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Issues of Life and Death such as abortion, assisted suicide, capital punishment and others are among the most contentious in many societies. Whose rights are protected? How do these rights and protections change over time and who makes those decisions? Based on the author’s award-winning and hugely popular undergraduate course at the University of Texas, this book explores these questions and the fundamentally sociological processes which underlie the quest for morality and justice in human societies. The Author’s goal is not to advocate any particular moral "high ground" but to shed light on the social movements and social processes which are at the root of these seemingly personal moral questions. Under 200 printed pages, this slim paperback is priced and sized to be easily assigned in a variety of undergraduate courses that touch on the social bases underlying these contested and contentious issues.
This second edition of Who Lives, Who Dies, Who Decides? has been updated to consider the rising stakes for issues of life and death. Abortion, assisted dying, and capital punishment are among the most contentious issues in many societies and demand debate. Whose rights are protected? How do these rights and protections change over time and who makes those decisions? Based on the author’s award-winning and hugely popular undergraduate course at the University of Texas and highly recommended by Choice Magazine, this book explores the fundamentally sociological processes which underlie the quest for morality and justice in human societies. The Author’s goal is not to advocate any particular moral "high ground" but to shed light on the social movements and social processes which are at the root of these seemingly personal moral questions and to develop readers to develop their own opinions.
Offers a sociological perspective of gender that can be applied to our lives. Focusing on the most recent research and theory–both in the U.S. and globally–Gender Roles, 6e provides an in-depth, survey and analysis of modern gender roles and issues from a sociological perspective. The text integrates insights and research from other disciplines such as biology, psychology, anthropology, and history to help build more robust theories of gender roles.
This collection of essays examines the city of Stockton, California from an interdisciplinary perspective. Stockton is in the heart of the Central Valley, an agricultural region that comprises a diverse population and rich history. This book covers the economic downturn of the city that was ground zero for the housing market crisis during the Great Recession, which resulted in it becoming the first major American city to declare bankruptcy. Nevertheless, the city cannot be framed only on its economic misfortunes; Stockton has a vibrant community with important historical figures such as Martín Ramírez, an outsider painter who was a patient in the Stockton State Hospital. This book also cov...
The 20th Century has been marked by enormous change in terms of how we define race. In large part, we have thrown out the antiquated notions of the 1800s, giving way to a more realistic, sociocultural view of the world. The United States is, perhaps more than any other industrialized country, distinguished by the size and diversity of its racial and ethnic minority populations. Current trends promise that these features will endure. Fifty years from now, there will most likely be no single majority group in the United States. How will we fare as a nation when race-based issues such as immigration, job opportunities, and affirmative action are already so contentious today? In America Becoming...
This ethnographic study of an urban high school in one of the most diverse cities in the United States examines the role that race plays in the lives of students. At a school publicly celebrated for its integration, academic excellence, and racial harmony, the reality is a different story: that of continuing internal segregation and racial conflicts. Examining the role of race in neighborhood relations, desegregation programs, and school violence, the author uncovers competing racial orders. A gifted magnet program reinforces the notion that being white means being gifted. Conflicts in the schoolyard show a racial bipolarization where Cambodian Americans identify as blacks and Latinos as whites. Applying racial formation theory to ethnographic research, this study reveals how a school racializes its students. But students are not just passive victims of such structural forces. They also creatively shape the way in which race is organized, imagined, and experienced.
In this collection of 48 reprinted and completely original articles, Tammy Anderson gives her fellow instructors of undergraduate deviance a refreshing way to energize and revitalize their courses. [36 are reprints; 12 are original to this text/anthology] First, in 12 separate sections, she presents a wide range of deviant behaviors, traits, and conditions including: underage drinking and drunk driving, doping in elite sports, gang behavior, community crime, juvenile delinquency, hate crime, prison violence and transgendered prisoners, mental illness, drug-using women and domestic violence, obesity, tattooing, sexual fetishes, prostitution, drug epidemics, viral pandemics, crime control stra...
"In Where We Live Now, John Iceland documents the levels and changes in residential segregation of African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans from Census 2000. Although the concentration of new immigrants in neighborhoods with more co-ethnics temporarily increases segregation, there is a clear trend toward lowered residential segregation of native born Hispanics and Asians, especially for those with higher socioeconomic status. There has been a modest decrease in black-white segregation, especially in multi-ethnic cities, but African Americans, including black immigrants, continue to experience much higher levels of housing discrimination than any other group. These important findings...
The sociology of fame and celebrity is at the cutting edge of current scholarship in a number of different areas of study. Stargazing highlights the interactional dynamics of celebrity and fame in contemporary society, including the thoughts and feelings of stars on the red carpet, the thrills and risks of encountering a famous person at a convention or on the streets, and the excitement generated even by the obvious fakery of celebrity impersonators. Using compelling, real-life examples involving popular celebrities, Ferris and Harris examine how the experience and meanings of celebrity are shaped by social norms, interactional negotiations, and interpretive storytelling.
Many fundamentally important decisions about our social life are a function of how well we understand and analyze DATA. This sounds so obvious but it is so misunderstood. Social statisticians struggle with this problem in their teaching constantly. This book and its approach is the ally and support of all instructors who want to accomplish this hugely important teaching goal. This innovative text for undergraduate social statistics courses is, (as one satisfied instructor put it), a "breath of fresh air." It departs from convention by not covering some techniques and topics that have been in social stat textbooks for 30 years, but that are no longer used by social scientists today. It also i...