Essentials of Sociology / Edition 3

by George Ritzer, Wendy Wiedenhoft Murphy

Overview

Join the conversation with one of sociology’s best-known thinkers.

In the fully updated Fourth Edition of Essentials to Sociology, bestselling author George Ritzer shows students the relevance of sociology to their lives. Adapted from Ritzer’s Introduction to Sociology, this text provides students with a rock-solid foundation in a shorter and more streamlined format. Students will learn about traditional sociological concepts and theories, as well as some of the most compelling contemporary social phenomena: globalization, consumer culture, the Internet, and the “Mc Donaldization” of society. Packed with current examples and the latest research of how “public” sociologists are engaging with the critical issues of today, this new edition encourages students to apply a sociological perspective to their worldview—empowering them to participate in a global conversation about current social problems.

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Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781506388946
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	01/17/2018
Edition description:	Third Edition
Pages:	544
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

George Ritzer is Distinguished University Professor at the University of Maryland, where he has also been a Distinguished Scholar-Teacher and won a Teaching Excellence Award. He was awarded the Distinguished Contributions to Teaching Award by the American Sociological Association, an honorary doctorate from La Trobe University in Australia, and the Robin Williams Lectureship from the Eastern Sociological Society. His best-known work, The Mc Donaldization of Society (8th ed.), has been read by hundreds of thousands of students over two decades and translated into over a dozen languages. Ritzer is also the editor of Mc Donaldization: The Reader; and author of other works of critical sociology related to the Mc Donaldization thesis, including Enchanting a Disenchanted World, The Globalization of Nothing, Expressing America: A Critique of the Global Credit Card Society, as well as a series best-selling social theory textbooks and Globalization: A Basic Text. He is the Editor of the Encyclopedia of Social Theory (2 vols.), the Encyclopedia of Sociology (11 vols.; 2nd edition forthcoming), the Encyclopedia of Globalization (5 vols.), and is Founding Editor of the Journal of Consumer Culture. In 2016 he will publish the second edition of Essentials of Sociology with SAGE.

Table of Contents

Letter from the Author
Acknowledgments
About the Author
CHAPTER 1: An Introduction to Sociology in the Global Age
A Sociology of Revolutions and Counterrevolutions
The Changing Nature of the Social World—and Sociology
Central Concerns for a Twenty-First-Century Sociology
Sociology: Continuity and Change
The Social Construction of Reality
Sociology’s Purpose: Science or Social Reform?
Sociology, the Other Social Sciences, and Common Sense
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
CHAPTER 2: Thinking About and Researching the Social World
Do Sociological Theory and Research Help Us Understand Today’s Overheated Politics?
Theorizing the Social World
Contemporary Sociological Theory
Researching the Social World
Issues in Social Research
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
CHAPTER 3: Culture
A Reflection of U.S. Culture
A Definition of Culture
The Basic Elements of Culture
Cultural Differences
Global Culture
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
CHAPTER 4: Socialization and Interaction
Socialization and Variance
The Individual and the Self
The Individual as Performer
Socialization
Interaction
Micro-Level Social Structures
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
CHAPTER 5: Organizations, Societies, and Global Relationships
Questioning Governmental Authority
Organizations
Contemporary Organizational Realities
Societies
Global Relationships
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
CHAPTER 6: Deviance and Crime
Norms, Labels, and Judgment
Deviance
Theories of Deviance
Crime
Globalization and Crime
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
CHAPTER 7: Social Stratification in the United States and Globally
Student “Haves” and “Have-Nots” in Higher Education
Dimensions of Social Stratification
Economic Inequality
Social Mobility
Theories of Social Stratification
Consumption and Social Stratification
Global Stratification
Other Global Inequalities
Changing Positions in Global Stratification
Theories of Global Stratification
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
CHAPTER 8: Race and Ethnicity
Minorities Acquire Political Power
The Concepts of Race and Ethnicity
Majority–Minority Relations
Racism
Race and Ethnicity in a Global Context
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
CHAPTER 9: Gender and Sexuality
Challenging Gender Stereotypes
Gender and Sex
The Sociology of Sexuality
Sexuality, Gender, and Globalization
Global Flows Related to Gender
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
CHAPTER 10: Families
Fictional Families Get Real
Family, Marriage, and Intimate Relationships
Broad Changes in Marriage and the Family
Theorizing the Family
Problems in the Family
Global Families
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
CHAPTER 11: Education and Religion
Science versus Religion in the Public Schools
Education
Inequality in Education
Globalization and Education
Religion
Types of Religious Institutions
Religion and Globalization
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
CHAPTER 12: Politics and the Economy
The Interrelationship of Government and the Economy
Politics: Democracy or Dictatorship
Who Rules the United States?
Global Politics
The U.S. Economy: From Industrial to Postindustrial
Work, Consumption, and Leisure
Globalization and the Economy
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
CHAPTER 13: The Body, Medicine, Health, and Health Care
The Opioid Crisis
The Sociology of Health
The Body
The Sociology of Medicine
Globalization and Health
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
CHAPTER 14: Population, Urbanization, and the Environment
Too Few, Too Old
Population
Urbanization
Cities and Globalization
The Environment
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
CHAPTER 15: Social Change, Social Movements, and Collective Action
Workers’ Rights, Consumer Activism, and Social Change
Social Movements
Emergence, Mobilization, and Impact of Social Movements
Collective Action
Social Change: Globalization, Consumption, and the Internet
Summary
Key Terms
Review Questions
Glossary
References: Chapter-Opening Vignettes
References: Comprehensive List
Index