Illuminating Social Life: Classical and Contemporary Theory Revisited / Edition 5

by Peter J. Kivisto

Overview

Illuminating Social Life has enjoyed increasing popularity with each edition. It is the only book designed for undergraduate teaching that shows today's students how classical and contemporary social theories can be used to shed new light on such topics as the internet, the world of work, fast food restaurants, shopping malls, alcohol use, body building, sales and service, and new religious movements.

A perfect complement for the sociological theory course, it offers 13 original essays by leading scholars in the field who are also experienced undergraduate theory teachers. Substantial introductions by the editor link the applied essays to a complete review of the classical and modern social theories used in the book.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781412978156
Publisher:	SAGE Publications
Publication date:	12/01/2010
Pages:	456
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Peter Kivisto, PhD (New School for Social Research), is the Richard Swanson Professor of Social Thought and chair of sociology at Augustana College. Among his recent books are Citizenship: Discourse, Theory, and Transnational Prospects (2007, with Thomas Faist), Intersecting Inequalities (2007, with Elizabeth Hartung), Incorporating Diversity: Rethinking Assimilation in a Multicultural Age (2005), Key Ideas in Sociology (2nd ed., 2004), Multiculturalism in a Global Society (2002), and Social Theory: Roots and Branches (2nd ed., 2002). His primary scholarly and teaching interests revolve around social theory and ethnic and immigration studies. He has served as secretary-treasurer of the American Sociological Association’s Theory and International Migration Sections and is currently serving as Editor of The Sociological Quarterly.

Table of Contents

Preface Part I: Classical Sociological Theory - Peter Kivisto Chapter 1: Working Longer, Living Less: Understanding Marx Through the Workplace Today - Anne Zacharias-Walsh Chapter 2: The Weberian Theory of Rationalization and the McDonaldization of Contemporary Society - George Ritzer Chapter 3: Surfing the Net for Community: A Durkheimian Analysis of Electronic Gatherings - Anne M. Hornsby Chapter 4: Alcohol-Related Windows on Simmel’s Social World - William J. Staudenmeier, Jr PART II: Contemporary Theories and Their Connections to the Classics - Peter Kivisto Chapter 5: Criminalizing Transgressing Youth: A Neofunctionalist Analysis of Institution Building - Paul Colomy and Laura Ross Greiner Chapter 6: Why Do African Americans Pay More for New Cars? A Structural Explanation - Christopher Prendergast Chapter 7: Critical Theory, Legitimation Crisis, and the Deindustrialization of Flint, Michigan - Steven P. Dandaneau Chapter 8: The Socially Constructed Body: Insights From Feminist Theory - Judith Lorber and Patricia Yancey Martin Chapter 9: Organizing Door-to-Door Sales: A Symbolic Interactionist Analysis - David Schweingruber and Nancy Berns Chapter 10: Goffman’s Dramaturgical Sociology: Personal Sales and Service in a Commodified World - Peter Kivisto and Dan Pittman Chapter 11: Contrasts of Carnival: Mardi Gras Between the Modern and the Postmodern - Kevin Fox Gotham Chapter 12: Negotiating the Social Landscape to Create Social Change - Anne F. Eisenberg Chapter 13: Globalization Theory and Religious Fundamentalism - William H. Swatos, Jr.