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Seeing Conventional Wisdom Through the Sociological Eye
出版Pine Forge Press, 2008
主題Juvenile Nonfiction / Social Science / GeneralReference / QuotationsSocial Science / Anthropology / Cultural & SocialSocial Science / Sociology / General
ISBN14129565369781412956536
URLhttp://books.google.com.hk/books?id=tUhrAal6LvEC&hl=&source=gbs_api
EBookSAMPLE
註釋Contents Preface Acknowledgments Introduction The Sociological Perspective In this introduction, we discuss the roots of conventional wisdom. We also contrast such knowledge with that acquired via the sociological perspective. In this way, we introduce students to a sociological mode of thinking. Learning More About It Exercises METHODS Essay 1 Numbers Don?t Lie Americans like to?run the numbers.? No matter what the realm? sports, business, politics, or entertainment?numbers often provide the bottom line. Why is our faith in numbers so strong? Conventional wisdom tells us that numbers don?t lie. Is such wisdom accurate? Can we be confident in the?realities? claimed by national polls, social scientific surveys, and other quantitative studies? In this essay, we note several important elements to consider in establishing the?truth? of numbers. Learning More About It Exercises CULTURE Essay 2 Winning Is Everything Conventional wisdom suggests that competition and achievement go hand in hand. In this essay, however, we highlight the many studies that show the benefits of cooperation over competition. In so doing, we review American cultural values, strategies of action, and the connection of these elements to both positive and negative outcomes. Learning More About It Exercises Essay 3 Children Are Our Most Precious Commodity We frequently hear it said: Children are our future. They are our most valuable resource. Here, we present research suggesting otherwise. Children may be the most overlooked, the most neglected segment of the population despite current talk of family values and the future of American youth. Learning More About It Exercises SOCIAL STRUCTURE Essay 4 Love Knows No Reason In this essay, we explore various social statuses?age, education, gender, income, race, religion?noting the ways in which these factors can guide something as seemingly individualistic as Cupid?s arrow. Learning More About It Exercises Essay 5 Stress Is Bad for Your Well-Being Or is it? This essay reviews the conditions under which stress can prove beneficial in one?s everyday activities. In so doing, we highlight the importance of considering social context in assessing social behaviors. Learning More About It Exercises Essay 6 The?Golden Years? Are Tarnished Years Growing old?no one looks forward to it. Yet, this essay illustrates that our worst fears about growing old may be largely unfounded, simply products of a?master status? for which we have been inadequately prepared. Learning More About It Exercises CULTURE MEETS SOCIAL STRUCTURE Essay 7 Americans Are Becoming More and More Individualistic This essay examines social relations in the United States, exploring in particular the characterization of contemporary Americans as increasingly isolated, disconnected, and dangerously individualistic. Here, we argue that social relations in the United States are more multifaceted than conventional wisdom suggests, a result of the complex interplay of social structure and culture. Learning More About It Exercises Essay 8 There?s Nothing We Can Do about the Weather This essay focuses the sociological eye on weather and climate, exploring the way in which factors such as modernization, profit motives, and our entrepreneurial values can both create climate problems?and solve them. Learning More About It Exercises SOCIALIZATION AND IDENTITY Essay 9 What?s in a Name? That Which We Call a Rose by Any Other Name Would Smell As Sweet This essay explores the power in a name, highlighting the central role of symbols and labels in the construction of identity. Learning More About It Exercises Essay 10 Beauty Is Only Skin Deep This essay documents the social advantages enjoyed by physically attractive individuals?tall, slim, and beautiful or handsome women and men. We also discuss the powerful role physical attractiveness can play in the construction of self-identity. Learning More About It Exercises STRATIFICATION Essay 11 The More We Pay, the More It?s Worth If so, our garbage collectors are worth more than our teachers, and baseball players are worth more than those searching for a cure to AIDS. This essay addresses the inconsistencies often found between what we pay for work and the value we place on it. Learning More About It Exercises Essay 12 Money Is the Root of All Evil This essay documents the impact of income on issues of mortality and life chances. Money, with all its alleged downfalls, can still mean the difference between life and death. Learning More About It Exercises Essay 13 You?ve Come a Long Way, Baby In the past 30 years, women have made great strides toward equality with men. But have they journeyed far enough? Here, we focus on gender relations in the home, the schools, and in the workplace, illustrating the gains and losses faced by women and men in the current era. Learning More About It Exercises Essay 14 America Is the Land of Equal Opportunity Is the United States a level playing field for all Americans despite race? In this essay, we review the many arenas of continued segregation and racism in the United States. Furthermore, we explore the basis for determining one?s race, noting that with all of the implications the classification holds, categorizing race is, at best, a tenuous process. Learning More About It Exercises DEVIANCE, CRIME, AND SOCIAL CONTROL Essay 15 Violence Is on the Rise in the United States?No One Is Safe / In recent decades, Americans have wrestled with a growing fear of violence. Is that fear justified? Here, we review the state of violence in America, and we explore those instances in which the public?s fears of violence are justified and those in which they are exaggerated. As such, the essay explores the many problems surrounding the detection and perception of danger and crime. Learning More About It Exercises Essay 16 There Ought to Be a Law There?s no social ill that the law can?t fix ... or at least that is what many Americans believe. In this essay, we review various social functions of the law. We also consider whether or not we are overly dependent on this tool of formal social control. Learning More About It Exercises Essay 17 Honesty Is the Best Policy ... except, of course, when reporting your income, revealing your age, sparing the feelings of another?the list can go on and on. In this essay, we explore the conditions under which lying is viewed as normal. In so doing, we use lying as a case study that aptly demonstrates both the pervasiveness and the relative nature of deviance. Learning More About It Exercises SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS: MARRIAGE AND FAMILY Essay 18 The Nuclear Family Is the Backbone of American Society Mom, dad, and the kids?is this the unit on which American social life is built? This essay documents the history of family in America, showing that the nuclear family is a relatively recent phenomenon and one that soon may be replaced by other forms of family. In addition, the stability of the nuclear family is explored in light of idyllic stereotypes. Learning More About It Exercises Essay 19 Marriage Is a Failing Institution High divorce rates, couples living together, the need for?space,? fear of commitment?have such trends doomed the institution of marriage? Here, we discuss research suggesting that the practice of marriage is alive and well despite conventional wisdom to the contrary. We also note the historical?popularity? of divorce in America and speculate on why such a trend marks our culture.