin A. Martin

Section 7: Global Issues

26. Sociology of Terrorism

Austin Turk

27. Free-Market Ideology and Environmental Degradation: The Case of Belief in Global Climate Change

Yuko Heath and Robert Gifford

28. Glocommodification: How the Global Consumes the Local – McDonald’s in Israel

Uri Ram

29. ‘In the Court of Public Opinion:’ Transnational Problem Construction in the HIV/AIDS Medicine Access Campaign, 1998-2001

Thomas Olesen

Section 8: Social Movements and Social Change

30. Making Theological Sense of the Migration Journey from Latin America: Catholic, Protestant and Interfaith Perspectives

Jacqueline Hagan

31. Hate Crime Reporting as a Successful Social Movement Outcome

Rory McVeigh, Michael R. Welch, Thorodurr Bjarnason

32. Culture Jamming: A Sociological Perspective

Vince Carducci

33. Corporate Citizenship and Social Responsibility in a Globalized World

Juan José Palacios

Sample Materials & Chapters

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

Chapter 5

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Contemporary Readings in Sociology

Sample Materials & Chapters

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