The Student's Companion to Sociology

by Middleton, Chris; Ballard, Chet; Gubbay, Jon

• ISBN13: 9780631199472
• ISBN10: 0631199470
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-07-07
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Summary

This superlative Companion provides a comprehensive and up-to-date guide to the discipline of sociology. Written by an international team of leading academics and teachers, many of whose names will be familiar to the reader, this volume provides succinct summaries of the state of knowledge in each of the subfields. The volume is divided into parts broadly characterizable as: approaches, subject matter, methods, current debates, resources (books, journals and archives) and opportunities (intellectual, research-based and career). Taken in total, the chapters convey the tremendous dynamism and diversity of the field.The Companion sets out to realize several objectives:- To stimulate interest in sociology by emphasizing the discipline's engagement with the "real world".- To help orient students within a complex and varied discipline.- To enthuse the reader with the possibilities for sociological engagements with contemporary problems and issues.- To introduce the full range of approaches within the discipline.- To encourage the development of transferable skills.The Student's Companion to Sociology is an essential resource for all students of sociology.

Author Biography

Chet Ballard is Professor of Sociology at Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia. He has served as president of the Georgia Sociological Association, vice-president of the Association for Humanist Sociology, and has produced over 20 scholarly articles and research reports. His most recent research describes how rural public school systems in Georgia are employing technology in efforts to prevent school violence.

Jon Gubbay is Lecturer in Sociology at the University of East Anglia. He has a wide range of research interests including the sociology of higher education curricula, housing satisfaction, research methods and class analysis. He is the author, with Rosemary Crompton, of Economy and Class Structure.

Chris Middleton lectures in sociology at the University of Sheffield, UK. He has written widely on the sociological history of class and gender and, more recently, on teaching in higher education.He is the principal editor of The Sociology Teaching Handbook, a sourcebook produced collaboratively by and for university teachers with the support of the British Sociological Association.

Table of Contents

Preface	ix	(1)
Acknowledgements	x	(1)
List of Contributors	xi
Part I Sociology: Engaging with the Social World	1	(60)
Discovering Sociology - Personal Accounts	3	(20)
1 Discovering Sociology	4	(6)
John Rex
2 Discovering Sociology: Further Enquiries	10	(6)
Frances Heidensohn
3 Discovering Sociology	16	(7)
William P. Kuvlesky
The Sociological Imagination	23	(16)
4 From Personal Troubles to Public Issues	24	(7)
Glenn A. Goodwin
5 From Public Issues to Personal Troubles	31	(8)
Martin Shaw
The Public Impact of Sociology	39	(22)
6 The Black Report and the Politics of Health in Britain	40	(11)
Nicky Hart
7 The Public Impact of Sociology: Public Broadcasting and the Public Interest	51	(10)
Jerold M. Starr
Part II Sociology and its Traditions	61	(122)
The Distinctive Character of Sociology	63	(32)
8 Founders and Classics: A Canon in Motion	64	(16)
Jonathan Turner
9 Everything from Crabs to Islam: On the Relation between Sociologists and Their Intellectual Neighbours	80	(9)
David J. Lee
10 Sociology as a Humanist and Scientific Discipline	89	(6)
Chet Ballard
Values and Diversity in Sociology	95	(46)
11 Conservatism and Sociology: The Problem of Social Order	96	(7)
Graham C. Kinloch
12 Sociology, Social Reform and Revolution	103	(11)
Chris Middleton
13 The Feminist Challenge	114	(7)
Anne Witz
14 Mr Faust meets Mr Bateman: Mapping Post-modernity	121	(12)
Stephen Papson
15 Putting Sociology in its Place	133	(8)
Joti Sekhon
Focal Themes of Sociology	141	(32)
16 Social Divisions	142	(10)
Harriet Bradley
17 Power: Concepts and Research	152	(10)
Jon Gubbay
18 The Life Course	162	(11)
Paul Bellaby
The Language of Sociology	173	(10)
19 A Brief Guide to "Difficult" Sociological Jargon and Some Working Resolutions	174	(9)
David Jary
Part III Contemporary Sociological Engagement	183	(68)
Social Issues	185	(52)
20 Higher Education and Employment in a Post-industrial Society	186	(8)
Phillip Brown and Richard Scase
21 Inequality and Affirmative Action: Sociological Perspectives	194	(9)
Charles Jaret
22 Up Against Nature: Sociological Thoughts on Sexuality	203	(9)
Stevi Jackson
Momin Rahman
23 Whither Welfare?	212	(8)
Alan Walker
24 McDonaldization and Globalization	220	(6)
George Ritzer
25 Green Futures?	226	(11)
Ted Benton
Sociology to Fire the Imagination	237	(14)
26 Leaving Home by Gill Jones	238	(2)
Liz Kenyon
27 Fashion by Georg Simmell	240	(2)
Steven Miles
28 The Managed Heart by Arlie Hochschild	242	(2)
Lori Holyfield
29 Crime and the American Dream by Steven F. Messner and Richard Rosenfeld	244	(2)
Randy Blazak
30 Civil War by Hans Magnus Enzensberger	246	(3)
Mick Drake
31 From Reproduction to Production by Claude Meillassoux	249	(2)
Dong-sook S. Gills
Part IV Doing Sociology: Study and Research	251	(64)
Active Reading	253	(21)
32 How to Read Sociological Texts	254	(7)
Mary Patrice Erdmans
33 Deciphering Research Reports	261	(6)
Derek Layder
34 Demystifying Theory: How the Theories of Georg Simmel (and Others) Help Us to Make Sense of Modern Life	267	(7)
Leonard Beeghley
Doing Sociological Research	274	(41)
35 How to Formulate a Student Research Project or Dissertation	275	(7)
Frank Lyons
Chas Wilson
36 Society as Text: Documents, Artifacts and Social Practices	282	(7)
Simon Cottle
37 The Researcher's Craft: Observing, Listening and Note-taking	290	(6)
Robert G. Burgess
38 Team Research	296	(5)
David Phillips
39 Research Ethics	301	(6)
Roger Homan
40 Using Computers in Sociology	307	(8)
Millsom Henry
Part V Directory and Resources	315	(24)
41 Biographical Dictionary	317	(9)
David Fisher
42 Information and Data Sources	326	(5)
Martin Scarrott
43 Major Journals in Sociology	331	(3)
Simon Speight
44 Associations and Conferences	334	(5)
Steve Morgan
Part VI What Next?	339	(44)
Advice on Employment and Further Study	341	(30)
45 How to Present Your Sociological Education to the Labour Market	342	(5)
Sheila Miles
46 Opportunities for Professional and Vocational Training	347	(4)
Sheila Cross
47 "Sociologist - Will Travel": Career and Work Opportunities in the USA and Canada, the European Union, Eastern Europe and Australasia	351	(6)
Janice Eglin
48 Postgraduate Studies in Sociology in the USA and Canada	357	(5)
G. David Johnson
49 Postgraduate Studies in Sociology in the UK	362	(6)
Chris Middleton
50 Postgraduate Studies in Australasia	368	(3)
Chris Middleton
From Sociological Study to Employment	371	(12)
51 Viewpoints from Three Sociology Graduates	372	(4)
Jackie Hammond
Joanne Osborne
Meeta Patel
52 A Sociology Graduate in Employment	376	(3)
Kay Freeland
53 Being a Sociologist Employed in Public Agencies - A Personal View	379	(4)
Tricia Lain White
Postscript: Potentials and Predicaments The Editors	383	(4)
Index	387